Chapter 24 Summary

Williams' is facing bad news. The judge denies his appeal for a new trial, and Spencer Lawton is reelected as District Attorney. However, Williams continues to avoid admitting to himself, Savannah, and his business contacts that he is still in jail.

The narrator decides he would like to go to the annual black debutante ball, sponsored by members of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, who make up part of the upper class of Savannahian blacks. The group is well off financially but does not hold much political power. Chablis desperately wants to go to the ball too, but is refused out of a fear that Chablis will embarrass anyone she is with. The ball was begun by Dr. Collier, a cheerful gynecologist, who got the idea from a group in Texas. He outlines the qualifications for being a debutante. The girls are to...