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Jerome Rogers
Emmett Till in Ghost Boys is a representation of the historical 14-year-old African-American lynching victim from Chicago, who was murdered while visiting relatives in Mississippi by two white men after he spoke to one man’s wife while she was working in a grocery store. Emmett begins mentoring Jerome Rogers’s ghost after a white police officer, Officer Moore, mistakes the toy gun Jerome is holding for a real firearm and shoots him. As described in the novel, Emmett is Jerome’s height, with very dark eyes and chipmunk cheeks. He first appears in the novel when he visits the Rogers family apartment during Jerome’s wake, when Jerome has first begun to haunt his family. Emmett pops up several times at Jerome’s house, at the hearing, and it’s revealed that Officer Moore’s daughter Sarah can see Emmett’s ghost as well as his own. While Jerome is haunting Sarah’s room and talking with her later that day, Emmett appears and shows them both thousands of ghosts of Black boys outside, all of whom died under circumstances similar to Jerome. Learning about Emmett’s murder is vital to both Sarah and Jerome’s development: it helps Sarah develop political consciousness and makes Jerome realize that his killing is part of a long history of violence against Black boys. At the novel’s end, Jerome has resolved to bear witness and trigger the desire for antiracist change among the living in the same way that Emmett Till’s ghost is doing.
Emmett Till Quotes in Ghost Boys
The Ghost Boys quotes below are all either spoken by Emmett Till or refer to Emmett Till. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Dead (p. 63–70)
Quotes
Who knew THE END wasn’t the end?
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Dead (p. 85–191)
Quotes
“What’re you going to be, Sarah?” I shout. “You’re the only one who’s going to grow up.”
“You’re the Chicago boy? Murdered like me?”
“1955. Down South.”
Everybody knew the South was dangerous then.”
“Still is,” answers Emmett.
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“Maybe you shouldn’t know about it. At least for now. It’s terrible when grown men kill a child.”
“Like my dad?”
Emmett’s the leader. The leader of our crew. An unnatural alliance—young, but dead.
Ghost boys.
I understand now. Everything isn’t all about me.
Scornful, Emmett boasts. “Life’s different in Chicago. I talk with white people all the time.”
“No, you don’t,” scolds Simeon.
“I do. I’ll show you.” He heads toward the store.
“Don’t,” says Simeon.
“Think I’m scared?”
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Emmett murmurs, “Bear witness.”
“What’s that mean?”
“Everyone needs their story heard. Felt. We honor each other. Connect across time.”
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Emmett told me that the men who killed him never believed they did wrong. An all-white jury found them innocent.
The judge said there wasn’t enough evidence to charge Officer Moore with a crime. But he’s not celebrating.
Is that progress?
Dead (p. 204)
Quotes
Bear witness. My tale is told.
Wake. Only the living can make the world better.
Live and make it better.
Get the entire Ghost Boys LitChart as a printable PDF.
Emmett Till Quotes in Ghost Boys
The Ghost Boys quotes below are all either spoken by Emmett Till or refer to Emmett Till. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Dead (p. 63–70)
Quotes
Who knew THE END wasn’t the end?
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Dead (p. 85–191)
Quotes
“What’re you going to be, Sarah?” I shout. “You’re the only one who’s going to grow up.”
“You’re the Chicago boy? Murdered like me?”
“1955. Down South.”
Everybody knew the South was dangerous then.”
“Still is,” answers Emmett.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
“Maybe you shouldn’t know about it. At least for now. It’s terrible when grown men kill a child.”
“Like my dad?”
Emmett’s the leader. The leader of our crew. An unnatural alliance—young, but dead.
Ghost boys.
I understand now. Everything isn’t all about me.
Scornful, Emmett boasts. “Life’s different in Chicago. I talk with white people all the time.”
“No, you don’t,” scolds Simeon.
“I do. I’ll show you.” He heads toward the store.
“Don’t,” says Simeon.
“Think I’m scared?”
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Emmett murmurs, “Bear witness.”
“What’s that mean?”
“Everyone needs their story heard. Felt. We honor each other. Connect across time.”
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Emmett told me that the men who killed him never believed they did wrong. An all-white jury found them innocent.
The judge said there wasn’t enough evidence to charge Officer Moore with a crime. But he’s not celebrating.
Is that progress?
Dead (p. 204)
Quotes
Bear witness. My tale is told.
Wake. Only the living can make the world better.
Live and make it better.
