story from her point of view.

Statler Aames, Leon Aames, and Troy Aames are brothers and the story's main protagonists. They are hostile toward black people and purposefully start fights with them. The Aames brothers are wounded when Moe fights them with a crowbar.

Moe Turner quarrels with the Aames brothers and injures them. Moe flees Mississippi to avoid getting caught and killed.

Stacey Logan is Moe's friend and Cassie's twenty-year-old brother. He helps Moe leave town by letting him use his car.

Two characters named Clarence Hopkins and Willie Wiggins accompany Cassie, Moe, and Stacey on their journey to Memphis. They are childhood friends of Stacey's, and they are both said to be funny and fun -loving. Willie is said to be shorter than all his other friends, and Clarence suffers a head injury during the course of the novel.

When the group gets to Memphis, Solomon Bradley helps them get their bearings.

The central characters of The Road to Memphis, the Logan children, are all in their teens or early twenties during the time of the narrative. Cassie Logan, who is attending school in Jackson, Mississippi, is seventeen years old. Cassie is readying herself to go on to college, determined to further her education despite the roadblocks against her advancement as a black woman living in the Deep South during the World War II era. She remains feisty and opinionated as always, unafraid to stand up for what she believes is right. Despite attempts to make her into a lady, Cassie is still a tomboy at heart, reveling in her ability to keep up with the endeavors of her male friends.

Cassie's older brother Stacey is twenty, and works at a box factory in Jackson. He is "a handsome young man, tall and slender," who enjoys dressing up and has managed to save up and actually buy a car. Stacey has grown up into his own element, and has developed into a leader who takes special care to look out for his friends.

Christopher-John is fifteen, strong yet reserved as he has always been, even as a young child. Christopher-John has a "keen ear," and is perceptive and cautious, tending to believe that the best way to stay out of trouble is to avoid it altogether.

The youngest Logan child, Little Man, is fourteen now. His real name is Clayton Chester, and as he grows older, he insists more and more on being called by his real name. Little Man is a handsome boy, slightly built, "with reddish-pecan brown skin...and Indian-like hair combed straight back." Ever fastidious, he takes great care to look neat and "cool" at all times (Chapter 1).