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