The Hate U Give

One of the more recent books to experience strong opposition and ban efforts is The Hate U Give. Following the death of her best friend at the hands of the police, Starr Carter sets out on a mission to abolish police violence against minorities in the United States. It's understandable that The Hate U Give is being resisted at every turn given the state of racial relations in the world today. There has been a fierce fight to keep this book out of the hands of children across all 50 states ever since it was published in 2017.

Black Lives Matter was an inspiration for author Angie Thomas. She talked about issues including social injustice, racism, classism, and police brutality. A few parents in Katy, Texas, raised concerns about Thomas's book in 2018, and the book was eventually taken out of the district's schools. Local parents and librarians were outraged, and eventually the book was returned to libraries but was only accessible to pupils with parental permission. The discussions of drug usage, sexuality, and racism were first prohibited.

A middle school in Springfield, Missouri, contested the book in 2019, and it was ultimately banned. The Fraternal Order of Police Tri-County Lodge #3 in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, fought to get the book removed from required reading lists at nearby high schools. Due to its racial overtones, many places wanted the book taken out of the classroom. We must cease what was described as "nearly an indoctrination of suspicion of police" in the case of the police.

The Hate U Give faced more criticism in 2021 for its ostensibly anti-police theme. This occurred following the George Floyd protests and a racial reckoning in the summer of 2020, after which the book experienced a surge in popularity and spent more than 190 weeks at the top of the New York Times bestseller list.

Author: Angie Thomas
Cover artist: Debra Cartwright
Country: United States
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Publication date: February 28, 2017