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THUG
Starr Carter goes to a party in her neighborhood of Garden Heights. She feels out of place since she attends a predominantly white school 45 minutes away. Starr’s childhood friend, Khalil, arrives at the party, dressed in expensive clothes, so Starr suspects that he is selling drugs. Starr and Khalil begin to catch up when suddenly, gun shots ring out at the party and everyone scatters. Khalil and Starr run out together to his car, and he offers to drive her home. Khalil starts playing Tupac on the radio, which starts the conversation on THUG LIFE. Khalil gets pulled over by the cops.
When Starr was 12, her parents talked with her about what to do when approached by the cops. Their advice: do whatever the cops say to do, don’t make any sudden moves, and only speak when spoken to. The cop approaches the car and asks for license and registration. Khalil shows frustration and doesn’t comply with the cops demands. Starr remembers her dad telling her to remember the badge number of the officer stopping you. Khalil continues to give the cop a hard time so the cop forces him out of the car and slams him onto the hood. The officer tells Khalil not to move and walks back to his patrol car. When Khalil opens his car door to check on Starr, the cop shoots him. This brings Starr back to her childhood when her friend Natasha was killed in a drive-by shooting. Khalil is dead after being shot three times, and Starr is held at gunpoint.
They leave Khalil in the street while Starr waits in the back of an ambulance. Her parents, Lisa and Maverick, arrive on the scene and take her home. At home, her mom helps her out of her blood stained clothes and into a bath. Starr finally falls into a fitful sleep plagued by nightmares. When Starr wakes up, she goes to the kitchen to have breakfast with her parents and older brother Seven. Seven and Maverick are talking about Seven’s mom, Iesha, being abused by her boyfriend and drug lord, King. They decide as a family to keep Starr’s involvement with the case in the family and not tell anyone. Starr goes to work with her dad at their family-owned grocery store. Starr’s friend Kenya shows up at the store. On their way out to grab lunch, they run into King, Kenya’s dad. King tries to give Starr a wad of cash to pay for their lunch, but she refuses to take it because he’s a known drug lord and abusive to her mother and siblings. Maverick comes out to talk to King. King insists that Maverick owes him a favor but Maverick disagrees since Maverick went to prison for him. Maverick tells King not to hit Seven again and King drives off angrily.
Starr has nightmares of her friends and wakes up in the middle of the night. She starts to go to the kitchen when she hears her parents fighting with her Uncle Carlos. Carlos is a police officer and lives in a nice part of town. Carlos is trying to persuade Starr’s parents to let Starr speak with the police about Khalil’s shooting. The adults become aware of Starr’s presence and Carlos asks if she would be willing to talk to the police. Starr reluctantly agrees to talk to them and Carlos promises justice for Khalil. The next day, Starr and her parents go visit Khalil’s grandmother, Rosalie. Starr remembers all the good times she had at Rosalie’s with Khalil and Natasha. Rosalie took Lisa in after she got pregnant in school and Lisa’s mother kicked her out. Rosalie babysat her kids for free while Lisa finished school. Rosalie is sick with cancer, but she is still comforting Starr over what happened. She tells them that Khalil was selling drugs but he wanted advice from Maverick on how to get out. On their way out, Maverick and Lisa give Rosalie money to help pay for Khalil’s funeral.
Starr and her family pray together before Lisa drives the kids to school. Starr tries to act normal with her friends but finds it hard because she keeps thinking about Khalil. Starr is also uncomfortable around her friends because they are all talking about the cool vacations they went on, and Starr’s family only vacations to a local hotel that has a pool. Her friend, Hailey, has also become more distant ever since she unfollowed Starr for posting on Tumblr about Emmett Till being shot by the police for whistling at a white woman. Starr is also in a fight with her boyfriend Chris. She is reluctant about telling her father she is dating a white boy, even though her mom already knows. Chris tries to talk to Starr, and he jokes around singing her favorite song. This reminds her of Khalil, and she ends up crying, leaving Chris confused. After school, Seven picks up Starr and Sekani and drives them to Lisa’s work so she can take Starr to the police station. While the kids are waiting for their mother, Khalil’s mother, Brenda, shows up. Brenda is covered with scabs and scars, indicating drug abuse. Brenda had just learned of her son’s death and was devastated. Starr is mad at Brenda for acting like this because she never took care of Khalil. Lisa gets mad at Starr for saying that because Khalil was still Brenda’s son, no matter how terrible of a mother she was.
Lisa takes Starr to the police office where she is questioned by two officers about what happened. Starr tells them everything that she witnessed. One of the officers doesn’t believe that the officer forced Khalil out of the car. Starr is getting upset about reliving that night but she wants to finish the interview. After Starr tells them what happened that night, they ask about Khalil being a drug dealer. The cops keep questioning Starr about Khalil but never about the officer that killed him. Not long after, Lisa gets angry with them, and they leave. Starr and Lisa both feel that this case is not going to fall in their favor.
In Maverick’s office, Mr. Lewis explains how the King Lords beat him up. Mr. Lewis insists that DeVante is actually the one in real danger. King ordered the King Lords to kill DeVante on sight.
Maverick attacks DeVante, shouting that King would not want DeVante dead for refusing to shoot someone. DeVante confesses to stealing money from King to buy bus tickets for his family. He knew that if he killed Dalvin’s killers, their gang would kill him. When DeVante’s mother found out, she threw him out of the house to protect his sisters. He begs for Maverick’s help.
Starr goes to Maya’s house where Maya and Hailey are hanging out. Hailey asks why Starr is mad at them. Hailey feels they shouldn’t have to apologize for protesting because others protested too. Hailey adds that Starr still owes her an apology for calling her racist. Starr says even if Hailey didn’t mean it, the fried chicken joke felt racist. Hailey complains that by that logic, if she felt protesting was right, Starr’s objection doesn’t matter.
Starr, Hailey, and Maya decide to watch television and find the interview with One-Fifteen’s father. The screen displays a photo of One-Fifteen wearing a crucifix necklace. One-Fifteen’s father notes that Garden Heights is dangerous, and the screen shows the worst parts of the neighborhood. As One-Fifteen’s father describes what a good child One-Fifteen was, Starr notes Khalil had been good too.
When Starr won’t eat pancakes, Lisa quizzes Starr about what’s wrong. Starr reveals what DeVante said about Khalil. She feels guilty for doubting Khalil. Lisa reminds Starr she didn’t know about Khalil’s plight. She adds she knows Starr had a crush on Khalil. Starr is ashamed because she’s dating Chris. Lisa reassures her that being attracted to multiple people is normal.
A limo picks Starr up for the television interview Ms. Ofrah arranged with a reporter named Diane Carey. People in the neighborhood offer words of support when they see Starr. She likes that people now recognize her as “Starr” and not “Big Mav’s daughter.”Although Starr has not named King, she knows that this “dry snitching” still puts her in danger. She tells Diane that Khalil was not a gang member, but that it shouldn’t matter if he were, and argues that Khalil shouldn’t be charged for his own murder. Starr talks about her fear the night of the murder and adds that she and Khalil never threatened or cursed at One-Fifteen. She cries as she says that Khalil checked on her before One-Fifteen shot him. Diane asks Starr if she is afraid of cops. Starr invokes her Uncle Carlos, but says she wants the police to stop making assumptions about black people that get black people killed. Finally, Diane asks what Starr would say to One-Fifteen if he were there. Starr says she would ask whether he wishes he’d shot her too.
When Starr starts to eat, Chris comes over and brusquely asks Starr if she wants to take pictures. Starr asks why he’s been acting strange, and Chris asks why she has an attitude. Starr storms out to the car, but Chris follows her. Chris wants to know why Starr never told him she was the witness. He saw the Diana Carey interview, and although the interview doesn’t show her face, he’d recognized her voice. Chris is hurt that there’s an aspect of Starr’s life she’s hidden from him. Starr explains that she’s afraid of people judging her for coming from “the ghetto.” Chris wants to know why she doesn’t trust him enough to give him the chance to prove her wrong. She finally tells Chris about Natasha and about how her family used to live in a one-bedroom apartment in the projects. She explains that Khalil had been her best friend, her first crush, and her first kiss. She’s tired of the way people who knew what happened treated her like she was fragile, but being with Chris made her feel normal, and she wanted to preserve that. Chris apologizes. They kiss, and Chris tells her he loves her. Starr responds in kind.
That Sunday, Lisa and Maverick bring Starr, Seven, and Sekani to a neighborhood called Brook Falls. The neighborhood looks like Uncle Carlos’s, but it’s not gated and more diverse. They arrive at a house, and Maverick and Lisa announce that once the mortgage is approved, this house will be theirs. Sekani asks Maverick if he’s OK living in the suburbs with the “fake” people, as Maverick calls them. Maverick has decided that being “real” is not about where they live, and the most important thing he can do is protect his family. Back in Garden Heights, gunshots interrupt the family watching television. Maverick grabs his gun. Starr worries that Maverick will get shot, but he returns unharmed. The gunmen shoot through the front of the house and throw a brick through the front window.
Ms. Ofrah greets Starr with a hug. Lisa tells Starr how brave she is. Starr insists that she’s not brave, but Lisa says that being scared and doing something anyhow is brave. Maverick hugs them both. With the support and love of her family, Starr finally feels ready to face the grand jury. Starr enters the courtroom and swears on the Bible to tell the truth. Privately, she promises Khalil to tell the truth, too. When the District Attorney asks Starr to confirm that she knows that she is not the focus of criminal charges, Starr says yes, but internally comments that she and Khalil have been on trial since the murder. The DA asks if Starr is ready to tell the grand jury what happened. Starr feels terrified and wants to hide, but refuses to let the people praying, her parents, or Khalil down. She announces that she is ready.