Everything I knew about race, life and the way I was treated really came to a halt in sixth and seventh grade. Around that time I read the book Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes.

First recommended to me by my middle school librarian, the book centers around a young black boy, Jerome Rogers, who is shot to death at the age of 12 by a white police officer, who thought the toy gun in Jerome’s hands was a real weapon.

Now as a ghost, Jerome has to watch his family suffer and not be able to do anything about it. Jerome meets Sarah, the daughter of the policeman who shot him.

They form a weird relationship as Sarah is the only living person who can see Jerome. He is confused as to why she can see and talk to him. The story also touches on a very important historical case about Emmett Till , who appears as a ghost to visit Jerome.

In 1955, a 14-year-old black boy was mutilated by two grown white men. False accusations of Emmett assaulting a white woman got around, and two grown white men took matters into their own hands killed Emmett.  It was 

This famous story through time has been used to tell the story of racism, white supremacy and police brutality. For me, it was the first time I learned about the Till’s experiences and his mother’s fight to expose the wrong-doing.

The policeman who shot Jerome characterizes Jerome as young and dangerous boy who was violent. In reality, he was nothing like that. Jerome’s innocence and view of the world is tarnished when he was killed for no reason.

As a ghost, Emmett Till speaks to Jerome and helps him grapple with the circumstances he is in. Emmett shows Jerome the black boys as ghosts who were murdered for no wrongdoing.

Sarah’s becomes Jerome’s friend and works to have her father face the truth of his biased perceptions.

I really enjoyed this book and its topics. Jerome was a young and black child when everything happened to him. And I was a young black child reading it for the first time.

In school, I felt that I was treated differently, like Jerome. I was treated as if I was prone to being dangerous or angry, and I was put into a box that Jerome was put in as well.

Jewell Parker Rhodes has plenty more books  including, Black Brother, Black Brother and Paradise on Fire.  Her work is very focused on promoting and uplifting black children of America and helping them find their voice.