resident who does not love or trust others easily. She first appears wearing a fashionably colorful dress and carrying a small cardboard suitcase.

Rutherford Selig

Rutherford Selig, a peddler. He sells wares made by Seth to mill town residents. Roughly as old as Seth, the thin, white-skinned man is also called the People Finder because his customer lists enable him to locate individuals who have traveled from one town to another; apparently, Selig also has a hand in transporting many of them away. Bynum hires him to find the “shiny man,” Mattie hires him to find Jack Carper, and Herald hires him to find Martha. Once married to a woman in Kentucky, Selig mentions that his grandfather shipped blacks from Africa and that his father helped capture runaway slaves.

Zonia Loomis

Zonia Loomis, Herald and Martha’s eleven-year-old daughter, who befriends Reuben Scott.

Reuben Scott

Reuben Scott, a boy who lives next door and sells pigeons to Bynum.

Mattie Campbell
Mattie Campbell is one of Seth’s tenants who desires nothing more than to marry and have children. She pursues Herald by the play's end. When she first arrives at Seth’s boardinghouse, Mattie, a twenty-six-year-old woman, seeks the help of Bynum, hoping the conjurer can bind her former boyfriend, Jack Carper, to her so he won't leave again. Mattie had two children with Carper, but both passed away, leading him to believe she is cursed. However, Bynum tells her that she and Carper are not destined to be together. Despite her desperation, Mattie ends up living with Jeremy, who eventually leaves her too. By the play's conclusion, Mattie realizes she and Herald would make a good pair and rushes to catch up with him as he departs.

Molly Cunningham
Molly is another of Seth’s tenants who values independence above all and ultimately pairs up with Jeremy. An extremely attractive twenty-six-year-old woman, she visits Seth to inquire about a room after missing her train. Jeremy, instantly smitten with her, asks if she will join him on the road. Initially hesitant, Molly agrees under the conditions that he does not expect her to work, does not attempt to buy her, and does not take her south.

Jeremy Furlow
Jeremy Furlow, one of Seth’s tenants, ends up with Molly. He is a young, impulsive man in his twenties who dislikes being tied down to a needy woman or a specific place. Jeremy is unlawfully detained by local police looking to extort money from wandering black men. After working on a road crew for a while, he is fired for refusing to pay an employment fee to a white man. Preferring to earn money through gambling and participating in guitar contests, Jeremy stays with Mattie briefly but is eventually drawn to Molly. He leaves Mattie to travel the country with Molly.

Bertha Holly
Bertha Holly is the wife of Seth and provides guidance to many of the residents at their Pittsburgh boardinghouse. Married to Seth for twenty-seven years, she has learned to handle his difficult personality. While Seth is highly critical of most people, Bertha tends to be more forgiving and understanding. She manages the cooking and cleaning at the boardinghouse, while Seth takes care of collecting rent and juggles two additional jobs. Although Bertha is a Christian, she also engages in other rituals. The play does not specify if Bertha and Seth have children, but she often takes on a maternal role for many of the tenants. For instance, when Jeremy leaves Mattie to run off with Molly, Bertha reassures Mattie that she is better off without him. When Herald leaves the boardinghouse and is kind to Mattie, Bertha hints that Mattie and Herald might be a good match.

Seth Holly
Seth Holly, Bertha’s husband, owns the Pittsburgh boardinghouse where the play unfolds. In contrast to his open-hearted wife, Seth is a wary man, always vigilant about maintaining the boardinghouse's reputation. Upon hearing that Jeremy has been arrested for drinking, he promptly confronts him. When Herald disrupts a Sunday night juba dance, Seth threatens to evict him the next morning. Born a free black man, Seth struggles to empathize with the many Southern blacks who migrated North after the abolition of slavery. He inherited the boardinghouse from his father, who also taught him the tinsmith trade. Besides his night job at a steel mill, Seth buys sheet metal from Selig, a white peddler, crafts items from the metal, and sells them back to Selig. Although Selig makes a larger profit by supplying the materials and selling the items, Seth dreams of starting his own business. However, no one will lend him money unless he uses the boardinghouse as collateral, which he refuses to do as it is his only security.

Seth is initially wary of Bynum, the African rootworker who performs rituals involving the killing of pigeons in Seth’s yard. Seth observes that Bynum is similar to many other Southern blacks who spend much of their lives wandering before eventually settling down, as Bynum has done. Although Seth does not understand or accept Bynum’s conjuring practices, he is even more distrustful of Herald when he first arrives at the boardinghouse. Despite knowing Herald's wife, Martha Pentecost, Seth chooses not to inform Herald of Martha's whereabouts, doubting that a respectable woman like Martha could be married to someone like Herald. At one point, Seth suspects Herald might be a church thief because someone saw Herald loitering around an old church without going inside. While Seth keeps a close watch on Herald, he tells Bertha that he prefers not to meddle in other people’s affairs and will not inform Martha of Herald’s presence, even though he knows Martha is searching for their daughter, Zonia. Even after Herald and Zonia have left and are standing on the street corner, Seth remains suspicious and continues to monitor Herald.

Herald Loomis
Herald Loomis is a former deacon who was illegally enslaved by Joe Turner, an experience that caused him to lose his sense of identity or "song." One day, Herald attempted to stop some black men from gambling, but he and the men were unlawfully seized by Joe Turner, the brother of the Tennessee governor, and forced to work on Turner’s plantation for seven years. Upon his release, Herald went to his mother-in-law’s house, where he found his daughter, Zonia, but not his wife, Martha. For four years, Herald and Zonia traveled north in search of Martha. At Seth’s boardinghouse, Herald hires Selig to locate Martha. However, during his stay, Herald, who is visibly angry, causes significant disruption in the boardinghouse. During a juba—a traditional African song and dance invoking the Holy Ghost—Herald attempts to mock the ritual by unzipping his pants and speaking in tongues. This act, however, leads Herald to have a vision in which he sees his African ancestors being transported to America and forced into slavery. Bynum helps Herald navigate through this profound vision.

Seth threatens to evict Herald for causing a commotion, but Herald stands firm. When Bynum sings the song, "Joe Turner's Come and Gone," Herald begins to share his experience of being enslaved. Herald is confused about why Joe Turner targeted him until Bynum explains that Turner wanted to steal Herald's "song" and claim it as his own. This leads to Herald unconsciously forgetting his song. Herald is interested in Mattie but realizes he has lost the ability to touch, another consequence of his captivity. When Selig brings Martha to the boardinghouse, she and Herald reunite. They exchange their stories, and Herald entrusts Zonia to Martha. Although Martha urges Herald to seek salvation through Jesus Christ and the blood of the lamb, Herald instead slashes his chest with a knife and smears his own blood on his face. He understands that this act of self-reliance frees him, and he leaves to begin anew. Mattie chases after him.

Martha Loomis
Martha Loomis is Herald's wife, separated from him for eleven years after he was illegally enslaved by Joe Turner. When Herald was captured, Martha couldn't manage their Tennessee farm alone and was evicted by their landlord. She and Zonia lived at her mother's house for five years, during which Martha presumed Herald was dead and moved on with her life. Martha relocated North to escape racial persecution, leaving Zonia behind with her mother, planning to return for her in a few months. However, Herald was released while Martha was up North, and he went to get Zonia. Herald and Zonia searched for Martha while she searched for Zonia. Martha stayed briefly at Seth's boardinghouse, where Bynum bound Zonia to Martha, ensuring they would find each other someday. By the time Martha and Herald reunite, she has changed her name to Martha Pentecost and become more involved in religion, unsuccessfully trying to persuade Herald to seek salvation through Jesus Christ. At the play's end, Zonia goes to live with Martha.

Zonia Loomis
Zonia Loomis is the daughter of Herald and Martha, who has been traveling with her father for four years in search of her mother. Zonia helps Bertha in the kitchen to contribute to her board. She meets Reuben, the boy next door, and agrees to be his girl. At the play's conclusion, Bynum reveals that when he first met Martha, he bound Zonia to her so that Martha would eventually find her daughter. Reluctantly, Zonia leaves Herald to go with Martha.

Martha Pentecost
See Martha Loomis

Reuben Scott
Reuben Scott is the boy next door who becomes friends with Zonia and tells her he intends to marry her one day. He once had a friend named Eugene, who has passed away. Reuben keeps Eugene’s pigeons in captivity and sells them to Bynum for use in his rituals. However, after a ghost appears and instructs Reuben to honor Eugene’s wishes, Reuben releases the pigeons.

Rutherford Selig
Rutherford Selig is a white peddler and people finder who locates Martha Loomis and brings her to Herald. He is the only white character in the play. Selig visits the boardinghouse every Saturday to sell sheet metal to Seth and place orders for items made from the metal. He earns a profit from both the sheet metal and the items he purchases from Seth, making more money than Seth. Besides peddling, Selig charges one dollar to find someone. He informs others that his family has been in the business of finding people for a long time—first as slave transporters, then as slave bounty hunters, and now, as a service to reunite families. Selig keeps a record of all his customers' names and cross-references this list when hired to find a specific person. Despite Bertha’s belief that Selig can only "find" people who have previously ridden on his peddling cart, Herald is confident that Selig will locate his wife, Martha, and Selig succeeds.

Bynum Walker
Bynum Walker, an older resident of the boardinghouse, is an African rootworker and conjurer who possesses the power of the Binding Song, which he uses to connect Zonia with her mother, Martha. Bynum acquired his binding power from a vision he experienced while traveling. In this vision, a mysterious man offered to reveal the Secret of Life to Bynum. As the vision unfolded, the man began to shine. Bynum’s father appeared to guide him, telling him that encountering another shiny man would signify that his song has been accepted. Upon emerging from the vision, Bynum gained the Binding Song's power, enabling him to bind people together so they could find each other if separated. This ability earned him the name Bynum, which sounds like "bind ’em." Since the vision, Bynum has been searching for another shiny man and has enlisted Selig, the people finder, to help him locate this shiny man.

Similar to Bertha, Bynum offers guidance to various tenants. He advises Mattie to let go of her past relationship and gives her a good luck charm. He attempts to enlighten Jeremy about the many virtues of women, but Jeremy dismisses his advice and elopes with Molly.

Bynum also serves as a spiritual mentor to Herald. When Herald experiences a vision of his African ancestors during a juba dance, Bynum helps him navigate through it. Additionally, when Herald reacts negatively to Bynum's singing of the song, "Joe Turner's Come and Gone," Bynum realizes that Herald has been enslaved by this infamous man. Bynum encourages Herald to share his story and explains that Joe Turner captured him in an attempt to steal his song—his identity. However, Bynum reveals that Herald forgot his song during his capture, preventing Turner from taking it.

Bynum emphasizes to Herald that he is intrinsically connected to his song and only needs to sing it to achieve freedom. At the play's conclusion, after Herald has cut himself and rediscovered his identity, Bynum tells him that he is shining. Bynum has found another "shiny man."