The Hate U Give
Essential Question:
What is the impact of racism and racial profiling by police on black boys, their parents, and the African-American community?
The following text set was developed to help mainstream 9th grade students explore the essential question and deepen their understanding of The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. In the story, Starr witnesses the murder of her best friend, Khalil, at the hands of a police officer during a routine traffic stop. Starr exists in two worlds--the predominantly white prep school she attends in the suburbs and the predominantly working-class black neighborhood where she lives with her family. Throughout the story, Starr struggles to find her voice to speak about the injustice she witnessed in the face of accusations from the media that Khalil was a suspected drug dealer. The story takes us to the heart of the Black Lives Matter movement and asks us to question the forces at work behind police killings of unarmed black men.
Standards addressed:
CCSS Standards:
Determine an author's point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how an author uses rhetoric to advance that point of view or purpose.
Propel conversations by posing and responding to questions that relate the current discussion to broader themes or larger ideas; actively incorporate others into the discussion; and clarify, verify, or challenge ideas and conclusions.
AASL:
III. COLLABORATE Work effectively with others to broaden perspectives and work toward common goals. 2. Developing new understandings through engagement in a learning group.
V. EXPLORE Discover and innovate in a growth mindset developed through experience and reflection. 2. Reflecting and questioning assumptions and possible misconceptions.
Pamphlet: “10 Tips to Stay Safe in Any Neighborhood”
This tip sheet is developed by NOBLE (National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives) as part of the “The Law and Your Community” workshops designed to teach teens how to interact with law enforcement officers.
This pamphlet was chosen because it will be accessible to all students and because it provides the unique perspective of a black police officers’ organization. In class, students might compare and contrast the tips in the pamphlet to the 10 tips enumerated in the video Get Home Safely: 10 Rules of Survival in terms of content, word choice, presentation, and motives of the producers.
This article gives voice to the leader of a police group in South Carolina that requested the removal of The Hate U Give and All American Boys from a ninth-grade summer reading list. At the same time, the author attempts to refute several of the statements made by the group’s leader.
We chose this article to be used in peer-led discussion groups because it presents reasons why some police officers and citizens are opposed to having 9th graders read The Hate U Give. The text falls in the 9th-10th grade band of text complexity. Groups will be able to identify and discuss the police group’s viewpoints and the strength of the author’s counterpoints.
Video: “A Conversation about Growing Up Black”
This short video documentary asks young black men and boys to detail painful experiences related to being black in America. The montage addresses ways others have treated them based on perceptions, encounters with police officers, and advice from parents about staying safe.
We chose this video specifically to challenge the negative stereotypes about black boys and men in the media. It is accessible to all learners and could be used to spark a conversation about the day-to-day realities of being black in this country. Some students may be able to add to or corroborate the statements in the videos. Others may become aware of their own implicit biases.
Book chapter excerpt: Chapter 3—“The Color of Justice” from Michelle Alexander’s The New Jim Crow
The excerpts from this chapter give a blistering account of the discriminatory nature of policing and the criminal justice system in the United States.
We chose these passages to develop students’ understanding of ways in which systemic racism has led to the mass incarceration of people of color in the U.S. The reading of this complex text should be teacher led. Students may collaborate to create an infographic based on the information presented in the chapter. Because of the complexity we suggest using the following excerpts of the pdf linked above: p. 1-3 para 3, p. 6 para. 3-5, p. 9 para 1-4.
Poetry: “Playground Elegy” & “what the window said to the black boy” by Clint Smith
In its original form, the poem "Playground Elegy" is one double-spaced stanza, with each line indented slightly more than the line above, giving the impression of a slide.
“Playground Elegy” is about two boys: one whose mother teaches him to raise his hands when going down a slide, and another who has been killed in the streets. “what the window said to the black boy” discusses the idea of being “broken” and challenges the stereotypes of what it means to be a “black boy.”
These poems were chosen because they both allow students to explore the messages in the anchor text through a different lens. “what the window said…” is more challenging, but both poems offer a chance to discuss the use of a turn, and word and imagery choices to develop themes also developed through Starr and Khalil’s stories about what black youth have had to witness and what they are taught.
Article: “Learning How To Code-Switch: Humbling, But Necessary” by Eric Deggans from NPR
“Learning How To Code-Switch: Humbling, But Necessary” is an article that defines code switching, and provides a personal narrative entwined with the struggles that African-Americans (and those of other cultures) face depending upon who they are communicating with. It details the nuances between cultural groups and their languages, and explains that if someone lives in more than one world, they typically must learn to interact appropriately depending on the situation, or else face ridicule or worse.
This article provides a nice little glimpse at code switching, what it is, and how it’s employed. Students can have peer-led discussions in which they compare the author's descriptions of code-switching in this nonfiction piece to Starr's experiences as she switches between her predominantly white private school and her predominantly black neighborhood.
Video: “Stay Woke”
This documentary chronicles the Black Lives Matter movement from the perspectives of activists, protesters, scholars, and journalists. It shows the evolution of the movement and provides first-hand accounts.
"Stay Woke" provides great visuals and adds real live voices to the conversation. Students will gain more perspective about the issues which relate directly to Starr’s narrative, including the protests, activism, and suffering that African-Americans endure on a daily basis. In peer-led groups or individually, students can reflect on what it means to feel compelled to take part in this type of activism.
Article: “Definition of Systemic Racism in Sociology - Beyond Prejudice and Micro-Aggressions” by Nicki Lisa Cole
This article provides an in-depth definition of systemic racism from the point of view of a sociologist. It details different aspects of systemic racism including privileges held by white people that POC do not experience, white elitism, and resistance to racism.
Though this is a complex text, it will be helpful for students who are just beginning to learn about the components of systemic racism, especially those who haven’t experienced it in their own lives. With teacher guidance, the text will help students understand that there are several aspects to racism beyond "just" hate and open their eyes to the racial divide. As many of the ideas may be new to students, the teacher would want to lead the reading, perhaps guiding students through a visual or graphic form of note-taking that captures all of the elements of systemic racism.
Song: “Keep Ya Head Up” by 2pac
This song by 2pac (Tupac Shakur) is dedicated to his grandson, and is an inspirational song that addresses the lack of respect offered toward black people, especially women, especially poor black women.
This song is included because the title of the book The Hate U Give is based on Tupac, and he is referenced continually throughout the story. Students can analyze the lyrics and make connections to the text. Lyrics might also be useful.
Podcasts: “'Black Lives Matter' Slogan Becomes A Bigger Movement” from Morning Edition and “Black Lives Matter Founders Describe 'Paradigm Shift' In The Movement” from All Things Considered
Podcast 1 discusses the emergence of the now familiar slogan: Black Lives Matter. It briefly discusses the origin of the slogan. Podcast 2 discusses the shift in the Black Lives Matter movement, explaining how the slogan was a turning point and a bit the implications of this.
These podcasts are included because they shows how one event can trigger a much larger movement, especially when that one event is something that might occur over and over. This is relevant to The Hate U Give because it directly parallels Starr’s experience with the movement that breaks out in her community following Khalil’s death.
References
Alexander, M. (2010). The new Jim Crow: Mass incarceration in the age of colorblindness. New York: New Press.
Brewster, J. & Peltz, P. (2015). A conversation about growing up black [Documentary]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSAw51caEeg
Code Switch. (2016). Black Lives Matter founders describe 'paradigm shift' in the movement [Podcast]. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2016/07/13/485895828/black-lives-matter-founders-describe-paradigm-shift-in-the-movement
Cole, N. (2018). Definition of systemic racism in sociology. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/systemic-racism-3026565
Deggans, E. (2013). Learning how to code-switch: Humbling, but necessary. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2013/04/10/176234171/learning-how-to-code-switch-humbling-but-necessary
Grant, L. (2016). Stay woke: The Black Lives Matter movement [Video]. United States: BET.
Lockhart, P. R. (2018, July 3). A high school put books about police violence on a summer reading list. A police union wants them removed. Vox. Retrieved from https://www.vox.com/identities/2018/7/3/17531614/reading-list-controversy-south-carolina-police-union-hate-u-give-all-american-boys
National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executive. (2017). 10 tips to stay safe in any neighborhood. Retrieved from http://noblenational.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Safety-TIPS.pdf
Shakur, T. (1993). Keep ya head up [Online]. Interscope. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAEy4y7J0S8
Smith, C. (2016). Counting descent. Los Angeles: Write Bloody Publishing.
Thomas, A. (2017). The hate u give. New York: Balzer + Bray.
Youth Radio. (2014). 'Black Lives Matter' slogan becomes a bigger movement [Podcast]. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/2014/12/04/368408247/black-lives-matter-slogan-becomes-a-bigger-movement