The Synergy Project Magazine - August 2020

Through the book, Angie Thomas
is able to enlighten the reader of the
unfair stigma and stereotype against
African-Americans. For example, Khalil’s
story goes on to show the injustice
and flaws of our society, as African-
American communities are portrayed as
communities who choose to be overrun
with gangs and drugs. But this could not
be further from the truth, the reality is
that our society and government simply
do not do anywhere near enough to help
these marginalized communities. Khalil’s
story is a perfect example of how African
Americans in marginalized communities
are simply not given the same
opportunities to take care of their families
- families in which fathers have left, in
prison, or dead. The oldest male must
accept the entire burden of supporting
the family and as such, is usually forced to
drop out of school to help provide for his
family, or does not attend school from the
beginning. One thing I have noticed and
would like to point out is many noticeable
and famous African American people in
our society who have ‘made it out’ such
as LeBron James, Allen Iverson, or Kevin
Durant, say that ‘they shouldn’t be here.’
As a society shouldn’t we ask the question
why they weren’t supposed to make it?
Why were their parents unable to receive
some help/benefits from the government?
Why are extremely difficult childhoods
almost normalized
at this point with
famous or relatively
successful African
Americans? Why
is ‘I grew up in
poverty’ such a
common phrase
among African
Americans, but not
other races? Why
is it significantly
harder for an
African American to get a college degree?
The Hate You Give shows us how the
problem begins with us as a society. We
must do more. For one, we must overhaul
and reform our judicial system, which
allows and fosters systematic racism
through its prejudiced juries and judges,
inconsistent sentencing, and greed for
money. Since I was a kid, I have wondered
how people who have committed crimes
are able to get away by paying money, as
it seems counterproductive in terms of
reforming people and deterring people
from committing crimes.
Personally, I firmly believe that those
who commit any crime should be held in
jail until their trial and not be able to pay
bail for freedom. As a result, this would
also force the United States to reform
its court system, which forces people to
wait MONTHS for a hearing. In fact,
the average wait time in San Francisco
for the month of June 2020 for a hearing
Why is “I grew up in
poverty” such a
common phrase
among African
Americans, but not
other races?
is currently 14 MONTHS - and the
fact that the judicial system ACCEPTS
MONEY to set people free, through
bail shows how corrupt it is.
We are completely unable
to adequately serve
justice by failing to
create a fair, even
playing field for
all defendants
from the start. By
allowing people
to pay their way
out we cannot
pride ourselves as
having distributed
justice, as it simply
serves as a minor
convenience to many;
whereas, people from
marginalized communities
get the short end of the stick
from the start. It goes against the rule
of law, which as defined by The Free
Dictionary says, “No written law may
be enforced by the government unless it
conforms with certain unwritten, universal
principles of fairness, morality, and justice
that transcend human legal systems.” (2)
In this sense, the rule of law is not being
fulfilled, as a rich person who posts bail
for a crime can be set free buta person who
lives in poverty will be forced to stay in jail
until their trial for committing the same
exact crime. I simply
do not think that
my example qualifies
as something which
conforms with
‘universal principles
of fairness.’ It just
does not make sense;
these types of cases
are also in blatant
violation of the
6th Amendment,
which guarantees
individuals the right to a fair, and speedy
trial. (3) The 6th Amendment is included
in the Bill of Rights because of the idea
that “delayed justice is denied justice.”
(4) If this is really the case then how
can we delay cases for months and then
claim that justice has been served?
A certain event can only remain
in the eye of the public for so
long. By delaying popular
cases the court can wait until
public interest subsidies,
which could potentially
allow our already flawed
court system more
opportunities to make
biased decisions.
Furthermore,
many of these biased
decisions may not come
to light as the cases are
done quietly, and by the
time the trial is finished
everyone will have likely forgotten about
the incident. This would have a large
impact on marginalized communities, as
in most cases these cases never
reach the glare of the public
and by the time they
do it is too late to do
anything.
For these
reasons, I truly
believe that
a thorough
overhaul of our
judicial system
is in order.
The book helps
foster necessary
discussions our
society needs to have,
while enabling people
who are not African-
American to see life through
the eyes of someone who is. Finally, the
book makes us ask important questions
about the fairness of our judicial systems.
How can a trial be fair if a person from
a marginalized community is forced to
stay in jail because they are unable to post
bail, whereas, someone else charged with
the same exact crime is able to leave after
paying a fine? How is waiting 14 months
for a trial speedy? Is our current judicial
system even following or carrying out
our Bill of Rights and 6th Amendment?
Is our government doing enough to help
marginalized communities? Is it really
morally wrong/unethical to deal drugs and
join a gang if it is the only way someone
can feed and take care of their family?
Works Cited
“Social Security.” Average Wait Time Until Hearing
Held Report | Public Data Files, www.ssa.gov/
appeals/DataSets/01_NetStat_Report.html.
rule of law. (n.d.) Collins Dictionary of Law. (2006).
Retrieved July 31 2020 from https://legaldictionary.thefreedictionary.com/rule+of+law
LAWS. “Bill Of Rights Overview.” Constitution
of United States of America 1789, 22 Dec.
2019, https://constitution.laws.com/bill-ofrights/bill-of-rights
Smentkowski, Brian P. “Sixth Amendment.”