Lay That Trumpet in Our Hands

Warren is Reesa’s father. A very dignified man, he lives with an impaired hand, which is the aftermath of a bout of polio; his disability does not stop him from playing the piano, which was his lifesaver when he was sick. His ability to appreciate others, especially people who are different from him, is demonstrated when he and Luther play the piano together. He does all he can to track down the Klansmen who murdered Luther’s son, Marvin, but he does so with quiet dignity. When presented with the choice of leaving Florida to escape the violence or returning to his former home in the North, he refuses to abandon his community and his livelihood because of pressure from the Klansmen.

Though the reader never actually meets Marvin, his presence is deeply felt in Reesa’s dreams and memories. When he was alive, he told her many stories, like how the bee got its stripes and wings. He taught her to see the Bible’s parts in colors, making her very adept at Bible verse searches. He taught Ren how to play and appreciate baseball, and he modeled for her what it means to be Black in a White-dominated society. 

Luther is Marvin’s father and Warren’s friend. Though he is in much more danger than Warren in pursuing the Klan, he does his part by helping to finger Klansmen, and he does so partly by bringing Warren the information gathered by the women in the church choir that he directs. Luther is one of the spiritual foundations of the novel.

Armetta, Luther’s wife and mother of Marvin, is a complement to Luther. She works for a Klansmen who claims he would have tried to protect Marvin, but Armetta quits her job anyway, refusing to work in any Klansman’s home ever again. When Reesa is overwhelmed with grief, Armetta offers her support and comforts her. She is a deeply spiritual woman who believes that Marvin’s death is part of God’s plan.

Doto (short for Desoto) is Warren’s vivacious mother. She drives to Mayflower from Chicago regularly in her fancy DeSoto with leather seats to spend time with her grandchildren. She is a figure of wisdom and strength in the McMahon family. She plays an active part in the plot when she and the children are in the restaurant eating lunch and overhear the Klansmen bragging about how they killed Marvin.

Lizbeth is Reesa’s mother. Though she does not play a prominent role in the plot of the novel, her steadfast devotion to her family is important. Even against her own judgment, she always backs Warren in his plans. She loves to play cards and she has a terrific poker face that she also uses in her life beyond the card game. She sees card games as a metaphor for life.

Ren is the middle child in the McMahon family, and Reesa’s younger brother. He lives the rural life to the fullest—catching rattlesnakes, watching gators, and spying on the Klan. When he and his friend Petey are out looking for gators one day, they happen upon the Klan performing a ceremony. The boys mock the ceremony, and Ren is grazed on the side of his face and over his ear with birdshot. His injuries inspire his father to take serious action against the Klan.

Maybelle is the grouchy postmistress who reads her patrons’ mail. She refuses to allow children to take shelter from the rain by sitting outside on the post office benches. Despite her irascible manner, Reesa learns that there is more to Maybelle than meets the eye. One day while she and Vaylie are playing in the McMahon’s attic, they discover some old photographs. They learn that Maybelle’s fiancé had been killed right before he was to come home from the war to marry her.

Emmett Casselton is the leader of the local chapter of the Klan—the Grand Cyklops—and the most evil character in the novel. He owns a huge orchard called the Casbah where many Klan activities take place, including beatings and murder. His fishing camp is the Klan’s headquarters, from which Warren will eventually steal all the Klan records. He is the character with whom Warren makes a deal at the end of the novel.