Hate
The title of the movie alludes to this important theme. The title refers to Tupac's anagram for "Thug Life": "The hate you give little infants fucks everybody." This quote alludes to the fact that the hate black youth experience from white society only creates a cycle of hate, which is the structural motor for why black Americans get caught up in systems of violence and crime. The film examines one family's attempts at breaking the cycle of this hate, and finding a way to protest and fight injustice in ways that are self-affirming and loving. Hate, according to the movie, is a dead end that ruins everyone's lives.
Police Brutality and Injustice
This is a recurring theme throughout the movie, and appears from the start, when Maverick makes his young children recite the Ten-Point Program from the Black Panther Party. When Khalil is wrongfully shot to death by a white officer, the film delves deeper into an exploration of the injustice black individuals suffer at the hands of ignorant and trigger-happy white officers. The police force depicted in the film is a violent, proto-fascist, and unsympathetic institution. They break up a peaceful protest with tear gas and they are quick to pull a gun on black individuals. The film gives the viewer a window into this injustice, and shows the way that police brutality gets mishandled by the media and the law.
Identity
One of Starr's main struggles is her sense that she is living a double life. On the one hand, she is a girl who grew up in a rough black neighborhood and has seen two of her friends get shot. On the other hand, she attends Williamson and dates an affluent white boy, and so integrates herself into the prep school life. The constant switching between these two personas results in immense confusion for Starr, who feels that she does not fit in in either environment. Over the course of the film, she learns that the only way to feel better about herself is to be more honest about her identity and integrate these two sides of herself.
Family
The one thing that Starr can count on, even when things get complicated and she feels isolated in her community, is her family. The Carters are a tight-knit group, often sharing family meals, holding each other accountable, and sharing warm laughs. Starr feels deep belonging with her family, and while they do not always see eye-to-eye, she knows she can rely on them when the going gets tough. They do their best to keep her safe and take care of her, but her parents forgive and respect her when she strikes out on her own and tries to establish her independence.
Finding Your Voice
Starr is hesitant about speaking up about Khalil's death, worried about the attention that it will bring her, including possible repercussions from the vengeful King Lord. She holds back—until one day, she decides that she has an obligation to speak up. She speaks on television and testifies in front of the grand jury. The true test of her desire to speak up, however, comes after the jury fails to indict the white officer, and the community of Garden Heights starts protesting. Starr joins the front lines of the protest, and even makes an impassioned speech into a megaphone about her experience as the witness to Khalil's death, and her commitment to preserving his memory. Starr learns to trust her own voice, and her ability to speak up against oppressive powers.
Love
One of the more heartbreaking things about Khalil's death on a personal level for Starr is the fact that he was her first love. In the moments before he got pulled over by the cop, Khalil confesses his feelings for Starr and they share a kiss. There is a warmth and affection between the two of them that makes Khalil's murder all the more shocking and horrible.
Additionally, Starr loves and is loved by Chris, a white student at her school who doesn't know about her life in Garden Heights. Eventually, after he has shown up enough times and insisted to Starr that he loves and sees her for who she is, Starr accepts his love and they embark on a loyal and meaningful relationship.
Social Inequality
The imagery of Williamson, the prep school Starr attends, and Garden Heights, the neighborhood where she lives, reveals a stark division between the rich and poor, between black and white communities. Starr exists in the middle between this divide, forced to adopt two selves in order to fit in. The film shows how this social inequality affects people differently. For instance, for the white students at Williamson, a protest is a good excuse to skip class, but for Starr, it is the only thing that makes her feel empowered to seek justice in the wake of her friend's murder.