The following version of this book was used to create the guide: Jeffers, Honoree Fanonne. The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois. HarperCollins, 2021. First Edition. Hardcover.

The novel is comprised of two stories that eventually connect near the end of the novel: the primary plot is the bildungsroman of Ailey Garfield; the secondary plot tracks the history of her ancestors as African American slaves in America. The chapters concerning Ailey’s ancestors are called “Songs” in the book; these songs are interspersed between the 11 sections following the Garfield family (which are designated by Roman numerals). The Songs are primarily narrated in the first person, past tense in the vernacular of an oral history. Ailey’s story is primarily narrated in the first person, past tense as well, but in a slightly more literary vernacular.

The first Song is set in the eighteenth century and follows Micco, who lives in a village named “The-Place-in-the-Middle-of-the-Tall-Trees.” This eventually is renamed as Chicasetta, Georgia, where much of Ailey’s story is set. Micco’s mother is a Creek native, and his father (Dylan) is Scottish. Dylan is an abusive husband, but Micco craves his father’s affection. However, Dylan gets into a fight with Micco’s uncle and Micco kills his father to save his uncle.

Part I of Ailey’s story begins when she is 9 years old. This introductory section progresses through her childhood quickly and introduces the reader to Ailey’s sisters, Lydia and Coco, and Ailey’s mother, Maybelle. Ailey briefly reflects upon her grandfather, Gandee (whose name is Zachary), molesting her when she was younger, but she does not recognize the severity of this. The narration depicts more detail of Ailey’s life in high school; she visits her paternal grandmother, Nana Claire, who appears pompous and concerned with material appearance. Part I concludes during Thanksgiving, when Lydia comes with a young man named Dante; she announces that they are married. Through this part, Ailey observes racism manifesting in relations between white and Black and people, and within the Black community as well, namely regarding the “darkness” of people’s skin.

The next Song resumes with Micco, who is married and has a daughter named Lady. Micco’s wife, Mahala, is Native as well but wants to live a “white” lifestyle. Micco purchases Pop George as a slave. A white man, Samuel Pinchard, comes to Micco’s farm one day. He appears friendly and begins to work with Micco and live on the farm with him. Samuel suggests that Micco put the land in his (Samuel’s) name to ensure it is not stripped since Micco is not white. Micco agrees, and Samuel’s marriage to Lady is arranged.

Part II resumes in 1987. Ailey is now enrolled at Braithwaite high school, much to her chagrin since it is a predominately white, upper-class school. Lydia returns home after falling into a drug addiction, but eventually runs away. At school, Ailey begins to date one of the few Black boys, Chris Tate. Ailey visits Nana again and still is annoyed by her pompous personality; Ailey notices Nana’s apparent preference for light-skinned Black people. Part II ends with Lydia barging into Nana’s home. She berates Nana for allowing Gandee to molest her when she was a child.

The next Song is set in the seventeenth century and follows a woman, Kine, getting enslaved in Africa and taken to America. She has a daughter named Beauty. Beauty is sold into slavery on Samuel Pinchard’s farm, Wood Place. Her name is changed to Ahguyuh, but she is commonly called “Aggie.”

Part III resumes with Ailey reflecting upon Gandee molesting her. She suspects that Nana was aware of this but chose to ignore it. Ailey goes to Chicasetta for the summer where her maternal family lives. She is happy to see her great uncle, Uncle Root, and her grandmother, Miss Rose. Ailey spends time with her childhood friend, David, and they begin a casual relationship. Uncle Root tells Ailey about racism he used to encounter when he was younger. The next Song depicts life on Wood Place through Aggie’s experience of it. She marries another slave named Midas. One night, a dream awakes Aggie and she goes to a nearby creek where she finds Samuel raping a young slave named Mamie.

Part IV depicts Ailey’s first days at Routledge College in the early 90s. She begrudgingly accepts Nana’s financial assistance with the caveat that Ailey must enroll in pre-med classes, which are not to her liking. One of Ailey’s professors, Dr. Oludara, takes her class on a field trip to an old Creek territory where Ailey begins to weep. Ailey notices how guys at the school are more attracted to light-skinned Black girls than darker. At the end of Part IV, Ailey has sex with a boy named Abdul, whom she thinks is sexist, to spite another girl.

Part V depicts Ailey’s mother’s (Maybelle) experience at Routledge College in the 60s. She, too, notices how there is a stigma on Black people whose skin is shaded very dark. Belle meets Geoff at school and becomes pregnant with their baby. Happily, Geoff proposes to her, and they marry. Belle meets Geoff’s parents, Claire and Zachary, and gives birth to Lydia; Belle thinks Claire is unfriendly. They move into The City and Belle notices the race riots and tension of 1967. Belle and Geoff begin to go to Black community meetings, but she is skeptical that the progress is only for Black men, not women. She pines to move back to the southern countryside.

Part VI briefly depicts Ailey spending the summer in the country with Uncle Root, but resumes in detail with Ailey back in college for her sophomore year. She is now dating Abdul, but he is not a good boyfriend and treats her poorly. Despite their unhealthy relationship, Ailey brings Abdul to a family dinner; they get into an argument. Soon after, Abdul hits Ailey and proceeds to rape her. Ailey breaks up with Abdul and proceeds to sleep with his friend, Pat. Some time passes, and Ailey’s father dies of a heart attack. Ailey is devastated and decides to defer her enrollment at Mecca for med-school. Ailey’s sister, Coco, gets her an internship at indigent medical clinic operated by a friend of their father, Zulu Harris. At the clinic, Ailey sees Lydia for the first time in years and they embrace.

The next Song depicts Samuel Pinchard’s upbringing. As a child, Samuel’s father would molest him and his siblings. Samuel’s father dies when he is 16 and Samuel leaves his family without a word. He makes his way through various plantations, working and learning how to operate them, and he begins to habitually rape young female slaves. This Song ends with Mamie giving birth to Samuel’s son, begot by his raping her when Aggie caught him; the child is named Nick. Samuel begins a practice of buying child slaves solely for the purpose of molesting them.

Part VII depicts Lydia’s experience during college (much like Part V depicts Maybelle). This section begins with Lydia having a general memory of Gandee raping her in the bathtub as a young girl. The narration jumps to Lydia’s freshmen year at Routledge, where she meets Dante, whom she eventually marries. She remembers, though, how she began to sleep with men at a young age and, in fact, had an abortion. Lydia confides to Dante about Gandee’s molestation, to which Dante confides he also was raped as a young boy by his uncle. Once married, they move in together and Lydia becomes aware that Dante sells crack. She becomes addicted, despite Dante’s efforts to get her away from crack. Dante is eventually shot and murdered. Lydia goes back to her family and checks in to rehab. Lydia relapses, though, and Geoff concocts a scheme: he tells Maybelle that Lydia ran away, but secretly sets her up in an apartment where she must fend for herself, albeit with financial assistance and periodic visits from her father. Geoffrey dies, though. Lydia is reunited with Ailey when they chance encounter at the clinic; they talk to each other about Gandee’s molestation. In a drug-induced haze, Lydia falls down a flight of stairs and soon after dies.

Part VIII depicts Ailey in the wake of Lydia’s death. She is distraught and lies about volunteering at the clinic when she is, in fact, going to Lydia’s old apartment simply to be there. Ailey and Coco get into an argument wherein Coco says she is the only one working to keep the family supported, and that she, too, was raped by Gandee, but does not seek sympathy for it. Ailey contemplates suicide but sees Lydia in a dream and is convinced otherwise. Ailey moves in with Uncle Root, who suggests that Ailey work as Dr. Oludara’s research assistant. Ailey begins to work with Dr. Oludara, who is researching an infamous slave auction, the weeping time. This work enmeshes Ailey in the history of slavery. Ailey begins to think about her ancestors and the history of the land in Chicasetta where her maternal family lives. The next Song depicts life on Wood Place as Nick grows up. Aggie becomes, for all intents and purposes, Nick’s surrogate mother. Lady gives birth to Samuel’s legal children: Victor and Gloria. Aggie has her own daughter, Tess, who eventually marries Nick when they are older. They have twin daughters: Eliza Two and Rabbit. Samuel begins to molest Eliza Two; Nick reluctantly flees the plantation without his daughters or wife.

Part IX resumes a few years after Part VIII; Ailey is now 28 and in grad school in North Carolina. Ailey feels alienated, but begins to sleep with another Black student, Scooter, who is married to a white woman, Rebecca. Part X continues to follow Ailey through grad school. Ailey has chosen to research the Pinchard family; she recognizes that Samuel Pinchard is Uncle Root’s great-grandfather, thus connecting the Songs of the novel with the parts following Ailey’s life. Through her research, Ailey discovers that Rabbit was one of the founders of Routledge College, though she changed her last name to Hutchinson. This section concludes with Ailey ending her relationship with Scooter.

The last Song resumes immediately after Nick flees the plantation. Aggie scars Eliza Two’s face so Samuel will not molest her further. A Northerner, Matthew Thatcher becomes friends with Samuel and begins to visit Wood Place. He and Rabbit begin to sleep with each other, but she ends their relationship when she realizes he cannot help her flee the plantation. Samuel takes Matthew to the weeping time action, which makes Matthew see the horrors of slavery. He returns North and takes Rabbit with him as he coincidentally passes by Wood Place on the night it catches fire.

Part XI is the final section of the novel. It resumes Ailey’s story in 2007 as she goes to Founder’s Day at Routledge. She spends time with her old friend, David, who is now divorced. For her research, Ailey interviews Uncle Root, Miss Rose, and Miss Cordelia about their lives. They talk about people they knew firsthand or were only one generation apart from, who feature in the Songs. The novel ends with Ailey visiting a cemetery with Uncle Root; she has a dream of being on a plantation and seeing young children.