When Bert’s vaudeville partner, George Walker, is attacked outside a theatre during the 1900 New York City race riot, Bert visits him in the hospital. George is feeling hopeless, and Bert suggests he take solace in books. He shares his copy of John Ogilby’s Africa, claiming the book proves that every Pullman porter is descended from a king.

It’s 1910, and Bert Williams is asked to join the cast of the 1910 Follies. Horrified at the prospect of a Black man as a headliner, Charlie Fields and other white cast members threaten to quit if Bert isn’t fired. Ziegfeld calls their bluff and orders them out, but once alone with Bert, he says, “You better be worth it, boy.” Charlie leaves the theatre, stunned at this turn of events, while Bert, shaken, ultimately recommits to trying to use humor to advance the cause of racial uplift.  This is the Act I finale.

It’s 1895, and George Walker, Bert’s new vaudeville partner, shares the news that he found them a new manager who can help them reach their goal of performing on the Vaudeville circuit in New York. “Say Goodbye” begins with them excitedly packing and follows them on their trip to New York, ending abruptly when they suddenly find themselves looking up at a large Vaudeville theatre in New York.