Since the founding of the United States, race has always been one of the biggest points of contention. In “The Hate U Give”, written by Angie Thomas, the themes of race, identity, and fairness are all explored in depth along with social issues such as police brutality and gentrification. While reading “The Hate U Give”, many complicated questions where asked and eye opening conversations were had. Understanding the views of others and they are influenced by external factors along with understanding why we talk about race in first place (in the context of reading THUG) as well as my feeling about the book all cropped up as conversation points.
Going into reading “THUG” I did not know what to expect in terms of people’s feelings towards the
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Although race is on the surface, it also feels like an intangible concept that cannot be explained. “THUG” does a really good job at explaining the abstract parts of race. I personally that Angie Thomas ( the author of “THUG”) was to educate white kids about the goings on in the rest of the country. She does a great job of simplifying every facet of the black experience. She does not beat around the bush when touching on really sensitive topics like the police’s relationship with the minority community and more simplistic things like interracial dating. She doesn't shove anything down the readers throat and she does not shame white people for being white. At the beginning of the book when Starr is at the party she thinks about her classmates from Williamson and is comparing them to the people who are attending the party and says the following “Funny how it works with white kids though. It’s dope to be black until it’s hard to be black.”(Hailey 11) It's not a quote that attacks white people but it also touches on the real problem of white people appropriating black culture with no regard for the struggles of the community. The most important character in the book is Chris. He symbolizes the white reading and is there to help the white reader better connect to the story by being a relatable face. His ignorance although not malicious represent the lack of awareness in the white community. He also helps Starr express her …show more content…
Just like she, I attend a private school with people who are mostly white although were I live and the people I interact with outside of school are mostly black. The dichotomy between the two worlds is perfectly illustrated throughout the book. Starr’s friendship with Hailey in particular was very farmilary to me. Many people I interact with on a daily basis say and do things that I perfice as racist or intolerante who have no idea that they are even saying it. After Starr confronts Hailey about her racist remarks Hailey responded with the following “Ho-ly s***, Starr! Seriously? After everything we’ve been through, you think I’m a racist? Really?” (Hailey 112). Hailey did not take responsibility for any of comets which were all consistently racist making her a racist person. Many white people do not understand what makes a racist a racist. Hailey and Starr’s interactions really spoke to me because I see it in my life on a daily basis. Reading a book were I could see myself in the main character was new thing for me and then furthermore, relating to her life experiences and desires really helped me relate with the book. Representation is always important, especially in mediums such as literature and television because it gives a voice to minority issues and also normalized minority culture there for making it less of an issue which leads to discrimination in
“The Hate U Give” by Angie Thomas communicates the power of standing up for what you believe in, even if you stand alone, through the development of Starr’s character throughout her journey in the book. This includes Starr confronting Hailey about her racialism towards her, not protesting at Williamson, and when she went on the interview to tell her the truth about what happened the night Khalil died. “The Hate U Give” communicates the power of standing up for what you believe in even if you stand alone, such as when Starr stood up for herself when Hailey made a racist joke. The “Hustle” is a snare. Pretend the ball is some fried chicken, Bet you’ll stay on it then”(76).
In Hate List by Jennifer Brown, the fact that both Nick and Val are bullied but only Nick shoots up the school suggests that when bullied, boys feel the need to take action while girls internalize the insults and pain. Nick plots revenge for the people who bully him and Val: “I’ll take care of it,” Nick explains, “I’ve been wanting to do something like this for a long time” (62). Nick believes that the bullies deserve pay back. He feels that he has a responsibility to teach them a lesson. Nick commits suicide after murdering all the people who bully him. He would rather die by getting revenge on his bullies then live without seeing them get their comeuppance.
Objective: At the end of this lesson, students will be able to classify sentences according to their type of sentence structure.
The Shadow of Hate helps illustrate the evergoing history of racism that is portrayed within the United States. It emphasizes that since the beginning of United States history to the present day, racism still remains a critical topic that many individuals need to be informed about. While this film talks about racism in the United States as a whole, it goes deeper in pinpointing specific racial groups that received the cruelest treatment throughout U.S. history. Once finishing the film, I found myself mesmerized by the fascinating stories and clear depiction on how the severity of racism has had an impact on the past as well as how it will influence the future. It truly shows that racism is still prominent in society, considering people from the past condoned to this type of behavior. When finding the points made throughout the film, I was able to categorize them and look at them through all three sociological perspectives- the interactionist, the functionalist, and the conflict paradigms-to understand the deeper meaning behind them.
Published by the New York Times under the Opinion section, the audience for this article is any interested reader. At the time it was released, November 18th, 2016, this article arrived during last year’s elections, in which a large, but surprising number of Americans voted for candidate Donald Trump, shocking many forecasters who had predicted otherwise. Therefore, after the election, many people may have been researching the demographics of the election, and this article, which briefly shared Brooks’ opinion on the nature of the election and how viewing others through the lens of a dominant identity influenced how the votes fell where they did, may have caught a keen reader’s eye. Also, this article came at a time where racism and prejudice caused many problems, leading some to view others as one-dimensional, represented only by a skin color or religion. Since prejudice and hate is still a large issue today, tackling this problem helps make this article relevant, nearly a year after its release.
Segregation had had many effects on the black nation, to the point that it started building up ones character, “See the depressing clouds of inferiority begin to form in her little mental sky and see her begin to distort her little personality by unconsciously developing a bitterness towards white people”, King shows readers that segregation is even affecting little children, that it is starting to build up a young girls character and is contributing to the child developing hatred “bitterness” towards the white Americans. King makes readers imagine a black cloud settling in a young girls brain mentally, when instead she should have an image of a colorful blue sky with a rainbow, isn’t that suppose to be part of a 6 year-old’s imagination? King gives readers an image of destruction civil disobedience had created in the black community, especially in the young innocent little children.
Race has been a dominant, defining factor in both the 20th and 21st centuries. It has been a reason for missed job opportunities, unequal treatment, harassment, and even murder. In today’s society, race discrimination is still having a heavy effect on the lives of individuals with different colors of skin. Although some progress has been made, the treatment of different races can be brutal still today. There are stories featured in the news everyday about the mistreatment of an African American or the stereotypical harassment of a hispanic person. What has improved, is the way society is handling these relations and discriminations of race. This improvement is clear when you compare the treatment of the victim in the 1930’s
“The scars and stains of racism are still deeply embedded in the American society.” US Representative, John Lewis said this in his return to the steps of the Lincoln Memorial he spoke on 54 years ago, during the March on Washington. Racism has been around since the beginning of time, but it is not human nature. Racism is something that is taught, and given the amount of time that has passed since To Kill A Mockingbird and the March on Washington, one would think that racism wouldn’t be a serious issue any more. Although race relations have improved along with other social issues from the time of To Kill Mockingbird, racism and discrimination are major problems in today’s society.
Angie Thomas’ novel The Hate U Give is the story of a teenage girl facing racism in the world around her. Starr Carter lives in Garden Heights, a neighborhood filled with gangs, when one of her best friends Khalil is shot by the police, she is quick to know he had been killed because of the racism that exists in our world. Throughout the novel, Starr is constantly trying to show the world why Khalil died in order to get justice for his death. She does not believe he deserved to die or the cop who shot Khalil deserves to walk free of the crime he committed. Through different characters, the author is able to convey the message of one should not form opinions on someone or something based on stereotypes. Throughout the novel, some characters struggle with judging people before they know their past. Angie Thomas is able to get this across to readers not only through Starr, but also characters such as her father Maverick, her friends from school, and even Officer Cruise, the officer who killed Khalil.
Despite changes in the landscape for treatment of ethnic minorities in the United States over the past 200 years, issues with racism has never stopped being an issue and continues to tarnish and tatter the very fabric of our nation. There has been a history of violence against Black people that dates back 400 years, to a time when the first slave was forcefully brought here to the USA (Rogers, 2015). From that time on, people of African descent have been dehumanized and treated as second-class citizens and this has become an ongoing community issue (Diversi, 2016). Racial classification was created as a way to condone slavery and maintain the primacy of the white race (Tolliver, Hadden, Snowden, & Manning, 2016). Aymer (2016) explains that the Critical Race Theory (CRT) provides a way to understand that the violence that Blacks face in America originates from the societal belief in White superiority and, when trying to understand the Black reality, centuries of racial oppression must be discussed (Aymer, 2016). CRT acknowledges that racism is primarily a problem in America and has contributed to the social disparities in the U.S. In addition, it notes other forms of oppression that are important to discuss and work through. CRT does not believe in the legal rhetoric that there is an impartial, equal way of dealing with individuals in the community that has nothing to do with color and everything to do with achievement and hard work. It also takes on an interdisciplinary
Racism and racial stereotypes have existed throughout human history. The radical belief associated by thinking the skin color, language, or a person’s nationality is the reason that someone is one way or another has become extremely detrimental to society. Throughout human existence it has sparked tension between groups of people and ultimately influenced wars and even caused slavery. Racism in America dates back to when Native Americans were often attacked, relocated, and assimilated into European culture. Since then, racism within the states has grown to include various other cultures as well. In the essays by Brent Staples, Bharati Mukherjee, and Manuel Munoz, they discuss the various causes as well as the effects that racial stereotyping can place on a victim and the stigma it leaves behind for the society to witness.
August 28, 1963 (Eidenmuller) marked a very important day in history that had an impact not only on America, but the whole world. On this day, Martin Luther King Jr. presented his well known I Have a Dream speech that aimed to eliminate racism, inequality and discrimination. He strongly believed that one day people would put their differences aside and come together. So, what happened to that dream? Along with other equality initiative ideas, they rarely make it past the idea stages or end in the actual eradication result. It is clear to us that even after 51 years, our societies still struggle with accepting full equality. Within those 51 years we have made a mass amount of progress but, a common thought would be that after this long the issue should have been eradicated. Two essays that can be used as an example of proof that racial inequality still exists in our society are, Black Men in Public Spaces by Brent Staples and Who Shot Johnny? by Debra Dickerson. In these essays, both provide solid evidence to support their main goal with the use of different writing styles, tone, and rhetorical devices to display how African Americans are perceived and treated by society.
Both racism and violence are large themes of not just, Just Walk on By: Black Men and Public Space, but also of America during the mid-1900’s. Unfortunately, there still exists the same themes in today’s world even though the population is becoming increasingly more educated. Hate and discrimination are taught evils, not innate ones, and in order to prevent the need for stories such as Brent Staples’ to be told, society as a whole must band together to eliminate the occurrence of such a destructive, devastating
Pop culture has enlightened and exposed the world to the good, the bad, and the ugly under every circumstance, and people tend to be more provoked, influenced, and intrigued by the bad and the ugly rather than the good. One topic of pop culture that never fails to gain attention is violence in its many forms. While at a state of constant social change and adaptation, the population finds more and more disagreements on the ever-changing and conflicting views and beliefs of each individual, which can lead to violence in some, if not most cases. Hate crimes are crimes or actions motivated by certain disagreements among groups that typically involve some form of violence. This essay will discuss the violence in racial hate crimes against African Americans, because the violence in these hate crimes, both past and present, will help educate individuals about different racial perspectives on the claimed “unfair” or “unequal” treatment of the African American race compared to the treatment of whites in all aspects of society and life. In the United States, African Americans as a race haven been one of the main targets for violent racial and hate crimes. Racial violence and hate crimes against African Americans have been a part of the United States since the very beginning, with a spike in conflict around the 1960s era of the African American Civil Rights Movement, and are even portrayed now in current pop culture sources. Violence against African Americans in films like The Help (a
The feeling of being judged for the experiences an individual faces can be detrimental to the person 's personality by that these experiences result in you trying to become someone you are not so that you hide what society feels is your flaw, your race. Starr lives in two completely separate worlds, Garden Heights and the area surrounding Williamson High School. These two worlds hinders Starr’s ability to voice her opinions and thoughts about anything because in both of these areas there is this fear of overstepping boundaries. Overstepping boundaries in either area causes an individual to become threatened, for example, in Garden Heights, Starr silences herself whenever she is around gang members because she is frightened that the gang members will harm both her and her family for her opinions. Starr silences herself when she is at Williamson High School, especially since she is one out of the few African Americans that attends there, because her opinion is outnumbered by the majority of the population who are either ignorant about the issues that affects Starr’s race or cares less to even hear issues that occurs to others beside them.