Speaker
The speaker is unnamed and unidentified, but seems to be a longtime resident of Harlem, familiar with both the culture of children's games and with more adult concerns relating to racism and money. They are evidently independent and a bit iconoclastic, consciously choosing to reject the oppressive, arbitrary rules dictating the behavior of Black people and poor people in a racist society. Familiar though they are with the intricate norms of this society—indeed, they even seem to feel a degree of admiration for those who are able to keep up with those rules—they have decided that participating isn't worth it, and that they're happy to accept a degree of risk or social exclusion in exchange for freedom.
"They"
While no external characters are explicitly brought up in the poem, the speaker references a surrounding community, suffering from the effects of poverty and discrimination in Harlem. These neighbors are also the metaphorical hopscotch players who follow the difficult, demanding rules of the game. While the speaker opts to stop obeying those rules and leave the game altogether, the other players continue to play and see the speaker's choice as a sign of failure. The speaker does not appear to resent or judge them for this, but instead appears to feel sympathy and pity for them.
