"It's Dope to be Black Until It's Hard to be Black"

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    Throughout the novel, "The Hate U Give," we see extensive evidence of racism, stereotypes, and of course code switching. As the story progresses, we see how Khalil's untimely death affects Starr and really opens her eyes to the sad reality of many black people today. But even before this incident, we can already see Starr doing things like code-switching being conscious about how she acts around her white friends.  
     At the very beginning of the novel, Starr arrives at Big D's party in Garden Heights and immediately feels out of place. She starts to realize just how split her life really is. She feels as if she is already cool at Williamson just because she is black, but at Garden Heights, that's not the case at all, "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. Funny how it works with white kids though. It's dope to be black until it's hard to be black" (Thomas 11). 
    On Starr's first day back at school after Khalil's death, we see that she is now, more than ever, really watching what she says and how she acts. She is careful not to use any slang so she doesn't seem "ghetto" and expresses her frustration with the double standard around slang. When white people use it, it makes them look cool, but when black people use it, it is seen as "ghetto" or unprofessional, "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 nonconfrontational. Basically, Williamson Starr doesn't give anyone a reason to call her ghetto"(Thomas 71). Overall, this novel does a phenomenal job of capturing the struggles and tribulations that black people are still facing today. 

Comments

  1. Bekah LongSeptember 17, 2021 at 8:03 PM

    I agree that the book did a great job of depicting Starr's struggles along with people around her. It highlights that we are all going through some struggle and the comradery that the characters exhibit is a great example to adolescents.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Bailey DuncanSeptember 17, 2021 at 8:10 PM

    I too agree that the book did so good at showing the struggles Starr and those around her were facing. It is crazy yet fascinating how blind we can be towards a situation or even a person until something opens up our tunnel vision and we see what is really going on.

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