Well, books have been healing my soul. I think the fact that children of color and non-color can see a place for themselves in my books is healing them and reminding them that they are very special because they have power and they can be the change, and that I as an adult believe in them. And so, that opens up all kinds of wondrous possibilities.
So, maybe they don’t have as much healing as I do as an adult, but they were learning the capacity that they can actually bring healing to others, which is a very interesting thing.
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.