Act 1, Scene 7 Summary

At her home in Chicago, Mrs. Jefferson waits for news from Jack's trial. Waiting with her are Clara and a small choir, quietly singing a hymn as a Pastor prays. As he finishes and as the choir stops singing, Mrs. Jefferson apologizes for not being able to offer much hospitality. As Clara exits to make a pot of coffee, Mrs. Jefferson tells her to look to see whether anybody's coming with news. Clara looks out the window, says all she sees is a group of men getting ready to play baseball and then goes into the kitchen.

As the Pastor comments on how lucky Mrs. Jefferson is to have Clara taking care of her, Mrs. Jefferson worries about how long it's taking to get news from the courthouse and then reminisces about Jack as a child. She recalls how hard it...