Whole Class: The Hate U Give Discussions

I’m about halfway through the novel but there have already been more times than I can remember off the top of my head that this conversation has in some way been applicable to Starr’s life. Of course, the first time we hear about “the talk” is when Khalil is pulled over by a cop, and she fervently hopes that he was told everything she was. Even before Khalil gets shot, Starr’s mind is trying is going over everything her parents told her and trying to take in information like the officer’s badge and face in case the situation turns bad.
It’s clear that the police are a force of fear for Starr’s family, and even the parts of the novel that aren’t centered on Khalil’s murder demonstrate the impact this fear has on them. One of the most suspenseful moments in the novel was simply when a police car pulled alongside Seven in a multi-lane road. Though the police had no interest in Seven at that moment, the fear of both Starr and Seven was tangible because they knew that Seven was exactly the kind of person the police could pull over and kill for no reason at all, and that even if they followed the rules their parent taught them, they could die. Another terrifying moment in the novel is when Starr’s father and Mr. Lewis are stopped by the police for having an argument, and though both of them follow the rules Starr was taught exactly— immediately being calm, showing their hands, not making sudden moves, etc— Starr’s dad is still forced to the ground and it seems he could be killed any instant.
These moments in the novel make it clear that the talk Starr’s parents had with her was a necessity to keep her alive. It’s an awful reality that while Starr’s mom thought 12 was too young for the talk about police, Sekani receives the talk at 8 because it’s become clear that the consequences are very real and deadly. Throughout the novel, we feel that Starr and her family are constantly in danger, and this talk was given to them in the hopes that it would increase their chances of survival. The fact that any family must teach their children how to survive encounters with authority figures is horrifying, but this novel demonstrates again and again how real the situation is.

After finishing the Novel "The Hate U Give" written by Angie Thomas, I also found it alarming that Starr had almost every interaction with cops memorized and was reciting the best course of action in her head, planted there long ago by her parents at age 12.

As soon as the police sirens go off behind Khalil's vehicle, Starr immediately remembers the two "talks" she was given by her parents. The first was the regular birds and the bee's business, but the second was what to do if she ever was stopped by a police officer. Personally I find this super sad and irritating that young racial minorities need to learn to fear cops and how to best interact with them, as if Starr is actually the grown educated individual and the cop is some animal that needs to be dealt with lightly. As a society, it's horrendous to see just how badly police officers that are supposed to be protecting us, are doing just the opposite.

Another example of Starr's must-have knowledge regarding law enforcement happened when her father, Big Mav, got tangled up with two officers in front of his store. While having an innocent conversation with the man next door, two police officers drove up and proceeded to make Big Mav lay on the ground. I honestly thought on some level that the police were going to shoot him as well. In my opinion, the only reason why the situation did not escalate further was due to all the witnesses on the street. If it had been a dark night with no witnesses, like when Khalil was murdered, I have no doubt that Big Mav may not have lived to tell the tale. I also find it disgusting that the police did this to a grown man while his children, as young as 9, stood watching on the sidelines. It makes you wonder what type of reputation the cops in the Garden are trying to have on the population. Further, after this encounter, Big Mav had the cop talk with Sekani, his youngest child at the age of just 9.

Additionally, near the ending of the book when Starr, Seven, Chris, and DeVante and trying to get into the Garden, they keep being re-routed due to police check stops and road blocks. I also find this awful. The characters should not feel the need to turn around to avoid the police. Once the police check their Driver License and see their address, it is the law to allow the kids through the police stop and into the community as that is their permanent residence. The fact that the characters are so scared of police reaction and brutality that it takes them four times as long to enter the Garden is absurd.

Finally, Starr continuously has nightmares during the book in regard to the night Khalil was killed and officer 115. In my opinion Starr may even think that if Khalil had acted how her parents had taught her to act, the way she was thinking the entire time the situation was happening, Khalil may not have been killed. Of course, it was the cops fault and Starr clearly knows that, but I cannot help but think that Starr is thinking this on some level. This is also sad. It moves the narrative into victim blaming which should definitely not be happening in this case.

In conclusion, the fact that young racial minorities need to be taught to fear police in this day and age is terrible. Police, as an organization, are there to protect and serve the public, not to install fear in entire communities and murder innocent people. Until a time comes when children as young as 9 can believe the police are a good aspect to society, we as a nation are failing. Police need longer training programs. They need better background checks, and they require clearer and more effective punishments when they do wrong.

The “cop talk” is brought up again and again throughout the novel. It is something that has stuck with Starr, and horrifyingly seems necessary to her survival. We first see her rehearsing how her behaviour should be around police officers when her and Khalil are pulled over. She retells that she had to have this talk with her parents at only 12 years old. No sudden moves, hands visible, only speak when you are spoken to. We see Khalil break these “rules”, and that results in his death. It is so alarming how these small ways of acting can result in your death if you are a POC. One of the things Starr's father tells her is to always look for the officer’s badge number, and this is reinforced through the novel as she solely refers to the officer as one- fifteen. These “rules” are brought up again when she must give her statement to police, and when the police are doing a road check on her mom, even though she is in a calm and supposedly safe setting during these, she still, almost as if it is second nature, rehearses these behaviours. They are brought up as well when her and Seven are at a red light beside cops and feel the need to stay still and turn their music down. Sekani does not understand at this point in the novel, but heartbreakingly has to have his own talk at only 8 with his parents. As a child, these horrifying realities needed to be described to him, for his own safety.

The scariest part of this is these “cop talks” are not fiction. These are real talks that POC parents are forced to have with their children. It is almost to me as if Black children must grow up faster. When I was 12, I don’t know if there were any major forms of discrimination, I was even aware of in the world, at least not to a large extent, and certainly not any that affected me personally. The fact that it is necessary to teach this fear of law enforcement and truth of racism to Black children before they are even teenagers, makes them face the sad reality of the world long before white children do, if they ever do. It is not something I will ever have to worry about for myself, or my children in the future, and my heart breaks for the parents who have to have this talk. I too, am shocked by my own white privilege. My little happiness bubble of the world being perfect was not burst until I was much older than 12, and some white people’s bubbles are never burst. This is because as white people, we have the OPTION to IGNORE the discrimination if we want to, and it is easier to do so. Black people are forced to confront it, because it is their lives, every day. And beyond that, they are forced to confront it as children. It is heartbreaking.

Also side note: Just because it is easier to ignore racism as white people certainly does NOT mean we should, if Black people have no possible way to ignore it, then we shouldn't ignore it either. It is a privilege to be able to pay no attention to racism.

The talk she received from her parents at a young age clearly made her fearful whenever passing a cop. She was taught to keep her hand on the dashboard, answer each of their questions politely, make no sudden movements and to tell them exactly what you're doing and where you're reaching when asked to get out ID and registration. When her and Khalil get pulled over she tries to do everything right, and tries to get Khalil to follow through. Although he doesn't do everything perfectly he is still acting no differently then a person should when getting pulled over. Seeing that nothing was done wrong and even her rules when it comes to cops didn't work and still got her friend murdered and a gun pointed at herself. From then on whenever her family passes through a roadblock or the cops approach her father on the street you can see the fear. The talk never leaves her mind yet she is still scared even when she does everything right now that she has seen the extent of police brutality. She is aware that this is nothing her friends or boyfriend at Williamson would ever have to worry about.

At the beginning of chapter two, Starr recounts how when she turned twelve she was given the talk about what to do if she was ever stopped by a police officer. She was told “keep your hands visible. Don’t make any sudden moves. Only speak when they speak to you” (20). Further, Starr explains that she knew this conversation was serious as “Daddy has the biggest mouth of anybody I know, and if he said to be quiet, I needed to be quiet” (20). From a young age, it was engrained in her mind to fear cops and to follow the instructions given by her parents to limit her chance of being victimized at the hands of a police officer. Police are supposed to protect the public and to be the first people to respond when an issue arises however, for racial minorities, that is often not the case. It is equally heartbreaking and horrifying that from a young age, racial minorities are taught to fear the police. No child should have to grow up knowing that at any moment, their loved ones or themselves could be killed by those who are supposed to protect them. No one should have to fear for their life because of the colour of their skin.
In chapter eleven, when Maverick and Mr. Lewis are arguing, a police patrol car shows up and confronts them, while Starr observes. She notices that the police officers hands “linger too close to the guns at their waists” and that her fathers hands that were once in his pockets are “visible at his sides” (191). After Mr. Lewis responds to the officers when asked what is going on, Starr notes that “his parents must’ve had the talk with him when he was twelve” as his voice was “much softer than [it was] minutes ago” (191). Following this, Maverick is held on the ground and searched by the officers before being let go. While Maverick was able to get away, he very easily could have been killed, simply for the colour of his skin. I found it particularly chilling that the first thing that Starr is forced to notice is that the police officers hands are close to their guns, and that Maverick and Mr. Lewis are following the "instructions" from the cop talk.

Throughout the novel, Starr’s experiences help to depict a heartbreaking reality that people of colour are forced to face everyday. It is evident both in the novel, and in real-life that police reform is needed. While the stories in the novel may be fictitious, the issue surrounding police brutality and systemic racism is far from fiction. Change must be made so that no child has to grow up and learn how to act when stopped by a cop, so that they do not fear for their life around those who are supposed to protect them, and so that their loved ones, or themselves, do not fall victim to police brutality.

This part of the book hit home for me, my parents gave me and my sister and brothers this talk. It was the first serious conversations parent had with us and in a sense it strips from your innocence because you start to live in fear.

It was a random Wednesday night and my dad didn't come back from work that day my mom was in a panic and called everyone she knew and nobody seemed to have the answers to my fathers whereabouts. The next morning my father came back home. That random Wednesday night my father got pulled over because he was racially profiled (they had mistaken him for another black man who had a criminal record) He had to spend the night he jail because he couldn't 'properly' articulate the misunderstanding (my father has an African accent people to discredit him or grow impatient when they notice his foreign accent ) .

After this incident my father talk to my siblings and I about how to walk in a store, how to act around an officer, what to wear when shopping, how it was dangerous to have a bookbag in a store, how to code switch etc...
I was 9 years old my siblings were a bit younger or around that age, later on, my father would give us that lecture every year, we heard it so often we got to a point were we knew it by heart we knew it better than any cartoon or any song.
In the book Starr states that "The other talk was about what to do if a cop stopped me. Momma fussed and told Daddy I was too young for that. He argued that I wasn't too you to get arrested or shot" I feel like that's the same perspective my father had in mind we he first gave us the talk it. Later on in the book Starr is questioned by a few officers about the incident with Khalil. After the interview she felt as if there wasn't going to be justice for the death of Khalil, She used the advice from her fathers 'cop talk' to answer the questions carefully and calmly she says to herself "Keep your hands visible. No sudden moves. Only speak when spoken to" When she interacts with officer she in more self aware of her movements, body language ,her words etc.. I can relate in a sense that the 'cop advice' is a tool I often use and know by heart my younger brother whose 15 lives by my father advice he also more paranoid and self conscience around officers.
I feel like because I can relate to the book it makes it heavier to read, Starr's experience represents the struggles (racism, oppressions, police brutality) that many people from the black community have faced and or are still facing.