Lutie Johnson
Lutie Johnson is the main character of The Street. Benjamin Franklin is Lutie's hero, and she constantly is thinking or reading about him. She is divorced from her son, Bub's, father, who is an incompetent man who is unable to provide for the family. In the 1940s, Johnson moves into an apartment with her son, where she pays only thirty dollars a month. The apartment is located on 116th Street in Harlem, New York, and Johnson immediately despises the apartment supervisor, Jones, as he has taken a sexual fantasy to Lutie. Later, Lutie sings and catches the attention of Boots Smith, a sly man who falsely promises a music career to her. Boots later sexually assaults Lutie, who kills him and escapes.
Lutie is an independent woman, who even though is a single mother, finds a way to keep Bub and her together. She would do anything for Bub, including promising any amount of money to a lawyer to save her son, but when she realizes that there is no possibility of her reuniting with him, Lutie decides to make a new life for herself.
Bub
Bub is Lutie Johnson's son. He is scared of the dark, and always desires someone to be next to him to keep him company. He is often used by Jones, the apartment supervisor, as a way for him to get closer to Lutie. Bub is a good kid, but he is often ignorant, as he lets Jones into the apartment even when Lutie is gone, and when Jones offers him an illegal job for a couple of dollars, Bub accepts only because he knows the family is short on money.
Jones
Jones is the supervisor of Lutie's apartment, and lusts after her until a point where it becomes unhealthy. He used to be in the Navy, and constantly recalls feelings of lonliness and despair in the cramped up conditions of the ship. Jones gets easily frustrated, and always takes his frustrations out on Min, his live-in girlfriend. He even goes to the point to attack Lutie while she is singing, trying to drag her into the basement so he could have his way with her, but Lutie is saved by one of her neighbors.
Later, Jones bribes Bub, Lutie's son, to steal some mail, and Bub gets caught and sent to the Children's Shelter to await his trial in the Children's Court. Jones considers this to be revenge, as he is angry that Lutie constantly rejects his advances.
Min
Min is Jones's unfortunate girlfriend, and she lives with him. Both concerned and scared of Jones's erratic behavior, Min visits David The Prophet, a person who practices hoodoo, and asks his advice on how to deal with Jones. David recommends candles, a cross, powder, and drops for Jones's coffee, all of which Min pays for. When Min gets home, she hangs the cross over the bed as David suggests, and refuses to tell Jones of her ventures when he demands to know where she had been.
Min is a plain looking unattractive woman, and is fearful of Jones's abuse of her. As a result, she is motivated to find anything, even hoodoo magic, that could fix her relationship with Jones. She is desperate for a solution.
Boots Smith
Boots Smith is a person who worked at Junto's and specializes in music, and he falsely promises Lutie of a potential music career after he hears her sing. Boots is a cunning man, refuses to pay Lutie for her singing, and slowly tries to pursue a sexual relationship with Lutie. When Bub gets sent to the Children's Shelter, Lutie is desperate and promises a lawyer two hundred dollars which she can't pay back. She asks Boots for help, who promises to get her the money the next day. Later, when Lutie meets with Boots for her appointment, Boots decides to make a sexual advance on her and kisses her forcefully, despite another of Lutie's suitors warning him not to. Lutie pushes Boots away, and kills him by hitting his head with a candlestick.
Boots is a jealous man, and often tries to win his way by manipulation.
