Selma, 1965

The symbol of ghosts introduced in Line 1 (“Amid the ghosts of civil rights marchers” [Line 1]) functions in multiple ways. First, the concept of ghosts gives the marchers a specter-like image—an image later echoed through the imagery of the marchers. Ghosts are typically apparitions of the dead who appear living. In choosing to describe the marchers as ghosts, House describes them as the dead. Ghosts haunt the living. The slavery and inequalities that Black American suffered haunts American history. These marchers are described as shells of people because, at the time of marching, they lack the right to vote; they also lack an essential part of what it means to be human and have a say in their country.

House also describes the marchers as angels: “They were tattered angels of hope” (Line 15). Like ghosts, angels are ethereal. While ghosts might be remnants of the living waiting to pass into the afterlife, angels are spiritual beings thought to be messengers of a god. Another definition of angels is a person of exemplary conduct or virtue. To describe the marchers as angels is to describe them as beings beyond the living world bearing a message of purpose and importance: equal rights for all humans.