Julian is a recent college graduate who aspires to be a writer but currently earns a living selling typewriters. He lives with and remains financially dependent on his elderly mother, despite holding deep contempt for her old-fashioned, racist, and classist worldview. He prides himself on his progressive ideals and intellectualism, using these beliefs to insulate himself in a mental bubble of superiority. However, his attempts to prove his open-mindedness often reveal his own unconscious biases and social awkwardness.

Julian's Mother is an elderly widow who clings tightly to the antebellum values and aristocratic heritage of her once-wealthy family. She attends a weekly doctor-prescribed reducing class at the local YMCA to manage her blood pressure. Terrified of the newly integrated public transit system, she insists her son escort her on her errands. She firmly maintains her racist and classist views while remaining completely detached from her current economic reality and the changing social structure of the South.

Carver is a young Black boy of about four years old. Unaware of the racial tensions surrounding him, he behaves with natural childhood curiosity. He is playful and easily engaged, showing an innocent fascination with the older white woman sitting across the aisle from him.

Carver's Mother is a large, formidable Black woman who boards the bus wearing a purple and green velvet hat identical to the one worn by Julian's Mother. She is highly protective of her son and deeply weary of any condescension from white passengers. Her posture and facial expressions broadcast a strict demand for respect and personal boundaries.

The Well-Dressed Black Man is a commuter whose professional appearance immediately draws Julian's attention. He seeks only to read his newspaper in peace during his ride. His quiet dignity serves as a focal point for Julian's performative attempts to prove his own progressive views.

The Other Passengers include a woman with protruding teeth and another wearing red and white sandals. They represent the general white populace of the transitioning Southern town. They engage in casual conversation about the weather before shifting to coded, sympathetic discussions about the desegregation of public transit.