Claude is a Jamaican-born poet and prominent figure of the Harlem Renaissance. After receiving a classical British education in Jamaica, he emigrates to the United States at age 23 seeking opportunity. Horrified by the intense racial prejudice and the violence of the Red Summer of 1919, he channels his indignation into militant protest poetry. He writes to condemn the brutal violence inflicted upon Black Americans.

An innocent Black man who is unjustly murdered by a white mob. The text details the brutal aftermath of his death, reducing his physical form to a burnt object while his spirit is released. Stripped of his humanity by the violence inflicted upon him, he serves as a tragic representation of the racial terror of the era.

Members of the mixed white crowd that gathers the morning after the execution. They arrive to view the horrific scene with chilling apathy. With their steely blue eyes, they exhibit no sorrow or compassion. They demonstrate a complete desensitization to violence and a passive complicity in the racial terror perpetrated by their community.

The young white boys present in the morning crowd. Described chillingly as future participants in racial violence, they view the tragic execution as a cause for excitement rather than horror. Their demonic delight in the violence highlights how racism and cruelty are actively taught to the next generation.

A deliberately ambiguous figure who calls the murdered man to his side after the cruel execution. The text leaves it unclear whether this entity represents a divine creator welcoming a martyr into heaven or the man's biological parent welcoming him into death.

A farmer living in the British colony of Jamaica. He raises his youngest child, Claude, in an agricultural environment where the boy receives a classical British education before eventually emigrating to the United States.

A farmer in Jamaica who, alongside her husband, raises Claude McKay. Her family's agricultural background precedes her son's eventual study of agriculture at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama.

An openly Marxist editor working in New York's literary circles. He befriends McKay and brings him onto the staff of The Liberator, providing the young poet with a platform for his social and political writings during a critical period in his career.

A prominent Black writer and peer of Claude McKay during the Harlem Renaissance. Like McKay, he utilizes his poetry to express anger against racial oppression and to advocate for radical social change for Black Americans living under Jim Crow laws.

A Black poet whose work condemns racial injustice and celebrates Black culture. He writes "The Haunted Oak," a poem based on a true story about the unjust hanging of an innocent Black man. His earlier poetry serves as a thematic predecessor to McKay's work.

The leader of the Communist Party in Russia. When McKay visits the country, he experiences instant popularity with its literary figures and with this prominent political leader.