White privilege

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas also explores the theme of white privilege.

This theme is especially explored through the characters of Hailey and Chris, who both to some extent demonstrate white privilege, but who handle it in very different ways.

Hailey is an example of a person who is unaware of her white privilege, and who is unwilling or unable to change her views. Despite making racist comments to both Starr and Maya, she never admits to having been wrong and becomes furious when someone even hints that they are accusing her of racism. Her interpretation of Khalil’s case is also coloured by her negative stereotypes of African Americans. This leads her to sympathize with One-Fifteen and his family (Chapter 14, 46%), while mentalling labelling Khalil as a hardened criminal who would have been shot sooner or later (Chapter 20, 75%). 

In contrast, while Chris also makes some blunders when he fails to understand Starr’s African-American experience, he has an open mind...