The Hate U Give and Online Social Activism
In contemporary society, the internet provides a platform for users to challenge decisions made by higher authorities in a way that was not possible in the past. As highlighted in a 2012 journal article, the growth of social media makes "finding out and sharing knowledge of unethical behaviour much easier" (Pavitt 2012). Accordingly, the decision to remove The Hate U Give from district libraries was met with much backlash online.
On November 17th, 2017, a student posted a plea on Twitter urging the public to contact Lance Hindt about his decision (@abbyberner). Angie Thomas also expressed her disappointment regarding the challenge of the book in her own tweet, which was shared by other users over two thousand times (@angiecthomas).
Author Angie Thomas' response on Twitter and replies from Katy ISD teachers.
Perhaps most notably, a student at the Katy Independent School District created a petition regarding the ban on the popular online campaign platform, Change.org. The petition explains that the book was pulled from the district's libraries without proper review and includes an open letter to Dr. Hindt (“Petition - Support Intellectual Freedom : Keep "The Hate U Give" on Katy ISD Book Shelves - change.org). After gaining much attention online, Ny'shira Lundy's petition was backed by 3738 signatures. Following the publicity surrounding the petition, Ny'shira was invited to speak at a board meeting in support of overturning the ban against the novel. Ultimately, the petition succeeded and the novel was returned to shelves following her statement.