Lester in "Strong Men, Riding Horses"
In the poem Strong Men, Riding Horses, the character Lester is introduced in the first line (" Lester after the Western", where it is conveyed that Lester is an African American individual who is comparing himself to the movie character is "the Western" movie. In the 4th and 5th stanzas of the poem, Lester has the realization that he is not like the characters in the movie as he states " I am not like that". Then, he goes on, in a self-deprecating tone, to list things that make him unlike the "Strong men"; for instance "I pay rent, am addled". At the end of the poem, he confesses that he is "not brave at all", which is unintentionally ironic due to that the "strong men" were born white, thus privileged, and they have never had to go through the difficulties and discrimination that Lester has been through, which make Lester the "brave" one.
John Cabot in "Riot"
In the poem "Riot", John Cabot is a white man as it is hinted as white is alliterated by "Wilma" and "Whycliffe", and that he has "golden hair" and blue eyes. His privileged lifestyle is conveyed by his appearance as he is "wrapped richly in right linen and right wool". He was shaken from a "riot" of African American individuals ("Because the Negroes were coming down the street/ Because the Poor were sweaty and unpretty"). He was the typical racist stereotype of Brooks' time. He found African American individuals to be fundamentally "gross", and he was religious as "he whispered to any handy angel in the sky" " 'Don't let it touch me! the blackness! Lord!'"
Jessie Mitchell in "Jessie Mitchell's Mother"
Jessie Mitchell is the newly orphaned African American girl in the poem Jessie Mitchell's Mother. Even though her beautiful, due to the fact that she was dark-skinned, she was "jelly-hearted" and "had a brain of jelly" (worthless). Compared to her "young" and "thin" mother, she was told by her mother that she will be "jerkier".
Sadie in "Sadie and Maud"
In the poem "Sadie and Maud", Sadie is the first of the two sisters. Sadie is the more untraditional girl as she "stayed at home", instead of having a career. Moreover, she had a personality and mindset that allowed to enjoy every moment of her life ( "Sadie scraped life./ With a fine-tooth comb./ She didn't leave a tangle in./ Her comb found every strand."). Her personality made her "one of the livingest chits/ In all the land".
Due to her enjoying every aspect of life, "Sadie bore two babies./Under her maiden name.", which made her family ashamed of her. However, that did not prevent her from teaching her way of life to her daughter as well as "When Sadie said last so-long/ Her girls struck out from home/ (Sadie had left as heritage/ Her fine tooth comb)".
Maud in "Sadie and Maud"
In the poem "Sadie and Maud", Maud is the second of the two sisters. Maud is the traditional girl in the family as she "went to college", to have a profession. As the sister with the conservative values, she was ashamed of her unmarried pregnant sister.
However, as she was always doing what was expected of her (by both the society and her parents), she was not able to do what she desired and she ended up being "a thin brown mouse/ ... living all alone/ In this old house".
