Chapter 6 introduces Neil, June's boyfriend of many years. He is the principal at June's school. Long ago, June was left at the altar by another man, so although she dates Neil, she refuses to marry him. Lily reflects that it's odd all three sisters are unmarried.
The Daughters of Mary have their weekly meeting at the Boatright house. An assortment of ladies in fancy hats arrive, including Queenie, Violet, Mabelee, Cressie, Singer-Girl, and her husband, Otis Hill. Lunelle is the hat maker. They sit in the presence of the Mary statue and begin to say "Hail, Mary's." This is followed by a Bible reading, and then the story of Our Lady of Chains. To August, storytelling is an important way to keep the past alive, the memory intact, and the community connected. Without stories, we forget "who we are or why we're here." Lily can tell August repeats the story the same way, every time.
The story begins in the days when slaves were yearning for freedom. A slave named Obadiah found a ship's figurehead floating in the water. He figured the Lord had sent her to rescue them, and was sure of this when the statue spoke to him, saying she was there to take care of them. When he set her on the hearth of the praise house, Pearl, the oldest slave, identified her as Mary, the Mother of Jesus. Pearl said mothers have seen suffering and are "strong and constant" with a "mother's heart." Then the slaves danced and touched the statue's chest, where they later painted a heart. The master heard the goings-on and chained the statue in his barn, but the statue always escaped, so he gave up. The slaves called her Our Lady of Chains because she broke their chains. The Mary statue gave them hope, and with that hope, some escaped to the North.
