On March 14, the Black Excellence Club hosted a showing of the 2018 film The Hate U Give. The film starred actress Amandla Stenberg, who played high school student Starr Carter, the only witness to a police shooting.

The movie follows 16-year old Starr Carter, residing in a black neighborhood, attending a white private school. One night, when she is attending a party, a gun goes off and her childhood friend Khalil drives her home. When they get pulled over, the car ride turns her whole life around as Khalil becomes the victim of a police shooting.

“The Hate U Give sends a powerful message on the impact of speaking up for injustice even if you might be standing alone,” stated Safi Diagana, president of the Black Excellence Club. “I hoped to encourage the students to use the voice and other platforms such as social media to bring change they would like to see.”

Sophomore Givon Carter thought the movie captured this idea rather well. “There were so many meaningful messages,” Givon stated. “It was nice seeing the differences in races as these are real problems in the world.”

For many, like junior Nylah Odom, this was not their first time watching the film. Nylah, however, enjoyed the event because, “It was a chill atmosphere and it provided extra time to spend with my friends.” Nylah added, “I also loved seeing people’s reactions to the emotional scenes.”

For sophomore Ikeoluwa Adedokun, this was her first time watching the movie and she was moved by these emotional scenes. “My favorite part of the event was watching it with my fellow peers and just clips in the movie that meant something beautiful, for example, when the father was telling them the meaning of their names,” Ikeoluwa stated.

If you were unable to attend the showing of The Hate U Give, the Black Excellence Club has more events in store for the future. “I would love to team up with the THHS Student Wellness Team in promoting mental health issues especially for our club and its effects on people of color,” Safi concluded.