And isn’t that the biggest tragedy of all? When a boy has to be the devil in order to be significant?
When I wrote BETTY, I conducted Q&A sessions with my mother about those experiences of racism she faced. She told me how growing up in predominately white communities, she was not seen as significant, important, or as if her life mattered. She recalled how in school she was bullied because of the color of her skin, by not only classmates but teachers as well. When it came time for career instruction in high school, the teachers told my mother she wasn’t going to do anything with her life, and it would be a waste of time for her to participate.
Those in the community hurled racial slurs at her and her father. As I listened to her stories and her experiences, she expressed having those feelings that her life didn’t matter. These same feelings I wanted to apply to Sal. Sal is a character who has grown up on his family’s farm. His “father” is struggling to make a life for himself, but Sal doesn’t want to inherit his father’s burdens, nor does he want to inherit the farm. Sal is a reader, and he dreams of being a writer one day. But despite his beautiful gifts and talents for storytelling, he is still not seen by society. Only when he comes to town, saying he is the devil, do people see, hear, and acknowledge him.
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