Have you ever been blamed for something you didn’t do? Don’t you wish you were given a chance? Some people die because they are never given that chance. The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas, brings a strong message to readers about injustice towards black people.

In the beginning of The Hate U Give, Angie Thomas uses Khalil’s death to introduce the theme, everyone has a story, and every life matters, to readers. Khalil and Starr are a party. Khail drives Starr home. As they are driving, an officer pulls them over. Khalil and Starr are innocent. The officer claims they have a broken taillight. Starr sits in the car, paralyzed with fear. Khalil turns to his best friend to ask how she is. The police officer sees a black hairbrush in the car and thinks Khalil is reaching for a gun. He shoots Khalil.  “Pow! One. Khalil’s body jerks. Blood splatters from his back. Pow! Two Khalil gasps. Pow! Three. Khalil looks at me, stunned. He falls to the ground. (Thomas 23) Khalil never got a chance to clarify his actions. The officer acted impulsively and that led to Khalil’s death. Some readers may argue that  the officer just wanted to protect himself. However, this book is about the misconceptions and assumptions about black people. “I blink through my tears. Officer One-Fifteen yells at me, pointing the same gun he killed my friend with. I put my hands up.” (Thomas 24) This quotes shows that the cop is also afraid of Starr even though she is unarmed. This proves that the police officer is making assumptions about Starr and Khalil because of their race. She is crying, but her hands are up in the air. Starr is traumatized. She feels responsible for Khalil’s death. Starr thinks about his two sisters who are young and unable to care for themselves. Starr remembers Khalil from long ago. They were best friends but he grew up too quickly.

Angie Thomas uses Starr’s inner dialogue to show that everyone’s life matters. Starr loves her uncle. He is a cop, risking his life to protect the country. Starr is grateful to the police but also cautious and respectful. When Starr is questioned, she is not angry. She is hurt and tired of people being scared of black people. She wants society to be accepting and loving towards everybody. “My uncle’s a cop. I know not all cops are bad. And they risk their lives, you know? I’m always scared for my uncle. But I’m tired of them assuming. Especially when it comes to black people.” (Page 289) This shows that she has mixed emotions about the police. Police officers bravely serve the country and sacrifice themselves to help other people. Officers deserve respect and gratitude. However, sometimes there are race-related shootings. People of every color deserve a chance to be heard. “… what will that make me? The thug ghetto girl with the drug dealer? What will my teachers think about me? My friends?” (Thomas 113) Starr is torn between defending her best friend and keeping her facade. She hates that people are so quick to accuse black people to justify their actions. She knows that people will judge her if she tells Hailey she was friends with Khalil. So instead, she denies their friendship. It is a huge moment when Starr tells them she doesn’t know him. This shows readers that Starr doesn’t want people to think of her as a poor, criminal, black girl. It is saddening how accurate her thinking is because of today’s society.

The author uses this scene to show how Starr’s childhood was changed because police officers didn’t think that Natasha’s life mattered. When Starr was ten years old, she and her best friend, Natasha were playing in the water from a sprinkler. It was a hot summer day and the two children ran through the cool water, laughing. Suddenly screaming sirens filled the air. Police cars drove past in a blur. Gunshots rang out. Natasha screamed and fell to the ground. Starr remembers kneeling over her best friend’s bleeding body and sobbing. “I’m ten again, watching Natasha drop.” (Thomas 56) This flashback shows readers Starr’s painful past. She has now lost both of her best friends to police shootings. “It was Natasha. Her blood mixed in with the water, and all you could see was a red river flowing down the street.” (Thomas 29) This is significant because it shows how unfair police systems have drastically and dramatically changed Starr’s life and shaped her personality – to be fearful of police.

To conclude, Angie Thomas uses different scenes and techniques to illustrate the theme of the story – every life is equally important. Each part from the book that I highlighted shows injustice towards Starr or her friends. Her inner dialogue shows how affected her life was after each death. This is significant because she wouldn’t have to deal with so much loss at a young age if police had known how much her friends’ lives mattered to her.