Having Our Say Characters

Oh Sadie; don't you know we love you?Let us list the ways. Sadie has the quiet strength of her father and the adventurous streak of her mother. She's the peanut butter to Bessie's jelly, the Keenan...

For some crazy reason, Bessie Delany doesn't think she's getting into heaven. Puh-leaze. In fact, we'd argue that her thinking that she's a bad person is exactly why she's such a good one.To be hon...

This character analysis goes out to all those mamas who profit dollars and all the honeys making money. Throw your hands up at us!Independent WomanNanny Delany lived the life of an independent woma...

Henry might as well be Moses, because he leads the Delanys out of slavery and into the Promised Land. As an adult, Henry selflessly pushes his children to better themselves, their community, and th...

Although Sadie and Bessie never have kids, they treat their nieces and nephews (and anyone in need, for that matter) as if they were their own. In the case of Little Hubie, this open-hearted approa...

You don't have to be blood to be family, and Shmoop pities the fool who thinks otherwise.During the Depression, Bessie is so committed to putting "everybody's problems on [her] shoulders" that her...

They call James Miliam the "meanest-looking man in Pittsylvania County, Virginia," and for good reason—to start, he has facial hair that puts that beard bowl guy to shame (2.6.2). But don't take...