Jake is a tall, strong African-American longshoreman and World War I veteran originally from Petersburg, Virginia. Disillusioned after being relegated to menial labor rather than combat during the war, he deserts the military and eventually makes his way back to Harlem. He is a charming, pragmatic man driven by an intense desire to immerse himself in the vibrant culture, women, and street life of his spiritual home.

Ray is an exiled Haitian immigrant and former Howard University student forced into menial labor on the railroad. Highly educated and deeply sensitive, he dreams of becoming a writer capable of capturing the reality of the black experience. He struggles with feelings of alienation from both white American society and his African-American peers.

Zeddy is a fellow World War I veteran who served out his full military term and currently works on the docks. He loves the Harlem nightlife but suffers from chronic gambling habits that keep him financially unstable. Zeddy consistently seeks a woman to financially support him as a kept man.

Felice is a beautiful, smartly dressed sex worker who meets Jake on his very first night back in Harlem. After spending a single, deeply contented night with him, she becomes the object of his intense longing. She works in Harlem and occasionally travels to places like Palm Beach for employment.

Known to locals as "The Wolf," Billy runs a gambling business in Harlem. He is an openly gay man who comfortably moves through the dangerous street life of the city. He maintains a pragmatic attitude toward survival, frequently carrying a gun to protect himself and his interests.

Rose is a passionate cabaret singer heavily immersed in the culture of the Harlem underworld. She aggressively pursues Jake, offering to financially support him as a kept man. Her views on romance are tightly bound with violence, as she equates physical abuse from a man with authentic affection and masculine virility.

Madame Laura is a well-preserved woman running a brothel out of a respectable-looking boarding house in North Philadelphia. She maintains a friendly, almost maternal affection for her preferred clients. She raises her young son within the walls of her establishment, bringing an atmosphere of domesticity to her business.

Ginhead Susy is a dark-skinned, successful cook originally from South Carolina. Feeling marginalized by societal beauty standards regarding her skin color, she uses her steady income to throw lavish parties in hopes of attracting light-skinned lovers. She exerts strict financial control over the men she keeps.

Miss Lavinia Curdy is a former high-class sex worker who currently lives in Brooklyn. Bearing birthmarks that she feels diminish her physical appeal, she prefers darker-skinned men, a preference stemming from her early days controlled by a dark-skinned pimp. She speaks condescendingly to her peers, claiming superior knowledge of high society.

Yaller Prince is a well-dressed, light-skinned pimp who manages to be supported by three different women simultaneously. While superficially polite, many of his peers view his parasitic lifestyle with disgust. He frequently brings news and gossip to the other men in his social circle.

The first waiter manages the pantry side of the dining car on the Pennsylvania Railroad. Sensitive about his background, he becomes deeply offended by the chef's insults. He engages in a calculated, quiet campaign of sabotage against the kitchen to exact revenge on his superior.

The chef is a dark-skinned manager of the dining car kitchen on the Pennsylvania Railroad. He demands perfection and hurls vicious insults at his all-black staff. He fawns over his white superiors while deliberately rejecting any food or cultural markers stereotypically associated with African Americans.

Agatha is Ray's beautiful, soft-spoken girlfriend who works as an assistant in a beauty parlor. Originally from Baltimore, she embodies the conventional, respectable life of the black middle class. She desires to settle down into domestic stability.

Strawberry Lips is a lively, animated man in Zeddy's social circle. He fully leans into stereotypical behaviors for entertainment and frequently accompanies the other men during their gambling and drinking outings across New York.

Aunt Hattie is an older woman missing her two front teeth who runs a famous, dimly lit basement restaurant in Harlem. Known for her exceptional pork chops, she openly flirts with handsome customers and runs a welcoming establishment that serves as a hub for local men.

Nije Gridley is a loan shark who amassed wealth during the boom years of World War I. He aggressively tracks down borrowers who fail to make good on their debts, frequently getting into dangerous physical altercations over unpaid money.

James Grant is a young, fair-skinned man working on the railroad to earn money for his schooling. He holds strict, traditional moral ideals and is frequently appalled by the grittier, transactional realities of the Harlem underworld discussed by his peers.

Jericho is an out-of-date dresser who lives with Rosalind. Though he lacks visible employment and serves as Rosalind's pimp, he demonstrates extreme loyalty and despair when she falls deathly ill, pawning his own possessions to secure her medical care.

Rosalind is a well-groomed sex worker who always wears a signature mink coat. She and Jerco take an interest in a starving young Ray, generously buying him meals before she falls severely ill with a paralyzing disease.