EL SEGUNDO HERALD June 4, 2020 Page 5
No Justice, No Peace in
The Hate U Give
Morgan Rojas for cinemacy.com
This review originally ran on October 19,
2018. Starr Carter (Amandla Stenberg) is a
high school teen stuck between two worlds.
At her home in Garden Heights, a rough
and predominantly black neighborhood littered
with drugs and gangs, she is seen as
an outsider. At her private high school in
the wealthier and white part of town, she is
seen as a diversity statistic. Despite her personal
struggles, the support from her family
never falters. From a young age, her father
(Russell Hornsby) always told her about the
power and pride she and her brothers should
feel as a young black person in America,
despite the injustice their people face every
day. When Starr witnesses the shooting death
of her unarmed best friend by a white police
officer, her world is turned upside down. As
the only witness to Khalil’s wrongful death,
Starr feels pressure from the community to
testify against the officer in court. and is
faced with a life-changing decision: stay
quiet and let life pass her by, or stand up
and speak her truth.
Amandla Stenberg gives a groundbreaking
and emotionally stirring performance as the
young protagonist, Starr. In nearly every
scene, tears stream down Stenberg’s face
and we can’t help but feel our hearts break
along with hers. Her range as an actor is on
full display as she brings life and powerful
charisma to every moment. Equally as affecting
is Russell Hornsby’s performance as her
protective father. His tough exterior protects
his gentle heart as he puts his family’s wellbeing
above his own, claiming that family is
the only people he lives and dies for.
The Hate U Give, an adaptation of the
YA novel written by Angie Thomas, is a hard
watch, especially as white woman who is
critically aware of being in the fortunate position
of not being faced with violence and a
cultural identity crisis on the daily. Just being
female in a male-oriented world can come with
its own set of restraints and hurdles. In this
case, director George Tillman Jr.’s exposé is
an eye-opening account of an all too familiar
scenario, but just because we may not like
what we see, doesn’t mean we should turn
away and pretend it’s not happening.
A timely conversation centering around the
Black Lives Matter movement and the injustice
of racial profiling within law enforcement and
beyond, The Hate U Give, available to rent
on VOD, is a heartbreaking and emotional
account of one young African American
woman’s struggle of living in America and
the burden she carries as a result. •
The Hate U Give, courtesy of 20th Century Studios.
Davis and DeRosa from front page
Chris DeRosa Troy Davis
Police Reports from page 2
A burglary (residential) report was taken at
0818 hours from the 900 block of Main Street.
A burglary (vehicle) report was taken at 0929
hours from the 1800 block of East Sycamore
Avenue.
A vandalism report was taken at 0944 hours
from the 1200 block of East Acacia Avenue.
Unknown suspect(s) broke the windshield of
a 2018 Honda.
A reported stolen vehicle was recovered
at 1319 hours from the 700 block of Indiana
Court. Recovered was a 1997 Nissan Maxima.
A burglary (commercial) report was taken
at 1558 hours from the 800 block of South
Aviation Boulevard. Unknown suspect(s) broke
into a storage unit.
Friday, May 29th
A petty theft report was taken at 0905 hours
from the 400 block of Whiting Street. Taken
was a black wallet.
A stolen trailer was recovered at 1141 hours
from the 100 block of South Pacific Coast
Highway.
A stolen vehicle report was taken at 1205
hours from the 2100 block of East El Segundo
Boulevard. Stolen was a 2001 Ford Explorer.
An annoying phone calls report was taken
at 1447 hours from the 400 block of California
Street.
A lost property report was taken at 1447
hours from the 400 block of California Street.
Lost was a Los Angeles County Identification.
One female adult was arrested for grand
theft auto at 2128 hours from the 100 block
of Continental Boulevard.
A stolen vehicle report was taken at 0248
hours from the 100 block of West Imperial
Avenue. The 2017 Honda Accord was later
recovered on Irene Court.
One male adult was detained and transport
to MLK Exodus for a 72 hour psychiatric
evaluation. Saturday, May 30th
A courtesy stolen plates report was taken
at 0642 hours from the 500 block of North
Pacific Coast Highway.
A stolen vehicle plates report was taken
at 0642 hours from the 500 block of North
Pacific Coast Highway.
One male adult was detained at 0805 hours
from the 100 block of North Continental
Boulevard and transported to MLK medical
center for a 72 hours psychiatric evaluation.
A burglary (commercial) report was taken
at 1642 hours from the 800 block of South
Aviation Boulevard.
A dead body report was taken at 1738
hours from the 200 block of West Imperial
Avenue. An elderly male passed away from
natural causes.
An online petty theft report was taken at
0253 hours from the 400 block of Indiana
Street. Unknown suspect(s) entered the victim’s
vehicle and stole 20 dollars in US currency
and a harmonica.
A lost property report was taken at 0347
hours from the 1400 block of Elin Pointe.
Lost was a credit card.
A felony reckless driving report was taken at
0403 hours from East El Segundo Boulevard
and South Pacific Coast Highway.
Sunday, May 31st
A vandalism report was taken at 0755
hours from the 300 block of North Pacific
Coast Highway. A window was smashed to
a business. •
He later settled in El Segundo because he
found the town not only financially affordable
but also because he was drawn to the
area that he equated to a small town in the
Midwest or upstate New York. DeRosa said
that before moving to El Segundo, he was
working in Manhattan Beach and Downey.
Still, his local patients bemoaned the fact that
there was not a convenient physical therapy
treatment option in El Segundo. So, the coowners
took a shot, establishing their company
on Richmond Street. He touts El Segundo as
“a tight community, and business-friendly.”
Davis and DeRosa strive to give back
to the community that has supported their
endeavors for nearly two decades, supporting
myriad community events, like the Run
for Education.
Linal Harada, the high school’s college and
career advisor, said that “Chris DeRosa and
his team have been supporting ESHS students
for nearly over a decade. They have hosted
student interns each semester, providing skill
development, work-based learning, as well
as valuable hands-on experience. This internship
is especially popular with our PLTW
biomedical pathway. Also, Chris has been a
regular participant at the ESHS College and
Career day each spring. We are thankful for
the kindness, professionalism, and generosity
we have received as community partners.”
DeRosa acknowledges that the devastation
that the COVID-19 pandemic has unleashed
on society has taken a toll on his business.
Once the pandemic rolled in, it “was horrible,
to be honest,” he said. “We lost about 70%
of our business in two weeks. We went from
seeing 600 patients a week, pre-pandemic, to
about 200 weekly. “We were so busy, having
the best beginning of the year, ever…then it
just got trounced. We figured that we were
going to progressively shut down slowly, but
we had patients who were in horrific pain
(some had just had surgeries), so we could
not abandon them.”
He said that the business is slowly seeing
an uptick and that he is trying to bring back
some of their physical therapists as their
caseloads slowly increase. He acknowledges
the challenges ahead. “We are going to have
to restructure the way that we work,” he said.
“It is going to be a little different.”
When not plying his physical therapy
trade, DeRosa said that he likes to cook, and
exercise, touting El Segundo’s SoulCycle as
one of his fitness hangouts.
As our phone interview concluded, DeRosa
was asked why the co-owners selected the
business name Davis and DeRosa and not
DeRosa and Davis? He said that Davis and
DeRosa “sounds better,” and, in a nod to the
long-ago days when the behemoth Yellow
Pages business directory was heaved onto
the front porch every year, noted that in the
book’s listings, Da comes before De. “That’s
how old we are,” he quipped. •
Entertainment
Film Review
Morgan Rojas
The El Segundo Herald
wants to sincerely thank
all the advertisers that are sticking
with us, during this difficult time.
XOXO
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