The Amen Corner

The Amen Corner opens on a Black church in Harlem that doubles as a home for its pastor, Margaret Alexander, and her 18-year-old son, David. As the lights come up, “there is a kind of subdued roar and humming, out of which is heard the music prologue ‘The Blues is Man,’ which segues into a steady rollicking beat” (6). The congregation begins singing a lively hymn, and as they finish, Margaret takes to the pulpit.

Margaret’s sermon warns against spending time on the things of this world, including things such as playing card games or reading the funny papers. She says, “While you’re reading them funny papers, your mind ain’t on the Lord. And if your mind ain’t stayed on Him, every hour of the day, Satan’s going to cause you to fall” (9). She warns against driving a liquor truck for a living, which will cause others to sin.

Sister Moore, a woman in the church, announces that Margaret will be making a trip to Philadelphia to help at a church there. Sister Moore asks if anyone present needs to ask for prayer before they finish the service. A young mother, Ida Jackson, comes forward with her baby. The child is sick, and she asks for prayers of healing. Margaret tells the woman that this could be a sign from the Lord that she needs to leave her husband, who is not at church with her. The woman is shocked by this. Margaret prays over the baby.

When the service is over, several members of the congregation gather to talk. Margaret tells David that he’ll be coming with her to Philadelphia. He is hesitant, saying he doesn’t want to take time off from his music school. Margaret and the others ignore him, telling him how blessed he will be for obeying his mother and doing the Lord’s work in Philadelphia.

Odessa, who is Margaret’s dear friend from church, as well as Sister Moore, Brother Boxer, and Sister Boxer all reminisce on when Margaret first came to preach at their church. Odessa says, “You remember all those people tried to set themselves against [Margaret]? Where is they now? The Lord is just let every one of them be dispersed” (21). They recall how the previous pastor, Elder King, who was adamantly against women preachers, has since passed away, leaving no one to protest against Margaret’s preaching. When Sister Moore recalls Elder King, Margaret reminds her, “[Y]ou wasn’t so much on women preachers, neither, when I first came around” (22). Brother Boxer says that he didn’t mind Elder King so much, and Sister Moore admits that even though he was wrong about Margaret, he was still a good preacher.

Brother Boxer asks if David ever misses his father. It is revealed that Margaret’s husband abandoned her and David 10 years ago. The conversation is quickly shut down. Once Margaret and David leave, Brother Boxer reveals that he knows more than he originally let on: David’s father, Luke, is back in town working at a jazz club. The last time anyone saw him, he was deathly ill with tuberculosis. They say,

SISTER MOORE. Poor Sister Magaret! A jazz club!

SISTER BOXER. Poor Sister Magaret! She ain’t as poor as I am.

BROTHER BOXER. You ain’t poor, sugar. You got me. And I ain’t gonna stay poor forever (24).

During the sermon, Margaret renounces the idea of driving a liquor truck for a living, a comment aimed at Brother Boxer. He and Sister Boxer announce that they are going to speak to Margaret about this personally, explaining that they have to make a living somehow. When Margaret comes in, however, she doesn’t let them finish. She puts her foot down, saying it’s sinful to drive a liquor truck for a living. Sister Moore and Sister Boxer, realizing they won’t get anywhere, start singing another hymn.

As they sing, a man enters the church. Luke, Margaret’s husband, looks as sick as rumor said he would. He smiles at Margaret, saying, “You still the prettiest woman I ever laid eyes on” (27). He greets David, who came to watch him play at the jazz club. This is the first Margaret knew of this, and she scolds him for lying to her.

Luke tries to placate her, telling her he hasn’t come to cause trouble; he just wanted to see them. David is confused since Luke hasn’t wanted to see them for all these years. Luke turns to Margaret and pushes her to confess the truth: She is the one who left Luke, not the other way around. David and the church members are stunned by the truth and the fact that Margaret would lie about her situation for so long.

In all the excitement, Luke ends up collapsing. He is incredibly weak from his illness and is carried off to a bedroom in the church. Everyone asks Margaret to reconsider leaving for Philadelphia since Luke is so sick. David refuses to leave with her, saying, “You don’t know if he be living, time you get back. […] But I reckon you don’t care, do you?” (31). Margaret pushes his words aside, insisting that she is doing the Lord’s work and that Luke brought this upon himself with his sinful nature. Without another word, she leaves the church.