Gem of the Ocean

Black Mary and Selig are in the kitchen. It is the morning after the mill fire, and the recent arson is all anyone can talk about, both in Aunt Ester’s household and in the neighborhood at large. Selig recounts the city’s reaction to the fire, telling those gathered that white people in the area have placed the blame on the mill’s Black workforce and on southern-born Black workers in general. There is a climate of hostility toward formerly enslaved southerners who have made their way north. Selig claims that there has even been talk of fighting another war, returning to enslavement, or sending Black people back down south. Eli notes that the fire is still burning and reports that there are supposedly witnesses who can identify the arsonist. Black Mary gives Selig a biscuit, and he leaves just as Citizen enters the house.

Citizen has returned with the two pennies, as instructed by Aunt Ester. She asks about his journey. Citizen says that he was unable to find Jilson Grant, but he did find two shiny new pennies on the ground, just like she said he would. He asks what he should do now. Ester takes out a map and shows him what she calls the “city of bones” (52).