While the Us's in this play are not enslaved, their economic circumstances reflect the enduring impact of slavery on African American lives. The play's introduction notes that the Us's "tilled the valley, they cultivated it, and made it as beautiful as it is. They built roads and houses even for the White Devils." This highlights how the wealth of the United States was partly constructed through the labor of African-American slaves and, after their emancipation, through low-wage work. This legacy of slavery and hard labor has deeply affected the Us's. An Old Us, who joins the group, shares that he has gone blind from "building for the White Devils in the heat of the noonday sun." Yet, despite their contributions, the White Devils "let them build the houses and then pushed them back down into the valley." Before Finest Blood embarks on a journey to challenge the White Devils, the Old Man remarks on the toll of slavery on the enslaved, stating, "they built half their land on our bones. They ripened the crops of cotton, watering them with our blood." By the play's conclusion, Finest Blood's mission is to seek retribution for the bloodshed endured by the Us's over centuries of slavery.

The theme of leadership plays a crucial role in the play's focus on social action. The Us's spend much of their time discussing different strategies to climb the hill. Average believes they could succeed with the right leaders, while Cornerstone contends that the issue isn't a lack of leaders but rather the internal conflicts among the Us's that hinder their progress. The Old Man with the drum rises as a leader within the Us's community, bridging the gap between the traditional culture of the Old Us's and the innovative ideas of the educated and financially successful Us's. This unity inspires a Young Us, named Finest Blood, to emerge as a new leader in the Us's battle against the White Devils. Together, the old and young collaborate to ascend the hill, with the Old Man's wisdom guiding the young leader, who is destined to become the New Man.

The Us's discuss the significance of religion in their quest for equality. Yet Another Old Man looks up to the sky and exclaims, "Lord! Why don't you come by here and tell us how to get Somewhere*?" An Old Us insists that "he is all powerful! He will act in his own time!" However, a Young Us contends that speaking to God is pointless. When the Old Man begins his ritual, he tells the other Us's that he is a servant of God, carrying out divine instructions. He explains that by following God's commands, a new man will be created. The Old Man advises Finest Blood to inform the White Devils that he is an instrument of God, declaring that "this is God's decree—'You take blood—you give blood.'" Bonner thus highlights the crucial role of religion in the African American struggle for equality.

The White Devils residing on the hill with the purple flower symbolize individuals who benefit from the advantages of being white in a society dominated by whiteness. Despite having enslaved the Us's and forcing them into labor to cultivate their land and construct their homes and roads, they strive relentlessly to prevent the Us's from accessing the hill and experiencing the Flower-of-Life-at-Its-Fullest. The stage directions describe the White Devils as "artful" beings, teeming with tricks, highlighting the notion that white people are cunning and adept at hindering African Americans from attaining equality.