Banned Book of the Month: The Hate U Give
Photo via Barnes and Noble
About the Author: The Hate U Give was written by Angie Thomas, a passionate civil rights author. Thomas witnessed multiple hate crimes against the Black community during her childhood and turned to literature for solace. She took her love for language and writing and developed a career out of it. She started a career as a rapper as a way to use words to share her passion for civil rights and activism. She has stated that former rapper Tupac Shakur was a large influence on her passion for the crossover of activism and rapping. However, her rapping career was relatively short-lived, and she ultimately felt most called to write books. While in college, she took creative writing classes where she wrote The Hate U Give. Thomas has repeatedly stated, “I've always seen writing as a form of activism,” and that is apparent in her passion for civil rights through her literature. Her activism in writing was so prevalent to society that The Hate U Give eventually adapted to a film.
Summary: The Hate U Give is a moving young adult novel about police brutality and the issues with racism. Starr Carter is the protagonist and is pulled between two starkly different lives. She lives in a poor black neighborhood, but attends a wealthy white school. One night, Starr is in the car with her friend Khalil when they get pulled over. After a biased misunderstanding when the police thought they saw Khalil grab a gun rather than a hairbrush–which is what he actually had–they shot him. Khalil ends up dying from the gunshot, and legal action is not taken. When Starr recounts the situation to the police, the police look for ways to blame Khalil, rather than the officer who killed him. This creates the unfortunate realization for Starr that the police will go unpunished, and the brutality will be excused. This mentality continues at Starr’s school when her classmates also feel that Khalil was to blame rather than the officer. Starr feels the desire to advocate for the black community and serve justice for victims of police brutality.
Starr’s family isn’t left alone throughout the book. Her dad, Maverick Carter, is a former member of a local gang and often faces repercussions for leaving and speaking out against gang violence. He has been attacked and the family suffers from the violence. One night, a brick was thrown through Starr’s window, which signifies the violence they face. Violence also comes from police since they often profile Maverick and tend to get involved in situations which lead to further altercations. The violence that surrounds Starr ultimately causes her to testify for Khalil’s case in hopes that her voice will be heard. Starr testifies in front of a jury, and the jury decides that the police officer is not guilty. This ruling sparks more passion and rage from the local community and riots result. Starr and her family get caught up in the riots and there are violent crossovers between gangs and the police, and the community gets caught in the crossfire. The local gang lord, King, sets Maverick’s store on fire and the community defends the Carter family from the gang by standing up to them. With this, King gets arrested with a lengthy sentence, and fears of gang violence begin to subside in Starr’s neighborhood.
Although the gang violence begins to resolve, Khalil is not served justice since the community didn’t indict the police officer who shot him. However, the community continues to use their voices and power as a group to speak out against police brutality and racism. Starr learns that her voice is impactful and continues to grow her passion for civil liberties and equality.
Why it’s banned/challenged: The Hate U Give is challenged and sometimes banned due to the main discussion of police brutality. Many educators feel that discussing the injustices people of color face at the hands of police brutality is anti-police. It also is said that The Hate U Give is against law and order due to the discussion of protests and riots. This viewpoint has been argued as pushing a violent social agenda, rather than looking at the history of the Black community in America and the substantial injustices they face, oftentimes at the hands of police officers. The Hate U Give focuses on injustices and unraveling a new perspective, especially when Starr has to deal with the first hand close-mindedness at school. How she feels about police brutality and racism is the exact message Angie Thomas tries to convey to readers. Learning about social injustices allows for open-mindedness and empathy for different backgrounds.
If looking to read The Hate U Give, Pauline Haass Public Library, Menomonee Falls Public Library, and Hamilton’s library offer copies.
