ABSTRACT

The freedom song that Toni Morrison sings in her civil rights novel uses naming to allude to the civil rights movement both directly and indirectly, thereby engaging not only with conventional definitions of the movement, particularly models of leadership provided by Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. But also prompting a reconsideration of those definitions, suggesting that one move beyond restrictive dates and geography, and instead consider the freedom struggle in terms of legacy and responsibility. The son of the African witch doctor who utters the "strange word" is played by Pilate, the granddaughter of Solomon and Ryna, the daughter of Jake and Sing, and the embodiment of African, Native American, and African American spiritual and cultural traditions that strengthen and sustain the beloved community. And the griot, the person keeping the dreams alive and urging the dreamers to "pass it on" is Morrison, with inspiration from Solomon Burke.