“What’s the point of having a voice if you’re gonna be silent in those moments you shouldn’t be?”
Angie Thomas, The Hate U Give
The point is that it can feel safer. That it’s easier.
Neither of these things is what being alive is all about though, as Angie Thomas communicates beautifully in The Hate U Give.
I think of myself as someone who stands up for what’s right, but I am certainly silent when I shouldn’t be because it’s safer and easier and available to me with my privilege. I am inspired by Starr to do better. I have had The Hate You Give movie premier on my calendar since I read the book this summer. TODAY IS THE DAY! I hope you go to see it. I know I will be.
Unfortunately, less than 2 years after writing this post, I had the occasion to live out this directive when police murdered George Floyd in my neighborhood in Minneapolis. Here’s what I wrote to encourage other white parents join me in talking to their children about race, justice, and what’s right.