The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois

Samuel Pinchard begins making changes at Wood Place: He has several slaves build him a grand house, buys an enslaved woman to be his cook in the new kitchen quarters, and buys a young enslaved girl named Mamie to be the cook’s assistant.

When a kind enslaved man named Midas begins courting Aggie, she initially resists but grows more interested when she learns that his ancestor was an African griot: a respected elder who retained and passed down his people’s history. They marry, but Aggie is wary of having children, knowing that any whim of Samuel’s could part them. One night, a spirit awakens her from sleep and leads her into the woods, where she sees what she thinks is a monster on top of a little girl. As she draws nearer, she realizes it is Samuel raping Mamie. Seeing her light, he flees, and Aggie stays with Mamie until morning, holding and comforting her.

This summary covers “Brother-Man Magic,” “We Sing Your Praises High,” “Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité, Goddamnit,” “In This Spot,” and “Feminism, Womanism, or Whatever.”

Although Ailey intends to forgive David and take him back after making him suffer for a few months, she learns that he is seeing someone else.