About the book

''The Hate U Give'', also known as ''THUG'', is a novel written by Angie Thomas and was first published in 2017.  It a compelling story about the Black Lives Matter movement and police brutality in the US.  It has been nominated for and granted multiple awards like the William C. Morris award and it is a New York Times #1 Bestseller. The novel has also been made into a movie in 2018.

The story is about a sixteen year old girl named Starr Carter. Starr grew up and lives in a poor, mostly black neighbourhood called Garden Heights, where the crime rate is high, but she attends mostly white suburban prep school called Wiliamson. One night, Starr attends a party in Garden Heights and sees her childhood friend Khalil. After the party is evactuated because of a conflict between gangs, Khalil offers to drive Starr back home, however, they get pulled over by the police for driving with a broken taillight. Things take a dark turn when Khalil get asked to get out of the car and gets shot by the officer.

The story follows Starr as she deals with the trauma of her friend dying in front of her and trying to let her voice be heard so she can get justice for Khalil.

This book left a really big impression on me. It was like an emotional rollercoaster. When I read the part where Khalil got shot, I literally had to put the book down for a moment to process what I had just read. The book was really well written and I realised so much through the book. Not only that I am very privelaged, but also that what is going on in this book is still going on in the US today. The book gives its readers a reality check.

The book contains profinity, violence, drug abuse, and it has talk about murder, so I wouldn't recommend it for readers below the age of sixteen, but I also wouldn't recommend it to people who are triggerd by violene, murder and police brutality.  Besides that, I would definitely recommend this to anyone. It educates people on the reality of racism, poverty, crime and police brutality that is still happening in the US today, while keeping the reader on the edge of their seat to see what will happen next.

The Poem

And the psych ward says                                                                              there is no need to worry                                                                                this asylum was built to help you                                                                  and just like the straps                                                                                      on the stretcher that you rolled in on, we are going to keep you safe and secured.                                                                                                          Notice the locked doors and all the cameras                                      perched in the corners like hawks. We will be watching.                          But this is all for you and your well-being.                                                  You are sick, anxious, depressed,                                                                      a danger to yourself. The state told us to hold you                                    for 72 hours but if you sign this paper,                                                          we can pretend your stay here this weekend is voluntary.                  Friday morning, you will be woken up by strangers                                    in white coats and clipboards.                                                                        You will be asked again and again and again                                          about why and how you want to kill yourself. Be honest.          Remember, you are only here for three days,                                                so take advantage of the five to ten minutes you have                            with the doctors, but understand, he has a list                                              of patients as long as his pay stubs, so you won't be receiving any actual therapy                                                                                                        sessions while you're here, but we will recommend them as treatment  for after we let you out. Until then, we want you to be comfortable,          so sit back, enjoy the plastic furniture                                                        and coloring books. We have old radios with no antennae                        but the static is still loud enough to drown out the sound                          of the woman screaming in 2B. That's just Cindy. She just                    does that sometimes. Well, she didn't always but she

Source: https://goodmenproject.com/featured-content/anita-d-and-the-psych-ward-says/

does now and until we can find the right medication we are going to keep                                                                                                                helping her, just like we want to keep helping you if only                    you'd let us. It's Friday morning                                                                    and you haven't even tried the meds yet. You're still lying to us about holding the knife                                                                                                    to your arm like your parents haven't told us everything. Just be honest  and let us help you. Did I mention                                                                that the state only recognizes the existence of psychiatric patients      Monday through Friday, meaning the past                                                  the past forty eight hours you've spent here didn't even count, meaning, we still have time for a break-through or a breakdown?                          This is a good thing. This means we still have time to help                    you and I can see that you're getting upset but do not                            walk away from me with tears streaming and knuckles buried in palms.  That type of body language is aggressive and we might have to              do something about that. A sedative, maybe, Diazepam,                  perhaps? I don't think being alone is best for you right now.            Maybe, you should spend time with the other patients. Get to know how they got here. Listen to them when they tell you you got lucky getting placed in this psych ward. We are one of the good ones                            and we want you to stay here. We figure , if we keep you long enough maybe you'll eventually start to fit in or maybe if we keep you        locked up you will eventually start to act out and we will be right here, waiting to prescribe you something to label you with a              diagnosis. We didn't cause your social anxiety.                                          We only heightened what was already there.                                              We just want to see you reach your full potential as a patient.                    We told you, this asylum                                                                                was built                                                                                                                to help you.

About the poem

''And the Psych Ward Says'' was written by poet Anita D. She wrote this poem because of her own experience in the psych ward. She actually started writing this poem when she was admitted in the psych ward.

In this poem, a lot about the psych ward comes into the light. Many people who are admitted to the psych ward in the US are deemed ''dangerous'' to themselves by the state. Many people have a stereotype of the psych ward that patients of the psych ward are ''insane''. However, this is not the case, as many patients struggle with severe mental health issues and many of them feel unheard within the psych ward. This is very appearent in Anita's poem and the way she put it into words is outstanding.

About the piece

This infamous piece by Eugène Delacroix is known as the painting that represents the French Revolution. It was made in 1830 and can be found in the Louvre museum in Paris, France.

There is quite some symbolism in this painting, most noticeably the woman in the foreground of the painting. The woman's  name is Marianne, and is a symbol for justice in France. She wears a Phygian cap, which is a symbol for liberty, and she carries the French flag, which represents nationalism. There is a huge crowd of fighting men behind her. It makes me feel like the men were happy and honored to fight for freedom and justice in their country.

I chose this piece of art for unheard voices because it shows how the lowest class in France at the time, who weren't heard and were only taken advantage of by the higher classes, finally had enough of the king who led the country.  It represents how the unheard finally let themselves be heard by overthrowing the king. Because this piece represents the French Revolution, it can be connected to conflict as well.