| | | | Part 1 |
| 1 | Myron | North | Joan's grandfather. Hazel's husband. |
| | Mya | North | Joan's sister. Miriam's daughter. |
| | Wolf | | Joan's dog. |
| | August | Della-North | Miriam's half sister. Joan's aunt. |
| | Derek | North | August's troubled son. Joan's cousin. |
| | Joan | Della-North | Miriam's daughter. |
| 2 | Miriam | North | August's sister. Joan's mother. Aka: Meer. |
| | Jax | | Miriam's military husband. |
| 3 | Bessie | Smith | Hazel's neighbor. |
| | Diana | Ross | A singer. |
| | Elton | John | A singer and songwriter. |
| | Antonio | Mazzeo | Jax's white friend. Aka: Mazz. |
| | Al | Green | A singer and a pastor. |
| | Miss | Dawn | Miriam's quasi-grandmother. |
| | Hazel Rose | Thomas-North | Miriam's mother. Joan's grandmother. |
| | Bird | | Jax's twin brother. Joan's uncle. |
| 5 | Brooke | Sanderson | Billy's wife. |
| | Billy | Sanderson | The First Lieutenant. |
| | Fergie | Jenkins | Mazz's colleague. |
| 8 | Seth | Cobb | A pediatrician. |
| 10 | Stanley | Koplo | A store owner. Miriam's neighbor and friend. |
| 11 | Miss | Jade | August's regular client and family friend. |
| | Mika | | One of August's clients. |
| | | | Part 2 |
| 12 | Slim | | Derek's new boss. |
| 13 | Della | Thomas | The best seamstress in Memphis. Hazel's mother. |
| | Memphis | Minnie | Hazel's neighbor. |
| | Fuller | | The blind boy. |
| 14 | Mrs. | Finley | Della's client. |
| 18 | Stanley | Koplo Jr. | Mr. Koplo's son. |
| 19 | Ernie | Banks | A baseball player. |
| | Casey | Barnes | A policeman. Myron's colleague. |
| | Eugene | | Barnes's associate. |
| | Dorothy | Dadridge | An actress. |
| | Emmett | Till | A Chicago boy who was abducted and tortured in Mississippi. |
| | | | Part 3 |
| | Mr. | Harrison | Joan's teacher. |
| | Bartram | Mason | Joan's broker of her art deal. Aka: Professor Mason. |
| | Ms. | Oakley | Mya's orchestra teacher. |
| 22 | Dorothy | White | The County Judge. |
| 27 | Holmes | | Jax's childhood boss. |
| | Red | | A pimp. |
| 28 | Martin | Luther King Jr. | The negro leader. |
