Starr Carter Quotes

“‘Everybody wants to talk about how Khalil died,’ I say. ‘But this isn’t about how Khalil died. It’s about the fact that he lived. His life mattered. Khalil lived!’ I look at the cops again. ‘You hear me? Khalil lived!’”

“And to every kid in Georgetown and in all ‘the Gardens’ of the world: your voices matter, your dreams matter, your lives matter. Be the roses that grow in the concrete.”

“I can’t change where I come from or what I’ve been through, so why should I be ashamed of what makes me, me?”

“‘Brave doesn’t mean you’re not scared, Starr,’ she says. ‘It means you go on even though you’re scared. And you’re doing that.’”

“My voice is changing already. It always happens around ‘other’ people, whether I’m at Williamson or not. I don’t talk like me or sound like me. I choose every word carefully and make sure I pronounce them well. I can never, ever let anyone think I’m ghetto.”

“Daddy once told me there’s a rage passed down to every black man from his ancestors, born the moment they couldn’t stop the slave masters from hurting their families. Daddy also said there’s nothing more dangerous than when that rage is activated.”

“Intentions always look better on paper than in reality.”

“People are realizing and shouting and marching and demanding. They’re not forgetting. I think that’s the most important part.”

“Being two different people is so exhausting. I’ve taught myself to speak with two different voices and only say certain things around certain people. I’ve mastered it. As much as I say I don’t have to choose which Starr I am with Chris, maybe without realizing it, I have to an extent. Part of me feels like I can’t exist around people like him.”

“You’re making us out to be monsters.”

“The bullhorn is as heavy as a gun. Ironic since Ms. Ofrah said to use my weapon.”

“What’s the point of having a voice if you’re gonna be silent in those moments you shouldn’t be?”

“I can’t stand myself for doing it, but I do it anyway.”