The Hate U Give (an acronym for “thug”) is a powerful book and movie centering on social justice for African Americans in the
United States. Throughout this movie, the population facing discrimination and unfair treatment is specifically African Americans. There are many characters within this movie that experience discrimination based on their race, class, and gender. The main character, Starr Carter, not only witnesses discrimination towards her family and friends throughout the movie, but also experiences it first hand many times. The entire movie is centered around a basic police traffic stop ending in the fatal shooting of Starr’s childhood friend Khalil.
We see examples of “othering”in the plot of the story when Star and Khalil get pulled over by a police officer late at night and the officer makes the assumption that Starr, a young Black woman, is a prostitute, and that hairbrush being picked up by Khalil, a young black man, is a gun. The officer, who is a white male, not from the neighborhood Starr and Khalil are from, made discriminatory assumptions about these children who did not fit his category of what high schoolers leaving a local party to go home for the night look like.
This movie shows the intersectionality of Starr, facing the realities of being a young women, Black, living in the hood, but also attending a wealthy private school. Real life examples of discrimination in her daily life are displayed through microagressions and racist comments. The ultimate theme of the movie relates to our module on “Can The Subaltern Speak” earlier in the semester. As news media and protests break out over the fatal shooting of Khalil, the nation seems to be split between communities of color and white people in power. As the decision to not even take the officer to trial is made, it brings up the question of whether these communities of color facing unjustified police killings will ever be heard, or will those in power continue to dismiss cases and protect its own.
I think that this was an extremely powerful movie that sends a message that will leave audiences reflecting on their own personal beliefs and behaviors. I think the author wants us to think about both side of stories like these and inspire conversation around power and injustice. For this movie to show the policing system through the lens of the African American community, white communities, and through the perspective of Starr’s uncle, a Black cop, can really challenge our thoughts, regardless of ones personal or political affiliations. 
You can turn on the news and see almost identical stories to this one weekly, which make it even more personal and relevant for us to challenge our ideas and fight for social change and justice for communities facing unjust treatment.