The Souls of Black Folk · Characters
Character guide
Key figures in The Souls of Black Folk by W. E. B. Du Bois.
The Narrator
major
Also known as Unknown, I, mine, myself
The unnamed first-person narrator and authorial voice guiding the reader through the book's essays.
Booker T. Washington
major
Also known as Mr. Booker T. Washington, Mr. Washington
Prominent Black leader and educator whose philosophy of accommodation is critically examined.
Alexander Crummell
major
Also known as Alexander, Crummell
Black intellectual and missionary whose life and ideals are celebrated in a dedicated chapter.
Josie
supporting
Also known as Josie
A young Black girl in rural Georgia whose aspirations are crushed by poverty and circumstance.
Sam Scott
supporting
Also known as Sam
A Black farmer in the Black Belt whose struggles illustrate post-Reconstruction economic hardship.
The Judge
supporting
Also known as the Judge, Judge, Judge Henderson
A white judge in the rural South who embodies local legal authority and racial prejudice.
Oliver O. Howard
supporting
Also known as Howard, Oliver Howard, General Howard
Union general and head of the Freedmen's Bureau, later founder of Howard University.
Jim
minor
Also known as Jim
A Black laborer in the cotton fields whose life reflects the harsh realities of sharecropping.
Uncle Bird
minor
Also known as Uncle Bird Dowell
An elderly Black man in the rural South, a figure of folk wisdom and endurance.
Jennie
minor
Also known as sister Jennie
A young Black woman in the rural South, sister to a local character.
Sam Hose
minor
Also known as Sam
A Black man whose lynching is referenced as a symbol of racial terror in the South.
Doc Burke
minor
Also known as Doc, Little Doc
A white doctor in the rural South who interacts with Black characters.
The Burkes
minor
Also known as the Burkes
A white family in the Black Belt, representing local landowning interests.
Fat Reuben
minor
Also known as Reuben
A Black laborer in the cotton fields, known for his physical size and work.
Thenie
minor
Also known as Thenie
A Black woman in the rural South, likely a domestic worker or family member.
Tildy
minor
Also known as Tildy
A Black woman in the rural South, part of the local community.
Brother Dennis
minor
Also known as Brother
A Black church elder in the rural South, a figure of religious leadership.
Luke Black
minor
Also known as Luke Black
A Black farmer in the Black Belt, representing the struggling agricultural class.
Mandy
minor
Also known as Mandy
A Black woman in the rural South, likely a domestic worker or family member.
Michael
minor
Also known as Michael
A Black laborer in the cotton fields, part of the sharecropping system.
John Jones
minor
Also known as Jones, John
A Black man in the rural South, possibly a farmer or laborer.
The White John
minor
Also known as John
A white man in the rural South, possibly a landowner or overseer.
Bishop Onderdonk
minor
Also known as Bishop Onderdonk
A historical bishop referenced in the context of religious education for Black people.
Andrew Jackson
minor
Also known as Jackson
Former U.S. president referenced in discussions of democracy and race.
Frederick Douglass
minor
Also known as Douglass
Abolitionist and statesman, cited as a model of Black leadership and oratory.
Senator Ben Tillman
minor
Also known as Ben
White supremacist politician from South Carolina, criticized for his racist policies.
John Brown
minor
Also known as Brown, great awkward John
Abolitionist whose raid on Harpers Ferry is invoked as a symbol of radical resistance.
Beriah Green
minor
Also known as Beriah Green
Abolitionist and educator, referenced in the context of early Black education.
Thomas Wentworth Higginson
minor
Also known as Thomas Wentworth Higginson
Abolitionist and colonel of the first Black regiment in the Civil War.
Denmark Vesey
minor
Also known as Vesey
Leader of a planned slave revolt in Charleston, cited as a symbol of resistance.
Nat Turner
minor
Also known as Turner
Leader of a slave rebellion in Virginia, referenced as a figure of Black defiance.
Commissioner Harris
minor
Also known as Harrison
A government official involved in Reconstruction-era policies in the South.
General Sherman
minor
Also known as Sherman
Union general whose Special Field Orders promised land to freed slaves.
Pierce
minor
Also known as Pierce
A white landowner or official in the post-Civil War South.
Sells
minor
Also known as Sells
A white merchant or landowner in the rural South.
Price
minor
Also known as Price
A white landowner or official in the post-Civil War South.
Benton
minor
Also known as Benton
A white landowner or official in the post-Civil War South.
Jason
minor
Also known as Jason
A Black man in the rural South, possibly a farmer or laborer.
Jacob
minor
Also known as Jacob
A Black man in the rural South, possibly a farmer or laborer.
Young John Jay
minor
Also known as John
A Black man in the rural South, possibly a farmer or laborer.
