Rufus Clement, Alice Clement’s father and Robert Foster’s father-in-law, is the president of Atlanta University and a major Black social and political leader of the mid-20th century. In 1953, he’s elected to the Atlanta Board of Education, making him the first Black state official since Reconstruction. He frequently clashes with Robert because he disapproves of Robert’s less-than-elite family, decision to leave the South, and failure to build close relationships with his daughters. He dies in 1967.
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Rufus Clement Character Timeline in The Warmth of Other Suns
The timeline below shows where the character Rufus Clement appears in The Warmth of Other Suns. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part Two: A Burdensome Labor
During Pershing’s senior year, a professor introduces him to Alice Clement, the daughter of Dr. Rufus Clement , Atlanta University’s president and one of the nation’s most powerful Black leaders. He is...
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Part Four: Transplanted in Alien Soil
Robert worries that he’ll disappoint his brother Madison and his father-in-law, Dr. Clement —especially after he learns that Dr. Clement has been elected to the Atlanta Board of...
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Part Four: Revolutions
Los Angeles, 1967. Robert Foster chose to leave the South, and Dr. Rufus Clement chose to stay. They are both successful, and both want to show the world that...
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...more than choosing extravagant dresses for Alice’s grand entrances. He also calls the press whenever Dr. Clement visits. But Dr. Clement dies of a heart attack in 1967, and Alice’s mother, Pearl,...
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