It is Sunday morning. Alfred accompanies his three little cousins and Aunt Pearl as they walk to church. The five pass a rally featuring a street speaker who advocates racial separation and resistance to white control. As Major did in the clubroom in the first chapter, the speaker taunts Alfred for trying to fit into the white man’s world. Alfred recognizes Harold, a stocky, politically oriented young man whom he knew in high school. Harold and a slender young woman named Lynn try to recruit Alfred, but he hurries on to church.
After worship services, Alfred, Aunt Pearl, and the girls ride the subway to Jamaica, a suburban village in Queens, to visit Pearl’s sister Dorothy and her family. Dorothy’s husband, Wilson, has a good job and has purchased a house. Their son, Jeff, has a scholarship to college and may join the Peace Corps. At the end of the day, Alfred, Aunt Pearl, and the girls return to Harlem. After Aunt Pearl and the girls fall asleep, Alfred takes Aunt Pearl’s alarm clock from her room and sets it for 5:30 a.m.
