Racial Injustice

The author uses the theme of racial inequality to demonstrate how African Americans are unfairly targeted by law enforcement and generally not afforded the same rights and privileges as white people in America. The most overt representation of this theme is Khalil's death. He is shot and killed by a white police officer during a routine traffic stop while he tries to ask Starr if she is okay. The police officer mistook Khalil's hairbrush for a gun and shot him. This is a timely issue in America as black men have been shot and killed in alarming numbers over the past few years, by law enforcement and those who believe they are acting on behalf of law enforcement.

The author makes several allusions to the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, which was spawned in response to the shooting of black teenager Trayvon Martin by a...