Bring out your notebooks for the following quotes will not just take you through a reading experience but a learning experience.

‘The Hate U Give’ by Angie Thomas explores its way through the journey of a 16 year old teenage girl, Starr Carter, who struggles her way navigating racial boundaries whilst being subjected to police brutality as well. She also witnesses the death of her black friend at the hands of the police.

These important ‘The Hate U Give’ quotes are important in every sense of the word, as they meander through the complex and minuscule details of man’s social existence, of segregation, of bias, and of oblivion. Angie Thomas and her bone-chilling portrayal, as reflected in the Starr Carter quotes, raises questions, it provokes thought and brings about a stir in one’s heart, you will be silent in those moments. The social image painted by Angie Thomas projects its way through all existential conflicts and stands out. The blatant portrayal is unthinkable, unimaginable, and undeniable. Maybe that’s why the book still remains banned from many institutional libraries.

Angie Thomas creates a masterpiece through the ‘The Hate U Give’ characters Starr Carter and Garden Heights. The book transcends its way out of the pages into real life as it becomes an unbearable shrill cry for protest. It had also been aired as a movie. We know that you can use these quotes in any place to bring a difference and the impact they have says a lot about our society as a whole.

On The Struggle For Existence

These ‘The Hate U Give’ book quotes will take you through the deepest layers of how minorities exist. Angie Thomas very simply portrays the shackles of race bias. Truly, no matter how much hate you give, the tormented voice can no longer be shunned.

1. “Daddy once told me there’s a rage passed down to every black man from his ancestors, born the moment they couldn’t stop the slave masters from hurting their families. Daddy also said there’s nothing more dangerous than when that rage is activated.”

– Chapter 11.

2. “Everybody wants to talk about how Khalil died’, I say. ‘But this isn’t about how Khalil died. It’s about the fact that he lived. His life mattered!’ I look at the cops again. ‘You hear me? Khalil lived!”

– Chapter 24.

3. “When the Khalils get arrested for selling drugs, they either spend most of their life in prison, another billion-dollar industry, or they have a hard time getting a real job and probably start selling drugs again. That’s the hate they’re giving us, a system designed against us. That’s thug life.”

– Chapter 10.

4. “People like us in situations like this become hashtags, but they rarely get justice. I think we all wait for that one time though, that one time when it ends right.”

– Chapter four.

5. “I’m cool by default because I’m one of the only black kids there.”

– Chapter one.

6. “If bravery is a medical condition, everybody’s misdiagnosed me.”

– Chapter 16.

7. “When you fight, you put yourself out there, not caring who you hurt or if you’ll get hurt.”

– Chapter 16.

8. “Your voices matter, your dreams matter, your lives matter. Be the roses that grow in the concrete.”

– Acknowledgments.

9. “Funerals aren’t for dead people. They’re for the living.”

– Chapter eight.

10. “Don’t let them put words in your mouth. God gave you a brain. You don’t need theirs.”

– Chapter four.

11. “People say misery loves company, but I think it’s like that with anger too.”

– Chapter 23.

On Life Under Racial Biases

These quotes from ‘The Hate U Give’ are an eye opener and a necessary read for all sensible social beings. With ‘The Hate U Give’, Angie Thomas uses Starr and writes a piece that is necessary for the time and quite unfortunately might be relevant for times to come. Those who say, say it right, the idea is to keep going, even though you’re scared.

12. “Funny. Slave masters thought they were making a difference in black people’s lives too. Saving them from their wild African ways.”

– Chapter 14.

13.  “What’s the point of having a voice if you’re gonna be silent in those moments you shouldn’t be?”

– Chapter 14.

14. “Good-byes hurt the most when the other person’s already gone.”

– Chapter four.

15. “Once you’ve seen how broken someone is it’s like seeing them naked—you can’t look at them the same anymore.”

– Chapter five.

16. “I can’t change where I come from or what I’ve been through, so why should I be ashamed of what makes me, me?”

– Chapter 26.

17. “Brave doesn’t mean you’re not scared. It means you go on even though you’re scared.”

– Chapter 19.

18. “At an early age I learned that people make mistakes, and you have to decide if their mistakes are bigger than your love for them.”

– Chapter 15.

19. “Sometimes you can do everything right and things will still go wrong. The key is to never stop doing right.”

– Chapter nine.

20. “My nana likes to say that spring brings love. Spring in Garden Heights doesn’t always bring love, but it promises babies in the winter.”

– Chapter one.

Best Quotes From The Hate U Give

15“Know Your Rights. Know Your Worth.”

Maverick Carter doesn’t hold back and neither does this movie. From the very first scene, it draws you into the difficult and tense life of the family and the community to which they belong.

Maverick is very practical when he sits down with his little children to explain to them how to behave if and when the cops were to stop them. It’s a powerful scene when these little kids, Starr and Seven, along with a baby Sekani, sit at the dining table paying close attention to their father.

14“Their Cuteness Can Be Extra, But They’re Adorable.”

In one of the lighter scenes early in the movie, the viewers hear in a voiceover what Starr thinks about her parents. This was a couple that no one expected would stay together, yet they did.

And they were still so in love with each other. It’s quite adorable to watch Starr feel so strongly about her parents, about whom she says – “they’re my OTP.” Throughout the movie, viewers will be able to see what a great team Maverick and Lisa are, and how much they love each other.

13“So When I’m Here, I’m Starr Version 2.”

Starr lives two different lives. One in Garden Heights- where she lives, and one is Williamson- where she goes to school. These are drastically different communities; one predominantly Black and the other, white. Early on in the movie, Starr finds it difficult to reconcile her identities and sort of does code-switching when she moves from home to school.

Initially, when viewers are introduced to the version of herself she performs at school, it is easy to understand the difficulties she faces in being herself at either place.

12“Slang Makes Them Cool. Slang Makes Me Hood.”

This particular scene from when viewers first see her in school is quite fascinating and revealing. It features a bunch of white kids who use slang very casually. Starr version 2 is very adamant that she will not say anything that a rapper might. She understands that her more privileged white friends can appropriate Black culture without facing any consequences.

But she also knows that if she were to talk in that manner, she’d be perceived very differently. This YA movie is able to use such small situations to draw out the difference in the experiences that Starr faces in a school like this.

11“Well, You Ask Questions About What Happened.”

The interrogation scene immediately after Khalil’s death is quite painful to watch. It’s even more painful when the officers interrogating Starr only ask questions about Khalil- his drinking habits, his drug habits, and so on. Starr and Lisa get rightly angry about this and it is Lisa who says the above line in the movie demanding if Starr be interrogated at all, she’d be asked questions about what actually happened.

This scene very succinctly captures how narratives are formed and how asking certain questions or not asking certain questions carry a lot of meaning.

10“Shine Your Light. I Ain’t Name You Starr By Accident.”

Maverick is an incredible father. He is a strong role-model for Starr, Seven, and Sekani. The situation Starr had found herself in was a painfully difficult one. She was the sole witness in a case that usually never had witnesses like this.

She had a really painful and difficult opportunity to make a difference… It was a situation where she had a voice that she could possibly use. She is understandably scared but Maverick stands by her solid as a rock. He wants her to not be afraid, and do what needs to be done.

9“Where You Live Does Not Define Who You Are, Maverick.”

Starr is threatened by King because she might mention that Khalil was forced to deal drugs for him. Lisa on hearing this wants them to move out of Garden Heights for the fear of Starr’s and her family’s life. Maverick however is quite determined not to move. He thinks he can do good for the community only if they stay there.

He thinks change comes from within. But Lisa more practically tries to explain to him that it doesn’t necessarily have to be that way. And that it is okay to make sacrifices for your family. It’s a situation bound to throw viewers into the same dilemma these characters face as well.

8“I Wanna Be A Better Friend For Khalil.”

This was not the first time that Starr had seen someone get shot. Her friend Natasha had also died in front of her when they were younger. Starr didn’t speak up for Natasha back then even though she knew who the person who killed Natasha was. She was really young and she was scared of snitching.

And even though she was only 16 now, she felt like this time she had to speak up and make sure she was a better friend to Khalil. It is painful to watch the (unfair) guilt and trauma Starr has to go through at such a young age.

7“Don’t Ever Let Nobody Make You Quiet.”

Really unfortunate events follow Starr’s interview on TV. And she feels personally responsible and thinks she made a mistake by speaking out the truth. Maverick then makes sure his kids are reminded of the lessons he gave them.

He reminds Starr and her brothers that no matter what happens, they should never let anybody intimidate them into silence. He tells them that they are “his reasons to live and reasons to die.” It’s a powerful moment when he tells Starr to make sure that no one ever shuts down her voice.

6“How Many Of Us Have To Die Before Y’all Get It?”

The dramatic tension is at a peak in this scene. It’s emotional, raw, and powerful. In a voiceover, viewers hear exactly what is going through Starr’s head as she raises her hands and steps in front of Sekani at whom the cops have pointed their guns.

Sekani is the little kid who has been given hate and who is on the verge of “f-ing up things”, and she realizes painfully that, “It is not the hate you give. It is the hate we give.”

5“She Swore Raising The Dead Was More Likely Than Mama And Daddy Making It. They Stay Proving Her And Everybody Else Wrong. And In Large Part, That Means Making Sure That We Don’t Make The Same Mistakes.”

This line happens early on in the movie as Starr explains how her parents met and eventually fell in love. The story follows the novel in terms of what both of her parents overcame in order to create such a beautiful family and have a successful life, and this line reflects Starr’s admiration for them both.

There are key phrases in this quote, such as Starr saying that they ‘stay proving her (Starr’s nana) and everybody else wrong,’ which echo the bigger picture of racial injustice and how Starr, ultimately, proves the entire world wrong, starting with her own community.

4“Mama, I Need To Speak For Him.”

This quote is part of a longer line by Starr that goes, ‘They’re acting like Khalil was murdered just so that they can skip a chem test, and I didn’t do anything about it.’ At such a young age, she still goes on to acknowledge how wrong it is for people who didn’t know Khalil to use his death in vain for their own selfish gain, which, in essence, is what was happening prior to this line. At this moment, Starr is frustrated yet empowered with the notion that if no one else will speak for her best friend, then she will.

This is also one of the pivotal moments in which Starr finds the strength and the courage to speak up, bearing witness to the tragedy and injustice surrounding Khalil’s murder.

3“We Are All Witnesses To This Injustice! We See It All, And We Will Not Stop Until The World Sees It Too! We Will Not Stop Protesting!”

One of the most emotional and powerful scenes in the entire movie – as well as in the novel – is when Starr finally finds her voice. Throughout the entire time prior, her anger, frustration, and sense of purpose has been growing, only needing an outlet in order to find her footing.

That ends up being a protest after the police officer who killed Khalil was able to walk free occurs, when Starr is handed a megaphone by April, valiantly climbs on top of a car, and uses it to speak her – and Khalil’s – truth. Everything that happened up to this point served as the buildup to this final moment in which Starr finds clarity through the justified confusion and anger around her.

2“We Live In A Complicated World, Starr.”

In stark contrast to many of the other people Starr is surrounded by, her uncle Carlos is one who can’t quite see the whole picture as she can. While he’s a cop, his career seems to have blinded him from the injustices that also surround him and the people he has sworn to protect. On one hand, Carlos is empathetic to Starr’s cause and feels for her losing Khalil.

On the other hand, his career is part of his life and prevent him from seeing how dire the situation is, and how police brutality has found its way into his own personal life.

1“Division Is How They Win. Unity Is How They Crumble.”

April Ofrah is a powerful and influential person in The Hate U Give and eventually ends up helping Starr to find her voice at a protest. At Khalil’s funeral, April shows up, saying plain and clear how Khalil’s murder is part of a bigger picture and that this is not the first, nor will it be the last, injustice, lest they do something to stop it. In her conversation with Starr, she explains how the police make it their mission to divide the Black community to remain in control, which is why ‘unity’ is how they will eventually be overcome.

This simple quote says so much and is so powerful, echoing loud and clear, especially in today’s world.