The poem was inspired by the Book The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas. The speaker in this poem is a defense attorney for Khalil’s family who are seeking justice for the unfair treatment and criminalization of young black men.
Here in the court today
For a case to try and clear it
Because a young black male
Lost his life due to his appearance
Killed him because he looked suspicious
But also because he aint white
And since he is colored
Whatever he do ain’t right
He was riding with his friend
And then along came officer 1-15
Who said Khalil approached him
But that’s not what it seems
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! officer 1-15 killed Khalil
But he is not getting looked at as a bad person
He pulled khalil over
but he wasn’t even swervin
He pats him down
Nothing on him or under his belt buckle
But still 1-15 fired his weapon
As soon as khalil moved a muscle
Sit back and think
Take a look at the system
The officer committed a murder
That makes Khalil a victim
He swears to tell the truth
Nothing but the truth
But he continued to say
He had a reason to shoot
He had a broken headlight
That was reason to stop the car
But he shot and killed khalil
He belongs behind bars
Instead he is free
Out having fun
He should be punished
For what he has done
Omar I enjoy reading your piece. I like how everything went together
Omar this is a very meaningful poem , heartfelt if you ask me, I can tell this was a thought out piece ,I appreciate the honesty and the fact that you are addressing the issues we face today …GOOD JOB!
Dear Omar:
I am surprised by your poem, “Khalil’s court case,” because they let another police who killed an innocent unarmed black male. I feel it’s unfair because they police just shooting to kill because people look suspicious.
A few lines from your poem that stands out to me is: “Killed him because he looked suspicious
But also because he aint white
And since he is colored
Whatever he do ain’t right ” I think this is bullshit because I feel the same way that they did that to him because he was Black and the persuaded him as a thug or armed and dangerous.
Some more lines from the poem that I think is fucked up was: “But he shot and killed khalil
He belongs behind bars
Instead he is free.” This stood out for me because the officer that killed Khalil is free after he killed him because he had a broken tail light. He wasn’t charged with taking someone life for no reason, but other people who kill somebody get a lot of time.
it was great ,moving .this what mean to be thug the book the hate you give
this is a really cool poem i love the rhythm and how it flows
This poem spoke to the book ‘The Hate You GIVE’ , i loved this poem my favorite line was He swears to tell the truth
Nothing but the truth
But he continued to say
He had a reason to shoot
This little poem is amazing, it expresses how someone felt about “The Hate U Give” book, and it showed how people felt about officer 1-15.
khalil die for being a black young man who did nothing wrong