I'll Fly Away

Lawyer Forrest Bedford struggles to raise a family amid the civil-rights strife of the 1958 South, aided by Lily, a lack housekeeper who comes to work in the opener to find Forrest prosecuting a young white for a bus accident that killed three black; and little John Morgan missing his hospitalized mama.

When John Morgan loses his cowboy hat out of the car window, Lilly finds it—but then so does her daughter—-while Forrest faces verbal cross-fire over a beating case arising from the demonstration.

With Forrest away on a weekend hunting trip, womanhood takes aim at Francie, who feels utterly alone; while worries about the fate of an errant arrow dog, John Morgan.

As Forrest joins the race for attorney general, Lilly considers attending a voting-rights meetings, while Francie elects to overcome her writer's block by committing a betrayal.

John Morgan is upset when he doesn't get to go to Lilly's birthday party; the wrestlers aren't celebrating Zollicofer's decision to let a black join the team; Forrest realizes running for office isn't going to be a piece of cake.

On Halloween, the specter of the KKK haunts Christina as she's asked to investigate Prevtiss Carver's death. It also haunts John Morgan, who's heard about the ""dragon men"" from Adlaine.

Thanksgiving brings family—and conflict—home: Gwen's visit from the mental hospital knocks the stuffing out of the Bedfords, especially Nathan; and Lilly's brother makes a pilgrimage home after discovering the New World of the North.

As Election Day nears, John Morgan plans a post-victory show, but Forrest isn't sure he can pull a win out of his hat in his race for attorney general. He's facing a blackmail threat from a drunken Tyler. Meanwhile, Lilly's determination to vote remains unabated, even after her faith is tested by the opposition of her minister. But discrimination at the polling place makes that step forward seems more like an illusion.

An impromptu lunch-counter protest leads to a more serious demonstration; Lilly has to chew out John Morgan and an unruly friend; Nathan, stunned by a revelation about his girlfriend, wishes he could eat his words after Slocum repeals them to her.

Forrest is shocked when Rev. Henry's latest protest sparks Lilly to action; Nathan and Diane's status as a couple generates charged comments; John Morgan fools with electricity.

Diane's father tries to put a damper on her and Nathan's passions; racial tensions heat up with the department-store boycott, leaving Lilly's cousin Oscar out in the cold.