Baldwin’s father, who is never named in the book, is a preacher. Born in New Orleans, he is unsure of his birth date but knows that his mother was alive during slavery. He is a difficult man, consumed by bitterness, anger, and resentment of white people. He has nine children but does not have a particularly close relationship to them. Toward the end of his life, David’s family discovers that he suffers from paranoid delusions, and he is committed to a mental hospital. Convinced that people are trying to poison him, he refuses to eat and dies.