What changes is Starr seeing in her friendship with Hailey?

In Chapter Seven, Hailey’s fried-chicken insult explores a complication of racism: the fact that, as Starr points out, people who are not intentionally racist can still say racist things. This is especially possible in an environment like Williamson, where the student body is virtually all white and students might not even be aware that their comments are hurtful and prejudiced. Instead of listening to Starr, Hailey gets upset and offended that Starr has accused her of making a thoughtless remark. This represents a difficulty often found in the conversation of race in America: defensiveness which prevents open communication.