By Chris Griffin
Premise/synopsis
In this timely book analysis of The Hate You Give by Angie Thomas, Chris Griffin assesses police excessive force and brutality done to African Americans throughout American history. Now more than ever, we must look at how authority like figures white or black treat communities of color and how we could develop trust and empathy when it comes to the law and the people who are most affected by it.
James Baldwin once said, “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced”.
This quote is not only a reflection of “The Hate You Give” and Starr Carter, but also a reflection of what society faces as a whole when we deal with police brutality and injustice in America. In this story, sixteen-year-old Starr Carter has to deal with racism firsthand. Starr Carter lives in a poor black neighborhood, but she goes to a wealthy white school. When Starr Carter and her best friend Khalil leave a party, they are pulled over by the police. When Khalil reaches down to grab his brush, the officer thinks it is a gun. The officer then shoots and kills Khalil in front of Starr. The killing was not only tragic, but it was also a reflection on the history of police brutality in America. After this killing, Starr is between a rock in a hard shell. She has to think about if she wants to speak out or to be quiet due to the fact that she is both close to the black and white community. Starr decided to do the right thing by speaking up about what happened to her best friend. I love how fearless she was. She showed a lot of heart and integrity throughout this book.
She didn’t care about the consequences of speaking out, she just wanted to do what was right for not only the killing of her best friend but for her community and her. The police officer that killed Starr’s best friend ended up not doing jail time for the crime. I wasn’t surprised when the court didn’t indict the police officer. This is what America has been dealing with forever!
Brutality against African American’s has been going on since slavery. These killings mainly have to do with authority like figures judging African Americans by their skin. When will police brutality stop? Dr. Martin Luther King Jr once said, “I have a dream that one day, my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character”. This is what we as American’s should look at. We should only base a person off of their character instead of skin color.
The Hate You Give is a reminder of these current events in America. Furthermore, Starr Carter was a hero in this book. Like her, many teens in America are standing up against police brutality especially now after the George Floyd killing and Breonna Taylor killings. Starr Carter’s leadership is what we need from all the citizens in America. I hope every American can have some Starr Carter in them and start to speak up on the issue. Once we as a society come together, we will beat police brutality and make America a better place.
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About the Author
Christen Griffin is currently a college student at Southeast Missouri State University, and has an interest in writing, specifically film script writing. Throughout his youth he has written speeches, written his own books (Not published), and have written film scripts. Writing is a tool that Chris has used to escape the real world. Whenever he is not mad or sad, Chris writes about it. If a tragedy unfolds around him or around the world, he writes about it. Chris stated that "there are so many things to write about." Chris believes that through his words, he can impact the world. This is why Chris states he writes. Chris stated, "I don’t just write for myself, I write to heal the issues in society."
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