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Black History Month is a time of celebration, when we honor the amazing people of the Black community that have shaped our history, inspired our culture, and fought for many of the civil rights we now have. However, to me, the most important part of Black History Month is recognizing that the journey toward justice and equality is not over, and it’s something we should continue to fight for. And part of my fight is protecting banned books that highlight Black history and racial discrimination.
My interest in banned books is how I discovered Angie Thomas’s novel The Hate U Give. I have always loved reading stories that I could relate to real life (hence why I am now getting a degree in English literature), and learning that the novel was inspired by the real-life Black Lives Matter movement brought me to my local library to check it out. The novel follows Starr, a teenage girl from a poor neighborhood who witnesses the unprovoked and fatal shooting of her best friend Khalil. Khalil’s death sparks national outrage, with many people taking to the streets in honor of his name at protests, and some channeling their feelings through riots. Meanwhile, others speak ill on Khalil’s name, calling him a “thug.” While there is plenty of speculation, no one in the novel knows what really happened the night Khalil was shot except for Starr, and throughout the novel, she has to deal with her trauma while also deciding if she should share her — and Khalil’s — story.Â
This novel has received numerous awards and honors — and even inspired a wildly popular movie of the same name — but it’s also been the source of major controversy. As early as 2018, just a year after it was published, it started getting banned in public schools across the country, primarily for its usage of profanity and violence throughout the novel. But, more concerningly, some have called for its banning due to its supposed “anti-police” message, which, like many other books on the banned books list, some governments and school boards consider to be “indoctrination” for kids.
The Hate U Give
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While The Hate U Give has been on banned books lists for years, it feels more imperative than ever to champion this book and spread its messages now. As programs like DEI and concepts like critical race theory are under attack in schools across the country, to ban it only further normalizes the bigotry, polarization, and hatred that many feel is taking over this country.
The Hate U Give teaches powerful lessons that are imperative for people — especially young people — to learn. The novel tells a powerful story about the oppression and police violence toward Black people, a story illustrating the Black struggle in a society that silences Black voices — a story that, to too many Black people in this country, feels not just possible, but familiar. Making this book available to students helps them learn about the realities of racial discrimination and unjust violence. Encouraging them to discuss the book with their peers in a safe, academic setting helps foster understanding and empathy, opening their eyes to the reality that exists right now, all around them.Â
The fact is, those who are so against The Hate U Give are the ones who need to read it the most. That’s because the book doesn’t just show how police brutality toward the Black community is a serious issue, but it also illustrates how the victims of police brutality should not be limited to statistics in a news article. They are humans with real stories behind them — not just fictional stories like Khalil’s, but real, tragic stories like those of Trayvon Martin. Breonna Taylor. George Floyd. Tyre Nichols. Andre Hill. Stories like The Hate U Give remind us these people have stories and they need to be told to the world, so that hopefully there are fewer stories like this in future generations.