In August of 2015, I met Angie when she had just signed with her agent. She was excited, hopeful, but also nervous. She didn't know how a book influenced by Black Lives Matter would work for a YA story. Over a year later, The Hate U Give is going to be a movie (starring Amandla Stenberg as Starr), and Angie (and T.H.U.G.) are getting ready to take the world by storm. Angie was kind enough to answer some questions before embarking on her tour! Here is a review of The Hate U Give.
Where are you from? Tell me about the journey that led you to where you are
now.
I was born, raised, and still
reside in Jackson, Mississippi. I’ve told stories for as long as I can remember—I
used to write Mickey Mouse fanfiction when I was six. But I never thought that
I could be an author until I was in college, studying Creative Writing. I
actually wrote the short story that became The Hate U Give while I was in my
senior year. It took me a few years after college though to decide to make it a
novel. Even after I wrote it, I was afraid that the topic may not be
appropriate for YA. So when a literary agency held a question and answer
session on Twitter, I asked if the topic was appropriate. An agent not only
responded and said yes, he asked to see my manuscript. A few months later, I
signed with him, and a few months after that we were in a 13-publishing house
auction.
When did you know you needed to
write this book?
Like I said, I first wrote it as a short story during my senior
year of college, back in 2010/2011 after the shooting of Oscar Grant in
Oakland, California. Like my main character, Starr, I was living in two
different worlds—my neighborhood that most people called “the hood” and my
upper class, mostly-white college. By being in these two different worlds, I
heard two very different takes on the case. At my school, he was seen as a thug
who deserved what he got, but in my community he was one our own. My anger,
fear, and frustration led me to write the story. I put it aside after
graduation, but as more of these cases continued to happen, I found myself
angry, afraid, and frustrated again. So I did the only thing I knew how to do –
I wrote.
Black Lives Matter is…
An organization and a movement. I
don’t think a lot of people realize there’s a difference between the two. (And
for the record, I’m not affiliated with the organization). It’s also a
statement. It is not saying that only black lives matter or that black lives
matter more. All lives should matter, indeed, but we have a systemic problem in
this country in which black lives don’t matter enough. Black lives matter, too.
Tell us a little bit about Starr.
Why did you use her voice to tell the story? She starts out so unsure of
herself, and it was amazing watching her grow and come into her own.
I know plenty of Starrs in my
neighborhood; I was a bit of a Starr myself growing up. She’s in two different
worlds where she has to be two different people, and she’s still trying to
figure out which one is truly her. I think a lot of people can relate to that.
Also, there is this stereotype that black women, especially young black women,
are loud and harsh, and I wanted to crush that stereotype with this character.
There is a moment where Starr is
in the car with Chris, and she says to him, “I don’t need you to agree...Just
try to understand how I feel. Please?” And I felt like this was a powerful line
that white people need to hear from black people.
That’s one of my favorite lines,
actually J. I think if more people understood why black people
are so upset when another unarmed black person is killed, it would help bring
about change. These cases always become political, but for so many of us they
are personal. They need to become personal for all of us.
Another moment that I felt was
really powerful is between Ms. Ofrah (Starr’s attorney) and Starr.
“Who said talking isn’t doing
something? [Ms. Ofrah] says. “It’s more productive than silence. Remember what
I told you about your voice?’
‘You said it’s my biggest weapon.’
‘And I mean that.’”
That’s another one of my favorites
J (Is it ok for an author to like something they
wrote? Haha.) I hope that more people realize just how powerful their voices
are, especially in our current political climate. Fighting is not always about
violence; sometimes it’s about speaking out. Our voices can change things.
This story is fiction, and yet, it
is a real look into casual racism, blatant racism, and both sides of the police
equation (Starr’s uncle is also a policeman)—and this is just the tip of the
iceberg. In many ways, Starr’s story is not fiction. It is the story of every
black person who has been a witness to injustice, time and time again.
What is your hope for The Hate U Give?
My ultimate hope is that it will
help people realize that empathy is stronger than sympathy.
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| Author Angie Thomas photo by Anissa Hidouk |
Thanks for stopping by, Angie!
Mark your calendars for February
28th and pre-order a signed (and personalized!) copy of The Hate U Give from Lemuria Books.
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