Amandla Stenberg to Star in ‘The Hate U Give’ – Based on a Black Lives Matter-Inspired Novel.

Amandla Stenberg

As an actress, activist, and aspiring filmmaker, Amandla Stenberg has always been outspoken about issues of race and social justice. Now Stenberg is taking her conviction to the big screen with an exciting new role. The Hunger Games actress is set to star in The Hate U Give, a film based on an upcoming debut novel by Angela Thomas. The book and movie take their titles from Tupac Shakur’s iconic T.H.U.G. tattoo.

According to Variety,

Thomas’ story follows a 16-year-old who attends a suburban prep school and must deal with the aftermath of witnessing a police officer shoot her unarmed best friend. When she is called to testify in court, she has to face the consequences of what she does or doesn’t say.

Thomas began working on the book as a short story while a senior at Belhaven University. She was inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement and the 2009 fatal shooting of Oscar Grant, an unarmed 22-year-old black man in Oakland, Calif. — which was recounted in the 2013 movie “Fruitvale Station.”

That Hate U Give will be directed by African American filmmaker George Tillman Jr.

In addition to this project, Stenberg stars in As You Are, a teen drama which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year.