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

Why do you think Jeffers chose to start the “Song” sections with Coromantee and Woman-of-the-Wind? She could have backed up farther or started much later; what do you think attracted her to the idea of starting at that specific moment with those specific people?

Sexual assault is a thread that runs through both the historical and contemporary timelines of the novel. What changes about the way that society treats sexual assault from the “Song” sections to Ailey’s lifetime? What remains the same?

In Ailey’s timeline, the reader spends time with Ailey’s, Belle’s, and Lydia’s perspectives. If you could pick one more character whose perspective you would want to spend time with for a series of chapters, who would you pick and why?