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Wes Watende Omari Moore “Moore”
The author of the book and one of its two main subjects. Over the course of the book, Moore grows from a troublemaker who rebels against authority into a successful student, soldier, and community leader.
Read an in-depth analysis of Moore
Wes John Moore “Wes”
The book’s other subject, a man who shares the author’s name. Although his early life shares similarities with Moore’s, Wes is hotheaded and defiant, and he falls into a life of violence and crime that ultimately leads him to prison.
Read an in-depth analysis of Wes
Joy Thomas
The mother of Moore, Nikki, and Shani. Determined and strict, Joy enrolls Moore in military school to protect him from the violence and drugs in their neighborhood and set him on the path for success.
Read an in-depth analysis of Joy Thomas
Mary Moore
The smart and ambitious mother of Wes and Tony.
Richard “Tony” Antonio Moore
Wes’s older brother. Tony is protective of Wes and makes several misguided attempts to keep his brother from following him into the drug business.
Nikki
Moore’s older sister. Nikki is seven years older than Moore and looks after him while their mother works.
Shani
Moore’s younger sister. Shani loves reading and does very well in school.
Westley Moore
The father of Moore and Shani. A hard-working reporter and loving father, he dies when Moore is three years old.
Rev. Dr. James Thomas
Joy’s father and the first Black minister in the Dutch Reformed Church.
Winell Thomas
Joy’s mother. She is strict but loving, and helps raise Moore and his siblings in the Bronx.
Woody
A friend of Wes’s. A football player and a jokester, he is one of the few members of Wes’s class to graduate from high school.
Bernard
Wes’s father, an alcoholic who is absent for most of Wes’s life.
Bill
Nikki’s father. Charismatic and rebellious, Bill becomes an alcoholic and drug addict.
Alma
Mary’s mother. Alma promises to support Mary as she attends college while raising a baby, but Alma dies before Mary can graduate.
Kurt Schmoke
The first Black mayor of Baltimore. Kurt is highly educated and was first elected when he was only 38 years old.
Justin
Moore’s friend from the Bronx. Justin is one of few Black students at Riverdale.
Cheryl
The mother of Wes’s third and fourth children and a heroin addict.
Cadet Captain Ty Hill
An older student at Valley Forge who commands everyone’s respect.
Sergeant Bruce Prothero
A Baltimore police officer and jewelry store security guard killed in robbery.
