[ Music ] >> Sponsored by the Institute
of Museum and Library Services. [ Music ] >> Carla Hayden: Hello. I'm Carla Hayden, the Librarian
of Congress, and I am delighted to be here today with one of
America's most exciting authors for young people,
Miss Angie Thomas. Angie is the author of the
international bestseller, The Hate U Give; and the
prequel released this year, Concrete Rose. And welcome, Angie
to the Library of Congress National
Book Festival. >> Angie Thomas: Thank
you so much for having me. It's an honor. >> Carla Hayden: And I got
a chance to be with you at the Mississippi
Book Festival. And the theme of the Library of Congress's Festival this year
is Open a Book, Open the World. And I just wondered
what that means for you. Have books opened
up the world to you? >> Angie Thomas: Absolutely. I am so thankful for books. I'm so thankful for librarians. I remember being six years old. And I was at the
neighborhood park, which was just a few
doors down from my house. And my neighborhood wasn't
the best neighborhood in the world here in
Jackson, Mississippi. It was known for all
the wrong reasons. And it was nothing to
hear gunshots at night. And this one day,
there was a shootout at my neighborhood park while
us kids were on the playground. And I was okay. I was saved, thankfully,
and no one was hurt. But my mom, she immediately
took me to the library. And, you know, when I tell
people that, they're like, huh? But she told the librarian that
-- what I'd witnessed that day. And she said she wanted me
to know that there was more to the world than
our neighborhood, that there was more to the
world than gun violence. And books were the only
way for me to know that at that moment due to our
financial situation. So the librarian
loaded me up with books. I mean, there's nothing better
you can tell a librarian than give my child a book. >> Carla Hayden: Yeah. And did you get a chance
to talk to the librarian? And did you -- did the librarian
say, Well, what would you like? >> Angie Thomas: I did, I did. She asked me what kind of
stories would I like to read. And I wanted to read about
adventures and fantasy books and faraway worlds and places that maybe didn't
exist in real life. But I just wanted to also read
about kids who reminded me of myself, and she loaded me up. I remember she gave me
like the Boxcar Kids books. I remember she gave me
Chronicles of Narnia. I was a little too young to
read it by myself, but my mom and I read it together. But she -- she gave me all
of these different books. And every time I'd go into the
library, I would tell her, Well, you know, maybe I'd like to
read about something like this or something like that. And that seemed to make her day. In my little mind,
it made her day. >> Carla Hayden:
It did [laughing]. And that's what's so
powerful about being able to connect a young person
with something that they might like to read, and it shows
respect for the young person. Did you feel that, that this
librarian was asking you and engaging you? >> Angie Thomas: Absolutely. Absolutely. You know, at six years old, you don't understand
the word respect, but you understand the
feeling of respect. And I felt respected. The fact that she listened to
the things that I like to read about and listened
to my preferences and helped me find those
books, I can honestly say that the respect my
librarian showed me then, it helps me to show respect to the young people
I write for today. >> Carla Hayden: Yes. >> Angie Thomas: Yeah. When I write for them,
I want to write for them because I respect them
and respect who they are and respect how they feel. And I want my work
to reflect that. So I have to thank my
librarian for instilling that in me at an early age. >> Carla Hayden: Because
there are libraries all over this country and even the
world that are giving your book and your books to other young
people when they come in. And you mentioned that's
one of your motivations. Do you think that your books
are helping young readers and people who are reading them? >> Angie Thomas: I
hope so, I hope so. My -- you know, a lot of
people ask me, you know, what does it feel like
to be a successful author because I've been on
the bestsellers lists and I've had a film made and I
got another movie in the works and all of this and that. And that's great. But, for me, the biggest success
comes from the young people who reach out to me and
say, I hate reading, but I read your book in a day. >> Carla Hayden: There
you go [laughing]. I hate reading but,
gee, I read yours. And you did hit it
out of the ballpark with your first novel,
The Hate U Give. It started, it debuted
at number one on the New York Times
bestseller list. I mean, that was just like
getting the Oscar right away. So what was that like? And why do you think
people were so attracted to Starr and her story? >> Angie Thomas: That still
amazes me to this day. You know, The Hate U
Give came out in 2017, and it's still finding readers. I think that, for a lot of
young people, this was a story that addressed things
that concerned them, and it reflected the world that
they were seeing around them. I think for a lot of especially
young Black kids, it was a book that showed them
themselves and affirmed a lot of them to them, you know? I think, too, that it -- this
book allowed a lot of people to have some conversations
about society and about issues
happening in our world and to have those
conversations in a safe space in the form of a book. I'm a firm believer that
books can create empathy and that empathy is more
powerful than sympathy. And I think The Hate
U Give helped a lot of people give some empathy. So I'm also just thankful that
young people loved it and talked about it because that's the
biggest marketing tool you can have. When a young person loves your
book and they tell their friends and their friends
tell their friends, you're going to find
some success. Trust me. >> Carla Hayden: You will. And they will -- that's the
best endorsement, you know, that you could have
because there are more kids that are maybe reluctant
to read. But when one of their friends
says, no, but try this. This is right. And this one, Concrete Rose. It's a prequel. And so I wonder as a librarian
-- and I'm sure a lot of people that are listening and
looking at us now would -- Why did you feel the
need to tell the story that wasn't covered, a prequel,
what led up to The Hate U Give? >> Angie Thomas: Well, honestly,
when I finished The Hate U Give, I thought I was done
with those characters, done with that story. But my readers, they're the
reason Concrete Rose exists. When I was touring for The
Hate U Give and promoting it, the character I was asked about
the most was Maverick Carter, who is Starr's dad
in The Hate U Give. And you wouldn't
expect the father to get that much attention
in the book, you know. From the young people
telling me they loved Maverick to the mom's telling
me they wanted to marry Maverick [laughing] -- >> Carla Hayden: Well, I must
say he's a strong character. >> Angie Thomas: And
the movie didn't help. The love for that
character just expanded. So a lot of people
wanted to know from me how did he become the
man and the father that we see in The Hate U Give,
knowing about his past? And I felt that the best way to
answer their questions was just to write another book. So thank you to my readers. You're the reason
Concrete Rose exists. >> Carla Hayden: Right. Because your books are
very much of the moment. And with Concrete Rose,
I was especially thinking of the Black Lives
Matter movement. And I wondered how that or
did it influence your writing and your -- what you know
is a response to your books? >> Angie Thomas: Absolutely. Absolutely. If nothing else, the summer
of 2020 and seeing the death of George Floyd caught on tape and seeing more Black men
become hashtags, it reminded me of the importance of humanizing
Black men and Black boys. And I think that as an author,
I have that responsibility. If you look at Maverick, if
someone were to just look at this character of Maverick
and just take a quick glimpse at him, they would assume,
oh, he's a troublemaker because he's involved in a gang and he does illegal
activities at times. But we are also talking about a
17-year-old kid who just wants to be loved and protected
and cared for. And those are all things
we can all identify with, no matter what walk
of life we come from. So I wanted to humanize Maverick
and further humanize Black boys and Black men so that when
we're saying Black lives matter, when we're saying those words, maybe people will understand
them a little bit more and get why we're saying,
yes, even when Black boys like Maverick are in trouble,
their lives still matter too. >> Carla Hayden: And the
cover even reflects that. The image that you see,
this, you would see him and say, well, I don't know. You know? And that's the point. You open it up. And your second book,
On the Come Up, tells the story of
a teen rapper. And that's another
misunderstood group. And I just learned, though,
that you were a rapper. So how much of your life as a
rapper figured in that book? >> Angie Thomas:
Quite a bit of it. I will have to say for the
record I was not a good rapper at all. I'm so glad -- >> Carla Hayden: Well,
you're a great writer. >> Angie Thomas:
Thank you [laughing]. I'm so glad that
didn't work out. But Bri's story for me was a way
to honor this art form that is so often overlooked, and
it's so often not seen as a form of storytelling. But for young people
like me, hip hop, that was where we
get our stories from. When I was a teenager, I drifted
away from books, unfortunately, because I wasn't connecting
with a lot of the books that were being presented to me. Hip Hop, however,
filled that void in, and rappers tell the stories
that I connected with. And they talked about
things that were happening in communities like mine. And now, as an author, I
want to give to young people with hip hop gave to me
but in the form of books. So I wanted to do that with
On The Come Up and also show that this is a creative outlet
for so many young people to express themselves,
to make themselves heard and to use their voices, even when it sometimes
makes us uncomfortable. But I think we have to pay more
attention to what they're saying as opposed to how
they're saying it. And I think hip hop is
a prime example of that. >> Carla Hayden: And
just to listen to just -- >> Angie Thomas: Yes. >> Carla Hayden: Do you
still do it a little bit? Do you have a rap about
books and reading or -- >> Angie Thomas:
You know, I should. But I retired the
microphone a long time ago. >> Carla Hayden: You
dropped the mic, huh? >> Angie Thomas:
I dropped the mic. >> Carla Hayden:
That's all right. That's all right. Well, I know that I mentioned that the Mississippi
Book Festival and you -- one of your first book festivals
because you were born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi,
where it starts. And you also grew
up near the home of the slain civil rights
activist, Medgar Evers. And from what I understand, you said your mother even heard
the gunshot that killed him. And then when you witnessed that
shoot-out when you were six, how did those experiences
affect you, your mother witnessing,
you being part of it? >> Angie Thomas: Yeah. They all shaped me. They all shaped me. Yeah. My mom grew up in the same
house where I later grew up, in the same neighborhood. And that house is close
enough to the home of Medgar Evers that, when
she was a little girl, she did hear those
gunshots that took his life. And I grew up hearing these
things about Mississippi and grew up knowing that this
was a reality at one point and knowing, too, that my state
still had a far way to go. But I think also one thing
about Mississippi and being from a place that has
such a colorful history, to put it mildly, is
that, as a writer, I feel as if it helps shape
me so that I can write stories that reflect the world
better than maybe some can because I think Mississippi
and its history and the fact that it has such a past, I
think it's reflective of us as a society as a whole. And I think it was William
Faulkner who once said that, if you want to understand
the world, understand Mississippi first. So I think as a writer,
that's what I -- that's how I approach
everything that I do. So I'm thankful for
these experiences. I'm thankful for these stories. I'm thankful for the fact
that I can learn from the past and hopefully craft stories that help my young readers
create a better future. >> Carla Hayden: And you
still live in Jackson. And with all of your
success and everything, you could live anywhere
you want to. So what keeps you there? >> Angie Thomas: What keeps me
here is the fact that I can go into the Kroger grocery
store here in Jackson, and a young person will
see me and recognize me and they realize that
I'm just like them. I'm here in Mississippi. They can reach out and touch me, which means that what I'm doing
is possible for them to do. And, hopefully, they
can do even more. I think it was Mandela
who once said that he always allowed
people to touch him so that they could
know he was real. He was flesh just like them. And everything that he
did, they could also do. So that's why I stay. I stay so that the
kids can see me. I grew up knowing there were a
lot of people from Mississippi who were doing awesome
things but never seeing them, and I want to stay around so that these kids can
actually see me and remember that it's possible to dream big. >> Carla Hayden: And that you
could see Angie Thomas in Kroger and then go home and
maybe be inspired to write something yourself
because your books are just that people say sometimes
ripped from the headlines. However, you write fiction. Does that give you more freedom than possibly writing
nonfiction? >> Angie Thomas:
I think it does. If nothing else, it -- I
think fiction has a way of connecting especially
with young readers in a way maybe nonfiction
doesn't because, through fiction, you can
create lives and stories that allow young people
to find themselves. A lot of times with nonfiction,
yeah, you're stating the facts and you're talking about
the real life things. But there can be this
impersonal side of it. Fiction allows me to make
it a little more personal. I'm a huge proponent of
making quote, unquote, political stuff personal
because, at the end of the day, we're talking about people. We're talking about experiences. We're talking about lives. And that's what I want
to do with my books. So I prefer writing fiction. But the funny thing is, I
love reading nonfiction. I love reading nonfiction. >> Carla Hayden: Well, that gives you things
to put into books. And it gives you and
it opens up your mind. And that's what I'd like to turn
to another subject, literacy, because beginning this October,
you will be on the board of the Library of
Congress Literacy Boards. And I want to thank you for
agreeing to do that because that basic gift of
literacy can do so much. So I hope that's what drew you
to wanting to be on the board. >> Angie Thomas: Absolutely. It absolutely did. I am -- I recognize as someone
who is the descendant of people who at one point were
told they shouldn't read, they couldn't read, I recognize
the power of words and the power of literature to not
just enhance our lives but to advance our lives. And I want more young
people to understand that. So it's an honor to
serve on the board. It is an absolute honor. And I'm so looking forward to the work that's
going to take place. I'm so looking forward to the
lives that will be impacted. But the power of books I don't
think people recognize just yet. And if we can further that and help more people recognize
just how much power words and books have, that's the
legacy I want to leave behind. >> Carla Hayden:
Well, you're doing it. And we thank you so much because
you have millions, as you know, fans around the world. And I wish we could keep going because I know they
want to hear from you. But we -- if you could, just
what advice would you give to aspiring young writers? Because they look to
you and they read you and they would love to hear
what you'd have to advise them. >> Angie Thomas: Yeah. Well, usually, when I
talk to young writers, aspiring young writers, the first thing they always tell
me is that, I want to write; but I don't think
I'm good at it. Practice makes perfect. Now, here's the other
thing, though. Perfectionism is the
enemy of progress. Know that the first thing that you write is
not going to be good. And that's okay. There's a great thing
called editing. There is a great
thing called editing. So just keep at it. You have to keep going. You have to write. Write the bad stuff. Every single book you've
ever read and enjoyed, every single book that's
there in the Library of Congress, it started out bad. It did not look anything
like the finished product. So you've got to
write, write, write. And, secondly, read, read, read. Reading books, that's the best
way to learn how to write. Study other writers. Study other authors. Study how they -- how
they form dialogue. Study how they do descriptions. Study it all. Read, read, read, and you will
learn just as much as you could from reading other writers as
you would maybe possibly sitting in a classroom studying
writing because guess what? When you're sitting in the
classroom studying writing, your teacher's going to
assign you books anyway. So read. [ Laughing ] >> Carla Hayden: Well, Angie, I wish we could continue
this wonderful conversation, but I'm afraid we've
run out of time. So thank you so much for
spending time with all of us, giving advice and just
being an inspiration. >> Angie Thomas: Thank you. Thank you. >> Carla Hayden: And we have
been talking with the author of the extraordinary The
Hate U Give and its prequel, the recently released
Concrete Rose. So thank you once again,
Angie, and thank you to our National Book
Festival viewers. M20:08 >> LeVar Burton: We hope you've
enjoyed this conversation. And now we'd like
you to hear more from the Library's own
experts on this topic. >> Laura Berberian: Welcome
to the Library of Congress. I'm joining you today from
the Jefferson Building, home of the main Reading Room, a place that inspires
intellectual inquiry. I am Laura Berberian, and
I'm a reference librarian in the Researcher and
Reference Services Division at the Library of Congress. The librarians in the Researcher and Reference Services Division
help researchers find materials on their topics in a
variety of subjects in the humanities
and social sciences. RRS provides readers access
to the Library's millions of books and periodicals. The author Angie Thomas
recounted how a librarian encouraged her intellectual
curiosity as a child. One of the most satisfying
aspects of being a librarian at the Library of Congress is
opening a world of knowledge and resources to young
adults who were unaware that the Library of Congress
was available to them. Part of the work
of the Researcher and Reference Services
Division is to dispel the myth that the Library is only
for members of Congress. Anyone aged 16 and up
can obtain a Library of Congress reader ID card. A rewarding part of my job is
teaching research orientation classes to high school students. I show students how to find
sources in a variety of formats for their research projects. After one of my orientation
classes, a teacher emailed me to say, the volume of
information in the Library of Congress can be
daunting for most adults. But our kids came
away quite confident about which catalogs they will
want to consult in the future and how to do it, both
from home and on site. I am sure they will be
using their new card soon. The high school students
were eager to explore the Library's
vast collections. I helped the students find
sources for their projects at the Research Assistance
Desk in the Main Reading Room. I'd like to take this
opportunity to highlight some of the items in the Library's
general collections that relate to what Angie Thomas discussed. Miss Thomas recalled
how hip hop resonated with her while growing up. The following book from the
Library's general collections demonstrates how this
genre connects with youth. The title of the book is
Hip Hop Speaks to Children, A Celebration of Poetry With a
Beat, edited by Nikki Giovanni, advisory editors Tony Medina, Willie Perdomo and
Michelle Scott. Angie Thomas mentioned her
mother hearing the gunshots that killed Medgar Evers. The following item is
one of the many books from the Library's
general collections about the African-American civil
rights activist Medgar Evers, who led economic boycotts, organized voter registration
drives and was the first NAACP
field officer in Mississippi. The title of this book is The
Autobiography of Medgar Evers, A Hero's Life and Legacy
Revealed Through His Writings, Letters and Speeches,
edited and with commentaries by Myrlie Evers-Williams and
Manning Marable, Copyright 2005. Ms. Thomas talked about
making the political personal by writing stories that resonate
with young readers of color. The Library of Congress's
collections include many books that personalize social justice
issues such as Take the Mic, Fictional Stories of
Everyday Resistance, edited by Bethany C. Morrow. This anthology of
short stories and poems for young adult readers
includes poems by the Library's seventh
National Ambassador for Young People's
Literature, Jason Reynolds. And, finally, Stamped,
Racism, Antiracism and You by Ibram X. Kendi
and Jason Reynolds. This book was adapted
for young adult readers from the book Stamped
From the Beginning, the Definitive History of
Racist Ideas in America. These books are just
a small sample of the Library's
vast collections. The librarians in the Researcher and Reference Services
Division are happy to help readers discover
more materials at the Library of Congress. Visit us online at
loc.gov, and reach out to us through the Ask a Librarian
feature on the site. [ Music ]
