Throughout the novel, and film, Hailey and Starr’s relationship becomes strained due to Hailey’s offensive and racially-charged remarks and insensitivity towards racial issues, to not only Starr, but also to Maya Yang, a mutual Asian-American friend Maya tells Starr, “Hailey asked if we ate cat. In contrast to activist-in-training Chris, Hailey Grant is one of Starr’s long-time friends from Williamson Prep, a private school primarily dominated by an upper-class, Caucasian population about forty-five minutes from Garden Heights. Unlike Hailey, who refuses to admit she may be wrong or uneducated in certain topics, Chris attempts to recognize when he is wrong and admits when he is unsure, but he continues to move forward and learn from Starr to ultimately use his privilege in a way that benefits her and minority communities who are not granted the same advantages as men born with white skin. Likewise, Chris does not always understand Starr or her perspective, like when she yells at him, “You’re white, okay?” (161), but he takes the initiative to try: “Maybe you can help me understand? I don’t know” (162). McIntosh argues that herself (and other white people) are “taught about racism as something which puts others at a disadvantage, but been taught not to see” that “white privilege puts me at an advantage” (30). In “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack,” Dr. Chris’ response, agreeing to protest, is an agreed alliance he knows he is not disconnected from the injustice and affirms his responsibility to use his position in society to raise the voices of others. However, despite the disconnect Chris may feel, he chooses to participate in the cause for Starr as he takes her guidance and tries to understand how she must feel.
THE HATE YOU GIVE CHRIS SKIN
Khalil’s death and the outcome of his trial may not directly affect Chris’ life or neighborhood, and because of his skin tone, it is unlikely he feels any social pressure to protest with Garden Heights and their predominantly African-American community.
Chris is an outsider to Starr’s experience as a lower-class, African-American female however, throughout the novel, Chris displays an understanding of his privileges as a white male and fights against societal expectations to make his interracial relationship with Starr not only work but instead, become intertwined, despite their opposing environments and backgrounds.Īfter the announcement that the grand jury decided not to indict Officer Brian Cruise Jr., Starr pleads to Chris, “Just try to understand how I feel please?” Chris takes a moment to respond, the gap filled with dialogue from the other characters, but he finally responds: “I’m staying I want everyone to know that decision is bullshit” (Thomas 390). However, white privilege is not only a cancer that continues to perpetuate the systemic cycle of oppression, but it is also a tool that can be manipulated for the benefit of minorities and disadvantaged people which Angie Thomas demonstrates in her novel, The Hate U Give, through Starr’s relationships with two morally opposing white characters: Chris and Hailey. In the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, “privilege” is defined as “a right or immunity granted as a peculiar benefit, advantage, or prerogative.” Thus, for our purposes when talking about “white privilege,” we are referring to the Merriam-Webster definition with the addition of “due to Caucasian descent or light skin color, specifically in a society where whiteness is the norm.” While Thomas’ novel may be fictional, the content about the African-American experience is uncanny in its realism to the political climate in the United States therefore, the term “white privilege” is a relevant topic of the novel that exists outside of and before the novel and involves the real prosecution of people of minorities and disadvantaged people.