July Reading Challenge: 'The Hate U Give'

Well, this challenge has not exactly gone the way I had planned for it to go - and that's ok. Last week's book was 'Women, Race & Class' by Angela Davis, but as you may have noticed I didn't post a blog or host a discussion. The truth is that I have not finished that book yet. Davis' words strike me in many meaningful ways as she talks about the involvement of women in the fight for equality and thus I have been reading it slower in order to fully comprehend the importance of what she writes. I will still do a blog and discussion about it but I don't want to put pressure on myself to rush through it and not see the importance. In order to stick to the challenge more closely, I will do the report on 'The Hate U Give' today (followed by the discussion), read Ibram X. Kendi's 'How to be an Antiracist', and end my challenge with Angela Davis' book (in August at this point). To people reading these and following along with the challenge - my apologies. 

So: onto 'The Hate U Give' by Angie Thomas. I LOVED this book so much. I've heard a lot of people talking about it and a lot of people have recommended the movie to me (which I will be watching as soon as I finish this post), but I didn't really know much about it going in. To summarise: the main character, Starr, who's Black, goes to a party and in the car on the way home her friend gets shot by a police officer. The book follows Starr as she tries to process what's happened and how to find justice for her friend Khalil. It is incredibly relevant to the current fight and addresses police brutality from many different angles. 

Favourite, interesting, and thought-provoking quotes from the novel:

1. "'Other races aren't killing us nearly as much as we're killing ourselves.' Ne-gro, please. If I kill Tyrone, I'm going to prison. If a cop kills me, he's getting put on leave. Maybe'" (53).
2. "That means flipping the switch in my brain so I'm Williamson Starr. Williamson Starr doesn't use slang – if a rapper would say it, she doesn't say it, even if her white friends do. Slang makes them cool. Slang makes her 'hood.' Williamson Starr holds her tongue when people piss her off so nobody will think she's the 'angry black girl.'" (71).
3. "'Drugs come from somewhere, and they're destroying our community,' he says. 'You got folks like Brenda, who think they need them to survive. The Brendas can't get jobs unless they're clean, and they can't pay for rehab unless they got jobs. When the Khalils get arrested for selling drugs, they either spend most of their life in prison, another billion-dollar industry, or they have a hard time getting a real job and probably start selling drugs again. That's the hate they're giving us, baby, a system designed against us. That's the Thug Life.'" (170).
4. "That's the problem. We let people say stuff, and they say it so much that it becomes okay to them and normal for us. What's the point of having a voice if you're gonna be silent in those moments you shouldn't be?" (252).
5. "It would be easy to quit if it was just about me, Khalil, that night, and that cop. It's about way more than that though. It's about Seven. Sekani. Kenya. DeVante. It's also about Oscar. Aiyana. Trayvon. Rekia. Michael. Eric. Tamir. John. Ezell. Sandra. Freddie. Alton. Philando. It's even about that little boy in 1955 who nobody recognized at first – Emmett. The messed-up part? There are so many more" (443).

Analysis:

One of the biggest and most relevant topics brought up in this novel is the notion of police accountability and punishment. As shown in quote number 1, a common question I've heard asked when people try to defend the police is "what about Black on Black crime?" Sure, there is definitely Black on Black crime - the book even illustrates this through the depiction of Starr's neighbourhood and the interaction of gangs - just as there is an overwhelming amount of White on White crime. The difference is the role that the police play in the injustice. When somebody gets murdered, we expect someone to go to jail and pay for taking that person's life. Why should that be any different for police? The police are supposed to be present in society to protect their citizens. Sure, their job is tough, but that should not mean that they are above the law. In fact, it should be the most strongly enforced if they are to be the ones upholding the law. For instance, Breonna Taylor's murderers have STILL not been arrested. Many police officers who have taken lives have not even lost their jobs and continue to 'enforce' the law. This is further unjust when the legal system discriminates so heavily against BIPOC, outlined heavily throughout the novel. The police officer who killed Starr's friend, Khalil, for instance, is found innocent and is not charged. His actions are 'justified' by the news and American society because it was revealed that Khalil was selling drugs. Police brutality and murders, however, should not be justified in this way. Taking somebody's life is a big deal. Just because somebody is a drug dealer, or has mental health issues, or may look intimidating is not an excuse for ending their lives. Thomas does a good job of revealing this injustice through Starr's fight for Khalil and the ultimate decision of the jury to side with the officer. 

Another main idea is that of racial inequality and systemic discrimination. While this may seem like an obvious theme, it is nonetheless an important one. In quote number 3 above, Starr's dad talks to her about how the system oppresses opportunity and often leads to a cycle of dependence that's hard to escape from. Starr's life is juxtaposed against those of her White friends. While she lives in a neighbourhood where gunshots are often heard and gang violence is prevalent, her White friends attend a private school called Williamson (where she's also a pupil), have many expensive cars, big houses, and limited exposure to violence. The wealth gap caused by a system designed to oppress BIPOC groups is highlighted through Starr's experience with the people around her and trying to find her own identity. Supporting this analysis is a report from 2016 where they found the median net worth of black households was $17,150 while the median net worth of a white family was nearly ten times higher at $171,000 (Forbes). Thomas' narrative illustrates how poignant that wealth gap is in the daily lives of millions of people across the US and expresses the need for meaningful systemic change.   

The last thing I want to discuss is the motif of THUG LIFE. Early in the book, Starr has a conversation with her friend Khalil (who ends up getting shot) about what this really means and the importance of it in their own lives. Khalil breaks it down and explains how Tupac's song about THUG LIFE is an abbreviation for 'The Hate U Give Little Infants F---s Everybody.' He explains, "meaning what society give us as youth, it bites them in the ass when we wild out" (17). The accessibility of things like education, employment, and support ultimately influence how youth grow up and integrate into society. Without solid foundations in place that provide equal opportunities for all, we cannot attain a world without discrimination and inequality. 

As with the last book, there are so many themes and topics I can discuss with The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, but I want to leave space for discussion as well. As a white woman with a lot of privilege, I can't ever fully understand the struggles and discrimination that BIPOC face daily, but it is my duty as a citizen of the world to educate myself and do what I can to use my privilege to change that. I hope others are doing the same. This reading challenge is supposed to open a discussion about racism in the US and across the world and it would be amazing to hear from other people who have read this book or simply have an opinion and can add meaningful input. Here are the discussion questions!

Note: you don't have to answer all of the questions, just any that stick out to you or anything you found interesting about the novel!

1. What do you think about the acronym THUG LIFE and how is it relevant in society?
2. Do you feel that police are held accountable for their actions? Why or why not?
3. Maverick's rose garden can be seen as a symbol in this book. What do you think it represents? Read Tupac Shakur's poem 'The Rose that Grew from Concrete' and discuss what this has to do with 'Thug Life'
4. How does the way that Khalil's death is spread and publicized influence the accountability of the police and ultimate injustice?
5. What other themes or symbols do you think are important in the novel? 

Sources

Hansen, Sarah. “Here's What The Racial Wealth Gap In America Looks Like Today.” Forbes, 5 June 2020, www.forbes.com/sites/sarahhansen/2020/06/05/heres-what-the-racial-wealth-gap-in-america-looks-like-today/#27073205164c.