And so many more souls that have been murdered because of racism and bias than we know. That’s why the history of lynching in Mississippi is also so important. The history of the African-American Museum, ghosts that exist in the world still. Now that’s rooted in one of my African-American traditions that says “Every goodbye ain’t gone.” That there’s a deep-rooted belief in the spiritual world and that the spirits’ presence is still accessible to us, you know. But it’s also rooted in the idea that as a living person, I have a responsibility to bear witness to the tragedies and the pain and the people that have been lost.
So, in that sense, there’s that idea that I use the ghosts as an army encouraging me as a writer, encouraging students reading the book to bear witness because when we bear witness, we cauterize pain. When we bear witness, we remind ourselves of the universal humanity.
So, ghosts are not some crazy thing in my life. I remember when I was a little kid knowing that there were ghosts and spirits in this universe. And a lot of great cultural traditions believe in that as well. My ancestors, my grandmother who’s been dead for 30 years is still with me. And if I live my life knowing that there are young souls that we’ve lost who are ghosts wandering the world, who didn’t have an opportunity to live their life, it puts more a burden on me to live a better life and to give all I can so that the world changes and bears witness.
For Ghost Boys, I did not know the book was going to end in spoken word poetry. I did not. But I think that message, you know, that only the living can make the change, so live and make it better, really resonates. And I love to ask students, “Is there anybody in here who’s not living?” And they’ll go, “No.” “So, what does that mean? Live,” I’ll shout, “and make it better.” You know, and that whole idea of bear witness, my tale is told. Don’t let me or anybody else tell this tale again.
Kids understand that everybody has a story. Everybody deserves their story to be heard and that they have the power to make sure that some stories of hurt, abuse, murder can never be told again because of racial bias.