The Hate U Give

A) Watch the video and complete the first part of the worksheet

B) Read the text and complete the second part of the worksheet

I've seen it happen over and over again: a black person gets killed just for being black, and all hell breaks loose. I've tweeted RIP hashtags, reblogged pictures on Tumblr, and signed every petition out there. I always said that if I saw it happen to somebody, I would have the loudest voice, making sure the world knew what went down.

Now I am that person, and I'm too afraid to speak.

I wanna stay home and watch The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, my favorite show ever, hands down. I think I know every episode word for word. Yeah it's hilarious, but it's also like seeing parts of my life on screen. I even relate to the theme song. A couple of gang members who were up to no good made trouble in my neighborhood and killed Natasha. My parents got scared, and although they didn't send me to my aunt and uncle in a rich neighborhood, they sent me to a bougie private school1.

I just wish I could be myself at Williamson like Will was himself in Bel-Air.

I kinda wanna stay home so I can return Chris's calls too. After last night, it feels stupid to be mad at him. Or I could call Hailey and Maya, those girls Kenya claims don't count as my friends. I guess I can see why she says that. I never invite them over. Why would I? They live in mini-mansions2. My house is just mini.

I made the mistake of inviting them to a sleepover in seventh grade. Momma was gonna let us do our nails, stay up all night, and eat as much pizza as we wanted. It was gonna be as awesome as those weekends we had at Hailey's. The ones we still have sometimes. I invited Kenya too, so I could finally hang out with all three of them at once.

Hailey didn't come. Her dad didn't want her spending the night in “the ghetto.” I overheard my parents say that. Maya came but ended up asking her parents to come get her that night. There was a drive-by3 around the corner, and the gunshots scared her.

That's when I realized Williamson is one world and Garden Heights is another, and I have to keep them separate.

The Hate U Give, Angie Thomas, 2017

1 a rich school • 2 villa • 3 people shooting guns from a car