The motif of flight as freedom from bondage is carried through the novel by many flight symbols, including the black triangles representing blackbird wings in Mauma’s quilts, and the many feathers that Mauma and Handful collect in order to stuff their quilts. The motif is repeated in Sarah’s recognition that she comprises one wing in the abolition work that she and Nina perform, while Nina forms the other.

On the first page of the novel, Handful’s voice retells her mother’s story of a time when African-American people still lived in Africa and could fly. Even as a child, Handful knows that this story isn’t true, but as she grows up, she begins to understand the message symbolized by the story; her people were once free and remain a symbol of hope that they can be free again. Further, Handful understands a deeper meaning contained in the blackbird wing quilt: You don’t need to fly to be free. Mental freedom and an identity apart from slavery is Charlotte’s greatest gift to her daughter.

Sarah, as Handful remarks, struggles to be mentally free, though she has physical freedom. Handful brings this to her attention and changes Sarah’s life. Through this conversation with Handful, Sarah realizes that she has the power to free herself from the mental and emotional bonds that keep her from living the life she envisions for herself.