MCS Final Paper - This essay was about TheHate U Give & Central Park Five PDF

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This essay was about TheHate U Give & Central Park Five...

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Ruth Fleurimond MCS 5/11/20 The Hate U Give The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas highlights key factors in today’s society to show; Racism is still relevant, discrimination is an issue that needs to be talked about more, how violence and racial tension can escalate situations, and the miscarriage of justice. Starr Carter is fighting a battle between two worlds; the poor, mostly black neighborhood where she lives and the wealthy, mostly white prep school that she attends. The balance between these worlds was shattered when she witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend at the hands of a police officer. Facing pressure from different angles, Starr must find her voice and decide to stand up for what's right. By using main ideas such as identity, being black in a white world, cyclical nature of racialized poverty, stereotypes against black people, healing, and speaking the truth to emphasize the key factors of society today from a minorities standpoint.” The idea of identity and blackness is a theme that comes up constantly in the Hate U Give. This story shows Starr exploring her relationship between race and identity and how she struggles to find her way. Starr has one side of her, the black side, and she struggles to navigate this primarily black world of Garden Heights with a mix of the primarily white world of Williamson Prep. Starr feels pulled between her Garden Heights self and her Williamson Prep self. Starr’s parents feel as if she should have the opportunity of going to Williamson Prep because they want her to go somewhere in life. Williamson Prep is a place where she’s unique just because of how she looks. Nobody says it but she notices and feels it all the time. In Garden Heights Starr has friends and family that are the same as her, in looks, similar experiences, etc. Starr went to a party in Garden Heights with Kenya, Starr’s friend from Garden Heights and Seven’s half-sister through Iesha, she isn’t unique; she's just another black girl with nice shoes. The party scene isn’t her thing so she thinks “As long as I play it cool and keep to myself, I should be fine. The ironic thing is though, at Williamson I don't have to “play it cool” — I’m cool by default because I'm one of the only black kids there. I

have to earn coolness in Garden Heights, and that's more difficult than buying retro Jordans on release day.” Her blackness in Garden Heights is defined by the type of Jordan’s she wears and in Williamson Prep her blackness is defined by how she acts around others, her mannerisms, the way she speaks, and how much money she has. She feels unique but It's “Funny how it works with white kids though. It's dope to be black until it's hard to be black.” Starr is grateful for being able to be in Williamson Prep but she also finds herself switching her speech, mannerisms, and behaviors to fit whichever circumstance she finds herself in. When someone lives two lives that are not only different but separated and hidden from one another it causes conflict. In society today there’s different experiences when being black in a predominantly white area. Most experiences, we dealt with or are still dealing with blatant racism. The “Oh my gosh, your hair is so different, I want to touch it”, and the “clenching of items in elevators” like we have the intention of stealing things, and the constant stares being in a white room like we aren’t meant to be. But to live in a world like we live in today we are told to “speak white” and wear something that won’t be too much because our skin stands out already. Starr deals with it in school because “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.” Williamson Starr is approachable. No stank-eyes, side-eyes, none of that. Williamson Starr is non confrontational. Basically, Williamson Starr doesn't give anyone a reason to call her ghetto.” We know we’re different. Starr, myself, and probably every other black person had to switch their speech, mannerisms, and behaviors to fit certain circumstances. During the party, Starr’s circumstance was different so she had to act differently. While she was standing on the wall in the cloud of smoke, she came across an old friend, Khalil. They were childhood best friends. They were catching up when there were gunshots. They ran together and he was driving her home so she could be safe. Later that night, they got stopped by a white cop, they didn’t know why. But regardless of why, Khalil got shot for his hairbrush being mistaken for a gun. That night, Khalil dies in her arms. She keeps repeating the cops badge number, One-Fifteen. The media portrays him as a caring father and good police officer, One-

Fifteen lies to his colleagues about the events of the night of Khalil’s death. The question in Starr’s mind throughout the story is, “Will Khalil get justice?” In today’s society, shootings of unarmed black men and women have gone to alarming rates. Protests and hashtags flood social media and the home of communities of loved ones who died. Many cases go without justice being served. Hailey Grant - Starr’s friend from Williamson Prep, a wealthy, white teenage girl who feels uncomfortable when confronted with the racism affecting Starr’s life. In the past, Hailey expected Starr and Maya to go along with her dictates, and finds Starr’s new outspokenness threatening. After Khalil’s shooting, Starr is reluctant to speak about his death for fear that her friends, Hailey and Maya, and boyfriend, Chris, will not understand everything that happens in her Garden Heights world. They don’t know the reality of things in Garden Heights and Starr tried to keep it this way. Starr feels simultaneously “too black” to talk about Khalil’s life and death with her school peers, but “too white” at home to stand up for Khalil, especially after Kenya accuses Starr of acting like a white person who thinks herself better than her neighbors. Star's parents and family try to help guide her to find out who she should be and what she should do. Starr’s identity also conflicts when it comes to her father figures in her life, Maverick and Uncle Carlos, who have different perspectives on authentic blackness. Maverick is Starr, Seven, and Sekani’s father. He is an outspoken and philosophical man who runs a small grocery store in Garden Heights. Maverick has a dark past as a member of the King Lords gang and some time in prison. Maverick takes time with his family and helps out the community. Maverick inspires Starr by educating her on Black Power philosophy. He believes in Malcolm X. He preached black liberation by any means necessary. The Black Panther Party was a political movement founded in 1966 by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale. They also fought for black liberation and organized community programs. Maverick also refuses to move his family from Garden Heights to a safer neighborhood—he believes they should change their community from the inside. Maverick's strong beliefs often get him into arguments with Uncle Carlos, who helped care for Maverick’s children while Maverick was in prison. Uncle Carlos, with his job as a police officer and has a house in a gated community. I believe that he represents assimilation into white culture. Uncle Carlos believes that he can support black communities by

using white organizations like the police force to combat gang violence. The constant argument between Maverick and Uncle Carlos highlights how difficult it is for Starr to reconcile her two worlds and find a way to honor her whole self. Maverick demands change and Uncle Carlos bargains change. Starr sees this and tries to figure out what way she should go. Mavericks' way of dealing with things usually ends up with violence and protests but brings the community together in a powerful way and Carlos’ way usually ends in peace but it’s quiet and it’s most likely gonna be pushed under the rug. We’ve seen many movements emerge in this day in age to protest black lives. The biggest protest would be the Black Lives Matter. Yes this is a movement but it becomes very much a lifestyle when you truly believe in justice for black men and women who lost their lives or been put in a system where they can’t get out of. Throughout this whole process, Starr thinks back to how this all started and what she learned when she was little from her father. Her father told her “Starr, you do whatever they tell you to do," he said. "Keep your hands visible. Don't make any sudden moves. Only speak when they speak to you. I knew it must've been serious. Daddy has the biggest mouth of anybody I know, and if he said to be quiet, I needed to be quiet.” This was a very important part of the book. This shows that Maverick has to put this in Starr’s mind at a young age; He had to teach her how to behave when approached or stopped by a black cop because even though she was young it was reality. What Starr learned was the cyclical nature of racialized poverty. They explain it throughout the idea of Tupac’s T.H.U.G L.I.F.E. That acronym stands for 'The Hate U Give Little Infants Fucks Everyone'.Tupac explains how widespread racism keeps black communities from the opportunities and resources needed for financial prosperity, poverty is a system that feeds on itself, and it all affects generations of black families. This cycle has trapped Maverick, and Khalil because they cannot escape poverty without relying on the drug trade. Maverick joined a gang to create a sense of security. DeVante, a friend of Kenya’s, explains to Starr that Khalil felt pressured to provide for his family and couldn’t find a better choice but to sell drugs. Khalil sold drugs to pay off his mother’s debt. We see how this cycle is hard to break because black communities, like Garden Heights, do not have the best access to resources such as education, employment, and protection from

police brutality. This idea is too relevant in the world. An example of this is Central Park Five. On April 20, 1989, Trisha Meili’s body was discovered in Central Park. Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Raymond Santana, Korey Wise, and Yusef Salaam confess to her rape due to force, beating after many hours of aggressive interrogation at the hands, and not getting lawyers or talking to their parents. The five serve their complete sentences, between 6 and 13 years, before another man, serial rapist Matias Reyes, admits to the crime, and DNA testing supports his confession.The Central Park Fives living situations were very similar. It definitely compares to the descriptions of living in NYC at the time. It was a fast growing, poor area, with single mothers. Most boys their age were mostly innocent until the drugs, poverty, justice system, etc, got to them. The description of the people of these races shows prejudices throughout the story. Not only were the Central Park Five treated like criminals before anything happened but they were called animals, thugs, and hooligans when they were just kids. All the suspects couldn’t even afford good legal defense. The judge was picked against their favor. The judge was notorious for choosing the state every ruling. So they were guilty in their eyes. This is an example of that cycle. They were in the system and they lost 6-12 years because they were forced to confess. They lived in a place where it was easy to manipulate kids because of the lack of education, need for financial prosperity, and poverty in a system that feeds on itself. The Central Park Five spoke up about how they were treated and it wasn’t easy. Starr thought that “I’ve seen it happen over and over again: a black person gets killed just for being black, and all hell breaks loose. I’ve Tweeted RIP hashtags, reblogged pictures on Tumblr, and signed every petition out there. I always said that if I saw it happen to somebody, I would have the loudest voice, making sure the world knew what went down. Now I am that person, and I’m too afraid to speak.” Starr was afraid but she realized she had to speak up not only for Khalil but the next black life. Starr stood up to her friend Hailey Grant from Williamson Prep, a wealthy, white teenage girl who feels uncomfortable when confronted with the racism affecting Starr’s life and finds Starr’s new outspokenness threatening. She was racist but ignorant about it but Starr spoke out and showed her that every black person isn't dangerous. Then Starr says loudly and publicly at a protest, “Khalil lived!” She shows Khalil's humanity and that his life had value. At that moment she stood up and found her voice. DeVante says

that if she can face the police with only her voice as a weapon, he can use his voice as a weapon too. She inspires others to stand up and stand out for justice and try to break the cycle. Starr stands up and tells the grand jury what happens. After this Starr vows that she will not give up on fighting for a better ending. She names several real-life victims of police violence and Emmett Till. She believes that change will come because people will keep fighting and refusing to forget. She vows to Khalil that she will never forget and never give up. I’ve learned many lessons on how racism is still relevant, discrimination is an issue that needs to be talked about more, how violence and racial tension can escalate situations, and the miscarriage of justice. We’re this countless times. The unjustified killings and the systematic process of keeping the minorities from evolving and having more power. All these instances we hear from, Khalil in the book, to Emmett Till, and recently Ahmaud Arbery in real life society. We need to stand up and speak for everyone whose life was lost and teach the young kids and this so they aren’t oblivious about the world around them. The cycle must be broken....