Known as Aunt Hager, she is Sandy's grandmother, a former slave who upholds Christian values and works as a laundress to support her family.

Hager's youngest daughter, Harriet is ambitious and artistic, seeking to escape Kansas and the impacts of racism to become a successful blues singer.

Sandy's mother and Hager's eldest daughter, Annjee works as a domestic and emphasizes present-day survival and her relationship with her husband.

Hager's middle daughter who exemplifies racial uplift; she becomes Sandy's guardian after Hager's death and stresses the importance of education.

Sandy's father, a light-skinned, talented but inconsistent musician often absent from his family's life.

A neighbor of the Williams family who, unlike Hager, harbors a deep resentment towards white people due to past injustices.

A neighbor noted for her attempts to impress with formal speech, she plays a role in the local fraternal organization and participates in the Great Migration.

Sandy's first crush, whose relationship with him is complicated by warnings from Tempy about her intentions.

Harriet’s friend, who lives in the working-class Bottoms and eventually becomes involved in sex work.

Sandy's childhood friend, who challenges early 20th-century racial categorizations by choosing to pass as white.

Tempy's husband, focused on material success and distancing from African-American culture, holding a rare government job.

A childhood friend of Sandy, he dates Pansetta after Sandy and works as a bellhop, appearing more sophisticated than Sandy.