For Black History Month, we wanted to highlight an author who has been routinely censored for her novel’s accurate and painful depictions of racism and police violence. ‘The Hate U Give’, the debut novel by Angie Thomas focuses on a 16-year-old black girl named Starr who watches a friend be killed by the police in what should have been a routine traffic stop, and struggles with his death as well as her own identity as her neighborhood becomes embroiled in the case against the officer who murdered her friend.

This story, published in 2017, hit home to the very real struggles that marginalized individuals have to face from the police force on a regular basis. This most famously became national news with the murder of George Floyd in 2020, and the outspoken protests by the Black Lives Matter organization.

The book not only dives into race, but also grief and the struggle to fight for what is right when all the odds are against you. It shows the very real experience of many high school kids around the country who have lost friends and loved ones to violence and are left to pick up the pieces.

It also hits on the process of code switching, when a person will change their language and mannerisms in different situations to better blend in, such as the moments when Starr is at home in her predominantly-black neighborhood versus when she is at her predominantly-white prep school. Code switching is used by many marginalized groups when they are around large populations of folks that are not like themselves to be able to blend in and stay safe.

‘The Hate U Give’ is a very raw, and deeply emotional novel that forces readers to confront the very real fact that racism is still a major problem in this country and that we all need to fight together to stop it, no matter who we are. If even a 16-year-old is willing to step up, we all should be.