Mississippi Trial, 1955

Grampa is Hiram’s paternal grandfather and essentially raises Hiram while his father finishes school. He is a man of the Delta, leading the White Citizens’ Council, and hellbent on maintaining segregation in the state. He loves his family deeply, which makes the rift with his own son painful to him, so he transfers a lot of that paternal energy and affection onto Hiram. He is unable after his stroke to drive his pickup truck around town, so he often lends the vehicle to whomever needs it. It is later revealed that it was his pickup truck that was used to abduct Emmett from his uncle’s home. Following the trial, Grampa quickly sells the truck and gets a new car. This information, coupled with what Hiram learns from the Remingtons, brings Hiram to the horrible realization that his grandpa was somehow an accomplice in Emmett’s murder. 

Emmet is Ruthanne’s nephew from Chicago who comes to visit family in Greenwood for the summer. He has a strong personality and because of his being raised in the North, in many ways, like Hiram, he is unaware of the way race relations work in the Delta region. Though his mother warned him to “act humbly” around white people, he continues to act as he normally would, which lands him in precarious situations that lead to his murder. Hiram saves Till from drowning in the river during Hiram’s first fishing excursion that summer. The second time they run into one another, Hiram is with R.C. Rydell, who is violent in his display of racism. He tortures Emmett on the banks of the river, spilling fish guts in his mouth. Hiram feels immense guilt for not intervening. Eventually, Emmett makes a flirtatious remark to a white woman that spirals into a big event, leading to his abduction and murder.

R.C. is Hiram’s childhood friend. They go fishing together and do other nonsense activities and antics that young boys do, but early on, R.C. shows signs of an immoral spirit and violence, which troubles Hiram. He taunts the Remington neighbors, which Hiram finds comical, until R.C. takes it too far. Hiram suspects him of being complicit in Emmett’s abduction and murder based on the way he abused and humiliated Emmett at the river. R.C. comes from a broken home where he continually deals with his drunk and physically-abusive father, which eventually drives him to leave Greenwood. 

Naomi is R.C.’s younger sister and essentially acts as the matriarch of her dysfunctional home when her mother passes away. Hiram dotes upon her and they meet at their secret spot on the bridge at night, to talk and contemplate life with one another. Hiram wants to save her and protect her, but she is much tougher than she appears, having had to maintain a household otherwise under destruction. Because of her affection for Hiram, she begs him to not participate in the trial for his own safety.

The Remingtons are Grampa’s quirky neighbors and are often taunted by the young boys in the neighborhood. They are bachelor brothers who are teased for being homosexuals, but it is never made clear whether they are or not. The alliteration of their names can make it difficult to distinguish one from the other, but this conflation allows the reader to see them more as functioning as a single unit or character in the text. They are always carefully observing out of their window, so they know a lot of the darker, shadowy secrets of Greenwood that many others do not. Hiram’s grandmother treats them with kindness and entreats Hiram to do so as well.

Mr. Paul owns and runs the convenience counter in the courthouse in Greenwood after having lost his sight from a war injury. Hiram visits him whenever his Grampa is conducting “business” in the courthouse, and it is often through these conversations that Hiram comes to learn about the nature of the South, in regard to its political and social climate. Ultimately, it is through Mr. Paul’s sage advice that Hiram is able to make the hard decision to tell the truth in the trial, should he be called upon to do so. 

Ruthanne is Grampa’s caretaker once his wife passes away. Both Grampa and Hiram love her cooking, likening it to Gramma’s. She is kind and gentle, but also highly aware of the situation of being a black woman in the Delta. She cares for Hiram and they have a certain respect for one another. She never openly discusses politics in the house, though it is clear she knows she works for a man who is deeply entrenched in a mindset opposed to hers. Even after Emmett’s murder, she continues to work in the house and treat everyone the same way.