Lafeyette Rivers

Lafeyette is the ultimate example of the dream deferred. He is one of two brothers who live in the projects of Chicago and who is the subject of Alex Kotlowitz's exposé of life for the children of the inner city. Lafeyette is the one who is most affected by the dying of his dreams and the loss of his friends. He faces in the beginning of his adolescence more tragedy than most adults face in a lifetime. He sees violence and watches death creep all around him, but somehow he keeps his head and stays mostly out of trouble. Unfortunately, he is one of those young men who is found guilty for something he didn't do and is thus an object of the kind of racism that is the most damaging - racism supported by the rule of law. However, Lafeyette has great potential, and by the end of the narrative, he seems on the right track.

Pharoah Rivers

He is the other brother and the one who is most sensitive to life in the inner city. He worries about whether he will grow up, is easily reduced to tears, and hides behind his youth to avoid worrisome situations. He is also the more intelligent of the two brothers and will no doubt be more successful in escaping the life he despises in the projects. He is a delightful little kid, with buckteeth and a round face that is often smiling. He is also small for his age, which often brings him ridicule. However, Pharaoh is the one with the greatest hope. He believes that he can become whatever he wants and thrives when given the chance to grow and learn. He does well in elementary school, winning second place in his spelling bee and earning several certificates of merit. He also does well in the private school and wins a scholarship to a special summer camp. He believes in rainbows and the promise they bring of gold and leprechauns. His imagination helps him escape the world of the projects and offers him a dream of something better. He is the one of all her children that LaJoe believes will give back to her, through his own success, what she believes was lost.

LaJoe Rivers

The boys' mother, LaJoe is a deeply emotional person who hates the life her children must endure. She worries constantly about them and is their rock. She, too, however, feels the stress of life where she frequently hears gunfire and even has bullet holes in her apartment walls. She always finds a way to bring a little cheer into their lives even as she prepares them for the possibility of a future as bleak as they fear. She is an absolute miracle and the ultimate example of one who would die for her children. Without her, none of them would have become anything in life. Even though she has her disappointments in Terence and LaShawn, she has grasped onto the younger children and her hopes for their success in life. She never gives up on any of them and even nurtures their friends who come to the house for shelter and safety. In the end, she waits for Lafeyette and Pharaoh to make her proud and leave the projects a success in life.

Terence Rivers

He is a symbol of what life in the projects can do to a child who grows up there. He is the older brother of Lafeyette and Pharoah and the one who is his mother's greatest disappointment. He has for most of his life been her favorite, but he can't keep himself away from the wrong crowd and ends up in prison for an eight year sentence. He constantly warns the boys about taking the same path he did and wants very much to make up for the shame he has brought to his family. He reminds the reader of a lost child who had so much potential but can't find his way through all the temptations and disappointments. In the end, he earns his GED, writes to his family faithfully, and hopes to be released from prison in 1991.

Rickey

A friend to both Lafeyette and Pharoah, he is an unsettling influence on them. He is sweet and well liked, but he is too often in trouble and might pull them down with him. Rickey is definitely the lost child who leaves a desert behind, according to Longfellow. He is always mannerly and on his best behavior when he comes to the Rivers' home, but when he walks through the projects, the temptation to steal or vandalize overtakes him. He is also susceptible to gang influence and has been in and out of detention many times. His mother says he is so filled with anger that she worries that he either will kill someone or be killed himself. It's as if he has crossed the point of no return and his destiny is one filled with sorrow and tragedy.

Dawn Anderson

She is LaJoe's niece and only the second member of the family to graduate from high school. She is their success story and brings disappointment when she doesn't move out of Horner right away or get a good job immediately. She is the boys' role model and when she doesn't succeed, they are bewildered. As such, she is a symbol of hope to them, which has not quite materialized. If she could overcome the problems she faces, she might show them a way to be successful, too. The fact that she and Demetirus, her boyfriend, were singled out in a newspaper article about success in spite of obstacles, is an example of how little success is seen in the projects. White people take graduating from high school for granted. For black people, it is often a miracle.

Paul Rivers

LaJoe's husband and the father of all her children, he is a constant disappointment to the family, because of his alcohol and drug problem. He doesn't live with them on daily basis, but his desire to see his children brings him home often. He wants his children to respect him, but he finally comes to the point where they turn on him. Lafeyette calls him a drug fiend and fights him. Pharaoh still shows him attention, but it's only because he feels sorry for him. He is also not much of presence or influence in the lives of the triplets. After the battle with Lafeyette, he nearly loses all of his strength and his spirit. However, in the end, he has a part-time job, and he is finally helping LaJoe a little bit with money.

Craig Davis

He is a young black male who is a success story and a role model for Lafeyette. His death at the hands of the police is devastating. He can easily be defined as one of the best and brightest of the black community. He volunteers to play his music at Horner so that the people there can have some respite from their daily disappointments. He helps people whenever he can and gets a good job where he impresses the manager with his work ethic. He is wrongly accused of stealing large boxes of cookies, because he happens to be in the apartment when the police arrive, a typical incident for young black males. Then, when he runs from the police when falsely stopped for another crime, he is killed in a suspicious tussle with a police officer. With him dies some of Lafeyette's dreams. He can't understand how a good person can die so violently. He has always believed that you die the way you live, but Craig, a good person, died a horrible death. The incident sends Lafeyette into a tailspin from which his mother is afraid he won't recover. However, in the end, Craig's short time on earth was still influential. He showed by example how to live and Lafeyette cannot help but have been positively affected by him.