Omar Ibn Said
A man who was kidnapped from his home on the Senegalese river and sold into American slavery. He converted to Christianity, prompting journalists from all over to cover his story. This attention helped prompt this small autobiography, chronicling the horrors of the slave trade, the brutal slave masters who claimed Jesus's name but not his example, and finally, his friendship with his persistent owner, Jim Owen.
Jim Owen
The first kind American whom Omar was ever subjected to, this Jim Owen realized that Ibn Said was an educated man who could read and write (but in Arabic). Upon this recognition, Owen helped to find an Arabic bible, and over the course of time, the two struck up an interesting friendship rooted in theological debate. Ultimately, Jim's kind example and consistent passion for the gospel led Omar to convert, whereupon he wrote this book.
The slave traders
There are more Christians in Omar's life that left a bad taste in his mouth, like those that kidnapped him from his home and murdered his family. Omar successfully distinguishes between the religion itself and these faithless hypocrites who use the religious title of "Christian" as a license to do whatever they want.
Johnson, the master
Omar's first master was a ruthless man whom Omar describes as a "complete infidel, who had no fear of God whatsoever." In other words, the way that man treated Omar was completely incompatible with Christianity (which is slightly ironic, considering that even Jim Owen is willing to own slaves, which doesn't seem compatible with Jesus's theology).
