“Seven Years for Rachel”Theophilus Lewis
(1924)
A lengthy story by THEOPHILUSLEWISthat ap-
peared in three installments of the THECRISIS—
the November 1923 and January and February
1924 issues. The story title recalls the Old Testa-
ment narrative of Jacob and his efforts to secure
Rachel, daughter of Laban and sister of Leah, as
his wife. Laban who substitutes Leah, his oldest
daughter, as the bride, thwarts Jacob. Jacob, who
has worked the negotiated seven years for Rachel,
then commits to working another seven years to
obtain the hand of the wife he truly desires.
The male protagonist in Lewis’s story is Sam
Jones, a married man who has developed feelings
for Rachel Pettus, a much younger woman. The
two eventually confess their feelings for each other,
but Rachel demurs from developing a relationship.
Her Christian values and unwillingness to break
the seventh commandment prompt her to refrain
from seeing Jones as much as she would like. Sam’s
frustration prompts him to seek out Zeb Hicks, a
witchdoctor known for conjuring spells to punish
wicked people. Hicks suggests that Sam sell his
soul to the devil for seven years in exchange for
the desires of his heart. In short order, Sam’s wife
dies and Sam is able to marry Rachel. After six
months of wedded bliss, however, Rachel becomes
ill and dies as well. Her deathbed musings about
God’s blessings on them and their honorable ef-
forts to avoid adulterous behavior torment Sam.
He is convinced that he has betrayed not only God
but also the innocent woman that he loves. When
Rachel dies, Sam realizes that his request of the
devil was incomplete; he asked only to have
Rachel but failed to specify that he wanted to
enjoy a lifetime of happiness. The story closes
somewhat abruptly as Sam seeks absolution and
counsel from a minister who pronounces him
damned and sinful.
Shades and Shadows Randolph Edmonds
(1930)
The first of two anthologies that university pro-
fessor RANDOLPH EDMONDS published during
the Harlem Renaissance. A third collection, The
Land of Cotton and Other Plays, appeared in
- The collected plays included The Devil’s
Price, Hewers of Wood, Shades and Shadows, Ev-
eryman’s Land, The Tribal Chief,and The Phantom
Treasure.Shaw University
Founded by Baptist missionaries in 1865, it is the
oldest historically black college in the South. Rev-
erend Henry Martin Tupper offered the first classes,
and it was his sessions with Southern freedmen just
after the end of the Civil War that eventually led to
the foundation of the school in Raleigh, North Car-
olina. Established first as Raleigh Institute, the coed-
ucational school became Shaw Collegiate Institute
in 1870. It was named in honor of Elijah Shaw, the
donor who financed the construction of Shaw Hall,
the first building on campus. In 1875 the school was
renamed Shaw University.
Shaw’s impressive academic history is rooted
in its commitment to excellence and preparation of
its students for successful professional lives. The
first undergraduate class graduated in 1878. The
medical school, established in 1885 and the first
southern four-year medical school open to African-
American students, graduated its first students in- The school has since intensified its focus on
liberal arts and functions as a college, rather than
as a university.
IDA B. WELLS-BARNETT studied at Shaw,
which was known as Rust College until 1890.
Activist Ella Baker attended Shaw, graduated in
1927, and headed north to New York City where
she became immersed in the Harlem Renaissance
and began working with the NATIONALASSOCI-
ATION FOR THEADVANCEMENT OF COLORED
PEOPLE.
Bibliography
Morehouse, Henry. H. M. Tupper, D.D. A Narrative of
Twenty-Five Years’ Work in the South, 1865–1890.
New York: American Baptist Home Mission Soci-
ety, 1890.
Roebuck, Julian. Historically Black Colleges and Universi-
ties: Their Place in American Higher Education.We s t -
port, Conn.: Praeger, 1993.
Whiting, Albert. Guardians of the Flame: Historically
Black Colleges Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow.Wash-
ington, D.C.: American Association of State Col-
leges and Universities, 1991.478 “Seven Years for Rachel”