Anchor Text
The Hate You Give, by Angie Thomas. Thomas, A. (2017). The Hate U Give. New York, NY: Balzer + Bray.
This is a fiction book about an African American teenaged girl who is struggling with the duality of her identity as a young woman who lives in a largely all black neighborhood, but whom is sent out of the neighborhood to attend a largely white high school in a more affluent neighborhood across town. Early in the book, she witnesses the shooting death of her childhood friend at the hands of a white police officer. The book follows her journey as she finds her voice and herself through the lens of social justice and speaking out. The Lexile is only 590, but it is recommended for ages 14 and up due to mature content.
Purpose:
Use the book to give students voice to further explore the ideas of dual identities and “code switching” as this is quite prevalent in the lives of many of the young people at the audience school, also to discuss how this affects portrayal in the media of African Americans (and others) by the media. Last, to look at social justice movements and activism in helping one to find their own voice.
The Hate You Give, by Angie Thomas. Thomas, A. (2017). The Hate U Give. New York, NY: Balzer + Bray.
This is a fiction book about an African American teenaged girl who is struggling with the duality of her identity as a young woman who lives in a largely all black neighborhood, but whom is sent out of the neighborhood to attend a largely white high school in a more affluent neighborhood across town. Early in the book, she witnesses the shooting death of her childhood friend at the hands of a white police officer. The book follows her journey as she finds her voice and herself through the lens of social justice and speaking out. The Lexile is only 590, but it is recommended for ages 14 and up due to mature content.
Purpose:
Use the book to give students voice to further explore the ideas of dual identities and “code switching” as this is quite prevalent in the lives of many of the young people at the audience school, also to discuss how this affects portrayal in the media of African Americans (and others) by the media. Last, to look at social justice movements and activism in helping one to find their own voice.
Text Set
By Carrie Lopez
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Text 1:
Clinch, D. (1993). Tupac Shakur, New York City. Retrieved from: https://talkingkrit.files.wordpress.com/2017/06/tupac-tattoo-thug-life-eric-blair.jpg Shakur, T. Retrieved from:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCEf557fNYg&feature=youtu.be Shakur, T. (1993) What is Thug Life speech. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAq9mPfrTuI Annotation: The photograph depicts Tupac’s tattooed torso, including his often misunderstood “T.H.U.G L.I.F.E” tattoo. The video is a short clip from an interview of Tupac explaining the meaning of T.H.U.G. L.I.F.E. Justification: Analysis of the photo, along with the videos will help explain the message of the tattoo (The Hate You Give Little Infants F**S Everybody) (as well as Tupac’s other work) which heavily influences the anchor text’s main themes, as well as the title of the book. These two items could be used as a hook to the text set, as a way to introduce Tupac to students who aren’t already familiar with him (few), but who may be unfamiliar with his activism. The barrier to engagement with a photograph and short video clip is low and will be high interest and not challenging in terms of text access. |
Text 2:
Shakur, T. (1999). The Rose that grew from concrete. Retrieved from: https://www.commonlit.org/texts/the-rose-that-grew-from-concrete Annotation: One of Tupac Shakur’s works of poetry, used as a metaphor depicting young people in difficult circumstances or surroundings, working to overcome them. Justification: The metaphor of this poem highlights another theme of the book, and could be used as another hook, or as a basis for a personal journal or small group discussion to analyze the poem. The short poem also provides a different genre through which to explore the themes of the book. Text 3:
Anderson, G. (Editor). (1990, September 10). The Fresh Prince Project [Television series episode]. In W. Phillips (Producer), The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Hollywood, CA: Hollywood Center Studios. Annotation: This is first episode of the show, and shows the main character first arriving in Beverly Hills and having to navigate this new environment. The favorite show of the main character, Starr, this 90’s tv show highlights the issues of code switching in a humorous light, but also brings to light some of the “two-ness” that Starr feels. Justification: This episode could be used as an introduction to the Angie Thomas interview, as it gives the students an accessible introduction to code-switching and Double-conciousness which is introduced to them in that article. Text 4:
Denefield Jones, A. (April, 2017). How Angie Thomas’s 'The Hate U Give' Embodies the Spirit of the Harlem Renaissance [Web log post]. Retrieved from: https://blavity.com/angie-thomas-the-hate-u-give Annotation: Article detailing how Thomas’ book is inspired by and lives up to ideals of the Harlem Renaissance. Specifically for this text set, introducing DuBois’s Double-conciousness and the veil, as well as reconnecting students with Zora Neale Hurston. Justification:Students will be familiar about this time period from previous classes, so this article can be read and discussed as a class, with specific attention to the quote from DuBois about the concepts listed above. This would be used to provide students to the concept of Double-conciousness and how that connects to the concept of Code Switching and how that is used today. Text 5:
Hurston, Z.N. (1928). How it feels to be colored me. Retrieved from: http://www.casa-arts.org/cms/lib/PA01925203/Centricity/Domain/50/Hurston%20How%20it%20Feels%20to%20Be%20Colored%20Me.pdf Annotation: Hurston’s essay on her experiences and feelings on her life, how she has experienced discrimination, her personal resistance to it, enjoying her life, pushing back against those who would discriminate against her. Justification: Used in conjunction with the Thomas interview, this piece (which is quoted in that interview) is an effective introduction to finding one’s voice, and personal resistance to discrimination. This would need to be a teacher led reading and discussion, as the text and it’s ideas are challenging. The teacher could also use this as an introduction to Womanism as a social justice component if so desired. Text 6:
Cisneros, S. (1984). Those who don’t. House on Mango Street (p. 28). Retrieved from: http://nlcphs.net/SummerReadings/Freshmen/HouseOnMango.pdf Annotation: This section of the book discusses the fears of those unfamiliar with “rough’ neighborhoods and how those neighborhoods are perceived by outsiders (read: whites), it also points out the irony of how residents of these neighborhoods feel unsafe when they leave these areas and go into more “affluent areas”. Justification: The neighborhood of Garden Heights features prominently in the book, as well as Starr’s feelings about leaving her neighborhood for school and later when the family moves. This excerpt explores some of those issues. Students could write their own “Those who don’t” pieces about misunderstood issues, places or people in their own lives. Text 7:
Facing History. (Producer). (n.d.) If They Gunned me down. Retrieved from: https://www.facinghistory.org/resource-library/video/iftheygunnedmedown Annotation: Facing History video about the #IfTheyGunnedMeDown campaign on Twitter in the wake of the shooting death of Michael Brown in 2014, which focused attention on the types of photos chosen by the media to show the victims of police violence. Participants raised questions about the types of images chosen to portray African Americans in the media. Justification: After Khalil’s death in the book, Starr begins a social media campaign to counter what she feels is an inaccurate representation of her friend as a gang member and drug dealer by the media. This video could be used to generate journaling, then small and large group discussion on this issue and the responsibility of the media to tell a story, as well as for the public to question the information presented to them, understanding bias. This can also be used to connect to the previous idea of Double-conciousness. |
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Text 8:
Obama, B. (19 July, 2013) Comments on Trayvon Martin ruling. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4OvzJpt6Vc Annotation: President Obama’s comments on the Trayvon Martin ruling, in which he speaks candidly about race, and his experiences as an African American male in the US. Justification: An excellent place to end the text set. Have the students listen to the speech (accompanied with the text for support) and then use for a journalling, small group, then large group discussion about perceptions of African American and other people of color in the US, and how this connects with the previous themes discussed of Double-conciousness, the role of the media and bias. If desired, the teacher could extend this discussion into an inquiry project where the students use questions generated from this unit to explore issues that may be raised (implicit bias, institutionalized racism, code-switching, police violence, etc.). |
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