Using YA Literature to Support Students as they Wrestle with Violence, Police Brutality, and Trauma: Teaching “The Hate U Give”

In this inquiry, a high school teacher of Language and Literature and a university professor of Young Adult Literature explore what happened when 100 9th graders engaged a unit around, The Hate U Give, a YA text that addresses issues tied to police brutality, institutional racism, and the Black Lives Matter movement. Drawing on critical literacy, new literacies studies, and literary trauma studies frameworks, this article presents what the authors learned when they examined the ways in which 9th graders engaged in various activities, discussions, and interactions related to The Hate U Give in the context of school. The authors offer four themes that emerged as salient to supporting students to examine and make sense of the experiences and effects of trauma or violence. This work has implications for current teachers of English Language Arts and Young Adult Literature teacher educators committed to YA literature, social justice, and critical literacy.