Delphine is an 11-year-old girl returning to her Bedford-Stuyvesant home after a summer in California. Having learned about Black pride and resistance to oppression from the Black Panthers, she finds it difficult to submit to her grandmother's demand for quiet respectability. She bears the heavy responsibility of managing her younger sisters, a role she takes seriously but begins to question as she fears becoming an oppressor herself. She faces new academic pressures and shifting social dynamics as she enters the sixth grade.

Big Ma is the matriarch of the Gaither family and the primary caregiver for her three granddaughters. Raised in the segregated South, she enforces strict rules about decorum, believing that respectable behavior protects Black people from racism. She strongly opposes the youth culture of the 1960s, insisting on conservative clothes and quiet manners. She uses physical discipline to maintain order in the household.

Louis, referred to as Pa, is the steady father of the three girls who built their Brooklyn home with his own hands. Traditionally a quiet and serious man, he surprises his daughters by wearing cologne, dressing stylishly, and actively dating. He holds conservative beliefs about gender, insisting that men should lead and women belong in the domestic sphere.

Vonetta is the middle Gaither sister. She is highly enthusiastic about pop culture, specifically the Jackson Five, and begins resisting Delphine's authority over her. She takes the initiative to manage the sisters' shared savings jar, marking her first significant steps toward independence and responsibility.

Fern, also known by her African name Afua, is the youngest sister. She is a poet who loves words and relies heavily on the traditional neighborhood fairytales her uncle tells. Despite being the youngest, she confidently teams up with Vonetta to push back against Delphine's bossiness.

Cecile is the girls' physically distant mother who lives as a poet in Oakland, California. Having abandoned traditional motherhood years ago, she communicates with her daughters through letters. She encourages Delphine to avoid rushing into adulthood and to simply enjoy being eleven years old.

Marva is Pa's stylish, modern girlfriend who brings an influx of progressive ideas to the household. She wears mod clothes, supports the women's liberation movement, and volunteers for political campaigns. She advocates for the girls to have more freedom, directly challenging Big Ma's conservative rules.

Darnell is Pa's younger brother who recently returned from a combat tour in the Vietnam War. Once a playful storyteller who spun fairytales for his nieces, he comes back severely traumatized. He suffers from nightmares and paces the floor at night, unable to reintegrate into civilian life.

Mr. Mwile is a stern exchange teacher from Zambia who takes over Delphine's sixth-grade classroom. He values strict decorum and heavily critiques his students' work to push them academically. He challenges Delphine's assumptions about African culture and history.

Lucy is a classmate and "frenemy" of Delphine. She is assertive, style-conscious, and closely follows popular culture like the Jackson Five. She frequently trades insults with Delphine but also advocates for her to get modern, fashionable clothes instead of childish outfits.

Frieda is one of Delphine's friends at school, whose family lives in the neighborhood. She is part of the changing social dynamics of the sixth grade, occasionally causing tension when neighborhood gossip bleeds into their classroom environment.

Danny is a boisterous boy in Delphine's sixth-grade class who frequently acts as a bully. He targets Delphine with insulting jokes and makes insensitive comments about her uncle's struggles, often disrupting group projects with his sexist behavior.

Ellis is a boy in Delphine's class whom she previously punched for teasing her about her height. As the sixth-grade social dynamics shift toward school dances and crushes, he becomes a potential romantic interest who surprisingly steps up to defend her.

Hirohito is a Black and Japanese American boy from Oakland whom Delphine met over the summer. Though he lives across the country, he occupies Delphine's thoughts as a crush, representing her transition toward adolescence.

Rukia is a Muslim girl in Delphine's sixth-grade class who participates in group projects. She suggests the bold debate topic of whether a woman is suited to be president, sparking intense classroom discussions and exposing the boys' prejudices.

John-Isaac is Frieda's older brother and an old high school friend of Darnell. He wears Black Panther gear, reflecting the era's youth radicalism, which deeply offends conservative elders in the neighborhood when he comes to visit.

Ms. Honeywell is the stylish, modern sixth-grade teacher who was sent home for wearing a hot pink, bell-bottomed pantsuit. Her brief appearance represents the rapidly changing fashion and gender norms of the late 1960s that Delphine admires.