| | | | Part One |
| | Ida Mae | Brandon-Gladney | One of the protagonists. |
| | Edd | Monroe-Pearson | George's employer. A planter. |
| | James | Gladney | Ida Mae's son. |
| | Talma | Gladney | Ida Mae's daughter. Aka: Baby Sis. |
| | Miss | Theenie | Ida Mae's mother. |
| | Sam | Brandon | Ida Mae's brother. |
| | Cleeve | Brandon | Ida Mae's brother. |
| | Josephine | Brandon | Ida Mae's sister. Aka: Josie. |
| | Irene | Brandon | Ida Mae's sister. |
| | George | Swanson-Starling | The black man from Florida. One of the protagonists. |
| | Roscoe | Colton | The man George gave a ride to. |
| | Rachel | Jackson | The café owner. |
| | Inez Cunningham | Starling | George's wife. |
| | Robert Joseph | Pershing-Foster | A medical student. One of the protagonists. |
| | Madison | Foster | Robert's brother. |
| | Madison James | Foster | The principal of colored high school. Robert's father. |
| | Anthony | Beale | A doctor. Robert's friend. |
| | Emmett | Scott | The scholar. |
| | Carl | Sandburg | The poet. |
| | Jim | Crow | A 19th-century minstrel figure. |
| | Neil | McMillen | The Mississippi historian. |
| | John | Dollard | A Yale scholar. |
| | Ulysses | Grant | One of the northern heroes of the civil war. |
| | William | Tecumseh-Sherman | One of the northern heroes of the civil war. |
| | George Henry | Thomas | One of the northern heroes of the civil war. |
| | David | Farragut | One of the northern heroes of the civil war. |
| | Richard | Wright | The bard of the Great Migration. |
| | James | Gregory | The historian. |
| | Stewart | E | The sociologist. |
| | | | Part Two |
| | David | McIntosh | One of Ida Mae's suitors. |
| | George | Gladney | Ida Mae's husband. |
| | Ire | | Miss Theenie's cousin. |
| | Joseph | Gladney | Ida Mae's father. Miss Theenie's husband. Deceased. |
| | Amos | Kirks | The man who lost his leg. |
| | Mr. | Bafford | Ida Mae's neighbor. A farm owner. |
| | Henry Lee | Babbitt | The horse owner. Ida Mae's schoolmate. |
| | Willie | Gladney | George's brother. |
| | Alfonso | Banks | Ida Mae's ex-boyfriend. |
| | Freddie | McClendon | One of Ida Mae's suitors. |
| | Julie | McClenna | Ida Mae's friend. Ida Mae's employer. |
| | Carrie Mae | Weems | An artist. |
| | Howell | Cobb | A Georgian planter. |
| | Homer | Plessy | A colored Louisianan. |
| | James | Vardaman | The white supremacy candidate. |
| | Jesse | Washington | The girl who was burned alive. |
| | Herbert | Shapiro | A historian. |
| | Wilbur | Cash | The author. |
| | Frederick | Douglass | The abolitionist. |
| | Thomas | Dartmouth-Rice | The man who popularized the song and dance routine called "The Jim Crow". |
| | Book | Washington | The migration leader. |
| | William | Oates | Former Governor of Alabama. |
| | Henry | McClendon | A policeman. |
| | Sam | Gaskin | George Starling's friend. |
| | Ernest | Sallet | George Starling's friend. |
| | Big | George | George Starling's father. |
| | Napolean | Starling | George's mother. |
| | John | Starling | George's grandfather. |
| | Reshard | | A planter. John's employer. |
| | Sing | | George Starling's aunt. |
| | Gold | Foster | Robert's sister. |
| | Sambo | | Sing's husband. |
| | Hortense | Powdermaker | The anthropologist. |
| | Budross | Starling | George's uncle. |
| | Lena | Starling | George's grandmother. (Father's side) |
| | Annie | Taylor | George's grandmother. (Mother's side) |
| | James | | George's cousin. |
| | Joseph | | George's cousin. |
| | Baby | Taylor | Annie's daughter. George's aunt. |
| | Lavata | Taylor | Annie's daughter. George's aunt. Aka: Date Taylor. |
| | Alexander Hamilton | Stephens | The confederacy's vice-president. |
| | Claude | Neal | The black man who was accused of rape and murder. |
| | Lola | Cannidy | The rape and murder victim. |
| | James | McGovern | One of the historians. |
| | David | Sholtz | The current Florida governor. |
| | Franklin | Roosevelt | The current U.S. President. |
| | Jefferson | Eliiott | The Florida Governor's special investigator. |
| | J.W | Brinson | A jackleg preacher. |
| | Mary | Brinson | J.W. Brinson's wife. |
| | A.S | Herlong | The county judge. |
| | Ottie Alberta | Wright Foster | Robert's mother. |
| | Leland | Foster | Robert's brother. Aka: Woo. |
| | Emlyn | Foster | Robert's sister. |
| | Jimmy | Peters | One of Robert's classmates. |
| | Clarence | | One of Robert's classmates. |
| | Nimrod | Sherman | One of Robert's classmates. |
| | C.E | Woolman | The businessman who purchased huff doland dusters. |
| | W.W | Hill | An old-school preacher. |
| | James | Dugan | A parishioner. |
| | Patsy | Daniels | The girl that Dugan shot. |
| | Moses | Potter | Robert's classmate. |
| | Ray | Stannard-Baker | The celebrated journalist. |
| | George | Hughes | The defendant. |
| | Gilbert | | One of the colored kids in Mississippi during Migration. |
| | Percy | | One of the colored kids in Mississippi during Migration. |
| | Virginia | Debreaux | One of the colored kids in Mississippi during Migration. |
| | Lee | Debreaux | One of the colored kids in Mississippi during Migration. |
| | Beulah | | Virginia and Lee's cousin in New York. |
| | Babe | Blye | Ida Mae's neighbor who goes to New York. |
| | Reuben | Blye | Babe's brother. |
| | Donald | Holley | A historian. |
| | Robert | Pulliam | Ida Mae's nephew. Aka: Saint. |
| | Addie | B. | Ida Mae's neighbor. A farm owner. |
| | Callie | Mae | Willie's brother. |
| | Velma | Gladney | Ida Mae's daughter. |
| | Indianna | Gladney | George Gladney's sister. |
| | Deacon John | Farshaw | The colored foreman. Aka: Uncle John. |
| | Mr. | Eichelberger | Farshaw's boss. |
| | Nathan | Bailey | One of Eichelberger's workers. |
| | Morris | Williams | Robert's science classmate. |
| | Harold | Stotford | The head of the music department. |
| | Alice Clarissa | Clement | Rufus's daughter. Robert's wife. |
| | Rufus | Clement | Alice's father. The President of Atlanta University. |
| | W.E.B | Dubois | Rufus's rival. |
| | David Levering | Lewis | Du Bois's biographer. |
| | Arthur | Spingarn | The NAACP President. |
| | Edwin | Hubble | The astronomer. |
| | Addie | B | Ida Mae's workmate. |
| | Willie | Jim | Another planter. Mr. Edd's friend. |
| | Joe | Lee | George Gladney's cousin. |
| | Charlie | Bollar | George Starling's friend. Aka: Mud. |
| | Jimmy | Washington | One of Robert's groomsmen. |
| | Alberta Ann | Foster | Robert and Alice's daughter. Aka: Bunny. |
| | Alice Emlyn | Foster | Robert and Alice's daughter. Aka: Robin. |
| | Wilbur | Little | A colored soldier who returned home to Blakely. |
| | Willis Virgil | McCall | The lake county's new sheriff. |
| | Mack | Fryar | The picker. |
| | Annie | Fryar | Mack's wife. |
| | Henry | Caroll | Madison James's rival. The new principal. |
| | Faroker | Johnson | Robert's rival. |
| | Benjamin | Singleton | A former slave. Aka: Pap. |
| | James | Grossman | The historian. |
| | Jack | Fowler | A sharecropper. |
| | Mr. | Perry | One of the planters. |
| | Mr. | Massur | The clothing store owner. |
| | Ivorye | Covington | The Foster's cook. |
| | | | Part Three |
| | Mantan | Moreland | A Hollywood figure. |
| | Huey | Newton | The share croppers' son. |
| | Bill | Russell | One of the greatest NBA players of all time. |
| | John | Dunlap | One of Robert's friends who migrated to Oakland. A funeral director. |
| | Robert Russa | Moton | The black scholar. |
| | Dwight | Eisenhower | The current U.S. President. |
| | Florette | Henri | The black kid who hid in the freight cars to flee Yazoo city. |
| | Rudolph | Valentino | An Italian actor. |
| | Eddie | Earvin | One of the migrants. |
| | Andrew | Goodman | One of the white northerners. |
| | Michael | Schwerner | One of the white
northerners. |
| | Charles | Parker | The boy who was skinned alive for opening the door for a white woman. |
| | | | Part Four |
| | Annie | Swanson | George Starling's aunt. Aka: Baby. |
| | William | Beck | Robert's old professor from medical school. |
| | Reatha | Beck | William's wife. |
| | William | Beck Jr. | William and Reatha's son. |
| | Johnny | Warmsley | Robert's former schoolmate from Morehouse. |
| | Wilbur Pew | Beulow | A gas station owner. |
| | Barbara | Stanwyck | An American actress. |
| | Richard | | Irene's 3rd brother. |
| | Gilbert | Osofsky | An historian. |
| | William | Nickerson Jr. | The founder of the largest colored insurance company. |
| | George Allen | Beavers | A migrant from Georgia. |
| | Norman Oliver | Houston | A native Californian. |
| | J.H | Landers | Clement's opponent in the Board of Education. |
| | Sadie | Mossell | The economist of the migration to Philadelphia. |
| | Franklin | Frazier | The Premier sociologist. |
| | Daniel Patrick | Moynihan | The official in the U.S. department of labor. |
| | Karl | Taeuber | One of the sociologists. |
| | Alma | Taeuber | One of the sociologists. |
| | Stewart | Tolnay | One of the sociologists. |
| | Frank | Cherry | One of the sociologists. |
| | Everett | Lee | The migration scholar. |
| | Trent | Alexander | The scholar. |
| | Long | Heltman | A census bureau official. |
| | Lynne | Heltman | Long's wife. A census bureau official. |
| | Kristin | Hansen | Long's colleague. |
| | Wen Lang | Little | One of the sociologists. |
| | Sheron | I | One of the sociologists. |
| | James | Cleveland Owens | A famous athlete. Aka: Jesse Owens. |
| | Eleanor | Gladney | Ida Mae's daughter. |
| | Edith | Abbott | A University of Chicago researcher. |
| | Eugene | Williams | The black boy who swims along the shore of Lake Michigan. |
| | Limuary | Jordan | Dr. Beck's acquaintance. |
| | Howard | Beckwith | Robert's friend. |
| | Adeline | Jordan | Limuary's wife. |
| | Vivian | Beck | Dr. Beck's friend. |
| | Robert | Horton | The owner of a shaving parlor. |
| | James | Grossman | A historian. |
| | Eleanor | Watkins | A long-time Oakland resident. |
| | Gerard | Starling | George and Inez's son. |
| | Wendell | Wilkie | President Roosevelt's rival. |
| | Theodore | Bilbo | A famous Mississippi Governor. |
| | Mr. | Tibbs | A precinct captain. |
| | Dr. | Jackson | The brother of Robert's classmate. |
| | Jimmy Arthur | Gay | The most influential colored man in Las Vegas. |
| | Dean | Martin | The part owner of Starlight Lounge. |
| | Hazel | Gay | Jimmy's wife. |
| | Antaham | Epstein | A researcher. |
| | Charles | Johnson | One of the sociologists. |
| | Harry | Moore | The NAACP field secretary. |
| | Ben | Green | A biographer. |
| | Harriette | Moore | Harry's wife. |
| | J.S | Pinckney | The principal of colored school. |
| | Alex | Akerman | The lawyer. |
| | Orlando | Klavern | The bombing mastermind. |
| | Malissa | Briley | One of Robert's patients. |
| | Della | Bea | Ray Charles's wife. |
| | Ray Charles | Robinson | Robert's patient. A famous singer. |
| | Josh | Sides | A historian. |
| | Paul | Williams | The famous architect. |
| | Joy | Foster | Robert and Alice's daughter. |
| | Barbara | Clegg-Gray | One of the sociologists. |
| | Catherine | | Saint's wife. |
| | Aubrey | | Talma's husband. Ida Mae's brother-in-law. |
| | Winston | Gladney | George's brother. Ida Mae's brother-in-law. |
| | Robert Pershing | Foster Jr. | Robert's son. |
| | Arrington | High | The man who consigned to Mississippi state hospital for the insane. |
| | T.R.M | Howard | The famous Mississippi doctor. |
| | Hallie | Q | Babe Blye's wife. |
| | Sonya | Foster | Inez and George's daughter. |
| | Pat | | George Starling's niece. |
| | Reathe Gray | Simon | Dr. Beck's granddaughter. Robert's mentor. |
| | Andrew | Johnson | George Gladney's uncle. Aka: Jack. |
| | Emmett | Till | One of the migrant's sons. |
| | Harvey | Clark | A former army captain. |
| | Johnetta | Clark | Harvey's wife. |
| | Charles | Edwards | The Clark's rental agent. |
| | Stephen | Grant-Meyer | A historian. |
| | Adlai | Stevenson | The Illinois Governor. |
| | Walter | White | The long-time leader of the NAACP. |
| | Otto | Kerner | The U.S. Attorney. |
| | Orville | Hubbard | The suburbs' mayor. |
| | Miss | Smart | Madison's nurse. |
| | Karen | | Eleanor's daughter. Ida Mae's granddaughter. |
| | Kevin | | Eleanor's son. Ida Mae's grandson. |
| | Gunnar | Myrdal | One of the sociologists. |
| | Coretta | Scott-King | Martin Luther King's wife. |
| | Richard | Daley | The Chicago mayor. |
| | Mary Ann | Gladney | James's wife. |
| | Louis | Rosen | The writer. |
| | Mahalia | Jackson | The leading gospel singer. |
| | Doris | McMurray | Ida Mae's co-worker and friend. |
| | James Earl | Ray | A drifter and prison escapee. |
| | Stanley | Lieberson | The Harvard immigration scholar. |
| | Clyde | Vernon-Kisser | A political scientist. |
| | Pearl | Clement | Rufus's wife. |
| | Madison James | Jr. | Robert's nephew. |
| | | | Part Five |
| | Mark | Lowry | A Mississippi-born scholar. |
| | LeRoy | Collins | The Florida Governor. |
| | Walter | Irvin | The man who was imprisoned for the crime he didn't commit. |
| | John | Kennedy | The current U.S. President. |
| | Reubin | Askew | The current Florida governor. |
| | Henry | Caroll | The first black member of the Monroe board of education. |
| | Betty | | Ida Mae and Eleanor's close friend and neighbor. |
| | Henry | Harrison | George Starling's pastor. |
| | Viola | | Babe's widow. |
| | William | Hawkins | The pastor. |
| | Leo | Davis | One of Limuary's colleagues. |
| | Era | Davis | Leo's wife. |
| | Dr. | Pierce | A drug store owner. |
| | Isabel | Beckwith | Howard's wife. |
| | Dessie | | Ida Mae's sister-in-law. |
| | Daniel | Moss | Robin's son. Robert's grandson. |
| | Charles | Spillers | One of Robert's former students. |
| | Alan | Christianson | Robin's husband. |
| | Woodie | White | Bunny's son. |
| | Lee | | Joy's husband. |
| | Lia | | Joy and Lee's daughter. |
| | Adam | | Joy and Lee's son. |
| | Ardee | | Ida Mae's brother. Jessie's husband. |
| | Castoria | | Ida Mae's former classmate. |
| | Mike | | Karen's new boyfriend. |