Angie Thomas' The Hate U Give is a national bestseller about African American 16-year-old Starr Carter. Starr lives in Garden Heights, a predominantly poor black neighborhood while she attends a predominantly white private school, Williamson Prep. During Spring Break, she attends a party in her neighborhood where a fight breaks out. Gunshots are fired. She leaves the party with her childhood best friend, Khalil and on their way home, they were pulled over. What was supposed to be a routine traffic stop turned into Khalil being murdered by a police officer.
The Hate U Give is critically acclaimed for its discussion of police brutality in the African American community. Thomas has written a thought provoking novel that has shone a much needed light on the issue. However, in doing this Multi-Genre Project (MGP), I have chosen to focus on the identity of Starr because it has resonated with my own identity.
Throughout the novel, Starr struggles to talk about her experience because of the contrasting worlds that she lives in. Eventually, she learns to find her voice, as it is her strongest weapon.
Thomas' novel gives a beautiful perspective on code switching. Code switching is the switching between multiple identities based on social context.Code switching can deal with external features like a person's language, clothing, and hairstyle choices but also deals with internal struggles between each identity. Throughout this project, you will find pieces that illustrate these struggles.
Upon researching the role of the African American female in today's society, I came across the National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA) summary of Black women in America. The NDWA stated, "Black women consistently work for a better country, but our country is not working for them." This quote fueled my passion for this project. As a Black woman, I was disheartened to learn all of the ways that even in 2018 (the time of completing this project), Black women are still held back.
Living as a Black woman in America, I was aware of these micro and macro aggressions, but in reflecting and researching about these issues, I became empowered to write these pieces. This MGP was inspired by my experiences, The Hate U Give, and Zora Neale Hurston's "How It Feels To Be Colored Me."
The theme of this project is self-discovery and the common element among each piece is the conflicting perspectives of an African American woman who often has to code switch. These pieces also include pieces of advice and affirmations that I wish I had believed as a child.
Dear Reader, as you read this project, it is important to note that the term African American woman and Black girl are interchangeable in this context. Please also understand that the term "Black Girl" is a term in the African American community that celebrates and empowers women of color.
The purpose of this project is to heal, validate, and inform about the beauty of being a Black woman in America.
This project serves to honor Starr’s voice as I use my own. To mirror Starr’s experience from being an uncertain teenaged girl to a powerful activist, pieces in this MGP ponder in uncertainty at times and speak of the power of a Black woman.
Completing this project is the first time I have ever had a medium to voice my frustrations, ponder on my future, and navigate a world that I’ve been surrounded by since I was a child. Writing this project became therapeutic. It has validated my experiences and has provided me a place to reflect and begin to heal from traumas that I wasn’t aware of.