There are many Ted Talks about race and injustice, but here I’ll list the best talks to pair with The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. Even better, there’s one perfect for the beginning, middle, and end of the novel. This way you can space them out throughout your unit.

How to raise a black son in America by Clint Smith

Smith discusses the talk most parents have with their black sons when they start resembling black men. Here’s a sneak peak:

These are the sorts of messages I’ve been inundated with my entire life: Always keep your hands where they can see them, don’t move too quickly, take off your hood when the sun goes down. My parents raised me and my siblings in an armor of advice, an ocean of alarm bells so someone wouldn’t steal the breath from our lungs, so that they wouldn’t make a memory of this skin. So that we could be kids, not casket or concrete.

At just over five minutes in length, Smith poetically details his experience with “the talk” and his hope for a future without it. Click here to see it. 

How I use it: Right after chapter two (Khalil’s been shot and Starr has her hands up yelling “No!”) I have students watch this. We reflect on what is being said.  We think about and discuss if Khalil ever had this talk. Starr even considers this herself as the incident occurs. Our ideas are based on limited information from the text since we barely know Khalil and his circumstances at this point in the text, but it gets students thinking. You can play devil’s advocate and suggest maybe he did get the talk and didn’t follow it. It often leads to discussion about if Khalil was provoked and if it’s difficult to follow rules your know are biased and unfair.

Again, it’s beautifully written and presented. This also works well for a quick write prompt.

3 ways to speak English by Jamila Lyiscott

Another short but powerful talk by a poet. Here’s a sneak peak of Lyiscott’s talk on speaking different variations of English and how people react to each.

So I may not always come before you with excellency of speech

But do not judge me by my language and assume

That I’m too ignorant to teach

‘Cause I speak three tongues

One for each:

Home, school and friends

I’m a tri-lingual orator

Be prepared to view this four-minute talk a few times and consider giving your students the transcript to refer back to. Lysicott is a true poet and this poem deserves more than one read through. Click here to watch the talented Lysicott in action. 

How I use it: Chapter five touches on Starr’s feelings of living two different versions of herself: Williamson Starr and normal Starr. I use this talk right between chapter five and chapter six. First, I have students analyze Lyiscott’s argument for not always conforming your language to your setting. Next, I have students compare Starr and Lyiscott’s experiences. For example, being judged by color and speech, and adapting their language to their settings.

How to overcome our biases? Walk boldly toward them by Verna Myers

The Hate U Give ends on a positive note. It’s fitting then to end our Ted Talks with some optimism as well. Here, Myers gives three ideas on how to stop biases. Here’s a small part of her talk:

We’ve gone about as far as we can go trying to make a difference trying to not see color. The problem was never that we saw color. It was what we did when we saw the color. It’s a false ideal. And while we’re busy pretending not to see, we are not being aware of the ways in which racial difference is changing people’s possibilities, that’s keeping them from thriving, and sometimes it’s causing them an early death.

Want more? Click here for the entire talk. Essentially, Myers gives three directions to follow in order to help end hurtful biases and stereotypes. First, we must realize/accept our biases. One suggestion she gives is to take the implicit association test online. I suggest it to my students but never require it. The second suggestion is to embrace and purposefully connect with those outside our normal group. Finally, she insists people must speak up against the ones we love when we hear them say something racist. It’s hard, but the younger generation is watching and we need to set the example.

How I use it: This is what I show at the end of the text. Along with a guided questions sheet (the talk is 17 minutes long!) this talk is perfect for discussions. With all these ideas I want to hear what the students think. Can we implement these ideas? Will they make a difference? Will they (my students) follow these ideas? I also like to connect it directly with the text. I ask students to analyze instances from the text where characters had difficult confrontations about race with family or friends.

Strapped for time? You can get my worksheets (with answer key!) here at my TeachersPayTeachers store. 

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