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Tod Clifton is a Black member of the Brotherhood who, like the narrator, lives and works in Harlem. The narrator regards Clifton as an attractive and intelligent man whose passion and eloquence have made him excel as a community organizer. But while the narrator is on probation working in another part of the city, Clifton suddenly abandons his post and, without explanation, cuts his ties with the Brotherhood. The narrator later finds Clifton selling racist Sambo dolls in the street. Sambo dolls are puppets controlled by invisible strings, and they represent a damaging stereotype of Black slaves as servile and happy to “dance” for their white masters. It is not clear whether Clifton means to mock or to perpetuate this stereotype, and the narrator never finds out, since Clifton gets murdered while attempting to run from the police. Though deeply conflicted about Clifton’s motivations and the circumstances of his death, the narrator honors him with a public funeral. The funeral fires up the Harlem community, making Clifton into an ambiguous symbol for Black liberation. But the Brotherhood disavows the funeral and Clifton’s legacy, which leads the narrator to follow in Clifton’s footsteps and turn against the Brotherhood himself.
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