BY KAREN SUROS
The School Board of Broward County (SBBC) recently made the decision to ban the fictional book “Ghost Boys” by Jewell Parker Rhodes after the book was used for instruction in a fifth grade class in Coral Springs, supposedly without passing through the district’s vetting process.
Jewell Parker Rhoades is an author Broward County Public Schools (BCPS) students are familiar with. Her novel about a young girl in New Orleans surviving Hurricane Katrina, “Ninth Ward,” found its way onto elementary school reading lists in the district. One might think that since her work has been approved by the SBBC in the past, it wouldn’t be an issue now. However, the subject matter of “Ghost Boys” is seemingly more heavy than that of “Ninth Ward.”
The book’s synopsis reads, “Twelve-year-old Jerome is shot by a police officer who mistakes his toy gun for a real threat. As a ghost, he observes the devastation that’s been unleashed on his family and community in the wake of what they see as an unjust and brutal killing.”
“Ghost Boys” delves into complicated racial tensions, raising the question as to whether it is appropriate for elementary school students.
“Ghost Boys” delves into complicated racial tensions, raising the question as to whether it is appropriate for elementary school students.
Generally, a good rule of thumb for deciding whether a book is appropriate for an age group is considering the age of the book’s characters. The main character in “Ghost Boys” is twelve years old, so the book should certainly be allowed in middle school classrooms. However, Common Sense Media, a nonprofit organization dedicated to rating media for children, says “Ghost Boys” is appropriate for kids above the age of ten. Although the novel was not properly processed and approved by the district, it looks like it was not out of place in the fifth grade classroom.
An open letter from the Fraternal Order of Police State Lodge District 5 to Broward County parents and public school officials prompted the school board to halt the use of the book. In the letter, District Director Paul Kempinski claimed the novel “convinces its reader–the children of our community–that police officers regularly lie as they routinely murder children, while painting police officers as racists.”
While it is true that the novel does not portray police officers, particularly the one responsible for Jerome’s death, in the best light, it does not immediately label all cops as bad. The author merely tries to bring attention to the dangers of inherent prejudice when it belongs to people in positions of power.
Additionally, the book may be fictional, but its references are very real. The main character communicates with the ghost of Emmett Till, a 14-year-old boy from Chicago who was brutally murdered, or lynched, by a group of white men in 1955. “Ghost Boys” also references several other now-deceased adolescent Black males as it exposes an alarming trend of police brutality against the African American community. Jerome’s story seems to be reminiscent of Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old African American boy who had a toy gun when he was killed by a white police officer in 2014.
The author merely tries to bring attention to the dangers of inherent prejudice when it belongs to people in positions of power.
Kids these days are sure to come across the story of Emmett Till and the story of Tamir Rice at some point in their lives, if they haven’t already. Both cases are relevant to larger historical movements.
The death of Emmett Till spurred the Civil Rights Movement in the mid-to-late 1900s, while the death of Tamir Rice fueled the flames of the Black Lives Matter movement in the present day. Introducing children to these intensely heartbreaking realities in a controlled classroom environment gives them an outlet to empathize with the victims of police brutality and racism, and may allow them to think more critically in order to recognize and avoid prejudice.
Across the country, challenged and banned books often deal with controversial topics like racism. “To Kill A Mockingbird,” a book commonly read in the ninth grade, is one such example. Now, “Ghost Boys” serves as another.
The use of serious novels like “Ghost Boys” in classrooms should be carefully monitored due to their intense nature. However, ruling out this book entirely and claiming it convinces readers that police officers are liars, murderers and rapists is severely underestimating students’ critical thinking skills and misunderstanding the point of “Ghost Boys” entirely.
The book is not meant to brainwash kids, but to get them thinking about a perspective they may not be familiar with.
Photo courtesy of Publishers Weekly
