The Hate U Give, the Movie

The Hate U Give, the Movie

We were with our daughter and her family in Philadelphia for Thanksgiving. Friday night, Nkiru, our nineteen-year old granddaughter, came in from an evening with friends. “Where did you go?” I said.

“We watched a movie,” she said. “I actually cried. I never cry!”

“What was the movie?” Her mom, our daughter Beth, said.

“The Hate U Give! It was amazing!”

“The book was amazing, too,” I said, “and I wrote about it in my blog.” I found the post where I had described the book, and she read it.

Nkiru’s Review 

Then I asked her to write about the movie. Here’s what she wrote.

“The Hate U Give was by far the most powerful movie I have ever watched as a young African American women living in a primarily white town for the entirety of my life. I have never felt that I could connect so much to a character or general situation.

“Growing up, I was never very confident about my identity, because being a black girl in a white school automatically caused me to be viewed differently by people. Not only was this the case for me at primarily white schools, but still in college I find it difficult at times to fully connect with the black individuals that I have met.

“The main character definitely showed this struggle and it was very emotional to watch, especially since I have felt the same exact way!

“Police brutality is also something that is very prevalent in today’s world and in my life personally. I have grown to have a fear of the police over time even when I am not doing anything wrong. This fear has come simply from watching people of my skin color be completely discriminated against. It has come from assumptions being made in harmless situations just because of one’s skin color.

“This movie really put things into perspective, and I truly wish that everyone would take the time to educate themselves on reality and watch it.

Thanks, Nkiru! I’m with you, although I’d be happy if people would at least read the book.

After reading your comments, I’d like to see the movie too.

Black Man Killed at Alabama Mall

As if to prove Nkiru’s point, a black man was killed by a police officer in an Alabama mall on Thanksgiving night. Why? He had a gun.

Shoppers were scrambling after a gunman opened fire in the mall. “Outside the mall, Emantic Fitzgerald Bradford Jr. pulled out a gun and rushed to protect shoppers, his family said.” I read the story in The New York Times.

At first, police said the gunman in the mall had been stopped, and offered praise for the police officer. Then they said no, the gunman had not been stopped and was still at large; the officer had killed the wrong person.

Early on Monday, four days later, the police said Bradford had “brandished” a gun.

Then they changed that. “Later on Monday, the department sought to explain its use of the word brandished, saying, ‘Mr. Bradford had a gun in his hand as police officers responded.’ ”

His parents are devastated. His mother said that Bradford, who was 21, was “instinctively a helpful person.” He had a license for the gun.

Good Guy with a Gun

The article said, “Mr. Bradford’s death at the hands of law enforcement has also raised questions about the realities of the ‘good guy with a gun’ theory advocated by the National Rifle Association and President Trump as a solution to mass shootings.”

Just two weeks ago a security guard near Chicago was killed by police. He was black and had a gun.

“Benjamin L. Crump, a lawyer for Mr. Bradford’s family, said that Mr. Bradford had one problem when the officer saw him holding a gun: He was black,” The New York Times article said.

Trevor Noah of “The Daily Show” picked up the same theme as the lawyer, saying the other night it’s clear that the Second Amendment does not apply to black men!

Boko Haram Still Active

Ambassador John Campbell posted a story circulating in Nigeria and abroad about an army base that was overrun by Boko Haram, with the death of 100 soldiers.

Soldiers posted a video showing what they called inadequate and outdated equipment. Nigeria’s military headquarters has said the video is false, using the term “fake news.” Far fewer soldiers died, they say, and the public should support the army.

In his blog post Campbell says, in 2014 as now, “Nigeria faced upcoming presidential elections, which Buhari would go on to win. He campaigned on a platform of tackling corruption and restoring security, and central to his campaign was the defeat of Boko Haram.”

Buhari is now campaigning for re-election. A victory by Boko Haram can be damaging not just to the people involved but to his reputation.

So the Nigerian people will be considering how well he carried out his campaign promises and whether to trust him with another four years.

Michelle Obama’s Memoir

I loved this post from “The Reading List” about Michelle Obama’s memoir.

‘Wife and Independence’ – Read an excerpt and view photos from Michelle Obama’s intimate, powerful and inspiring memoir, Becoming

The post offered an excerpt to read and a sample for listening. I chose to listen. Then I ordered the memoir.

Have you read it? Will you?