Root Magic

James “Jay” Turner is Jez’s twin brother. He turns 11 years old shortly after their grandmother’s death, and he and Jez spend the novel learning about rootwork together. Jay is much more outgoing than Jez, and he has no problem socially at school, though he does not excel academically like she does.

At the beginning of the novel, Jez starts to feel like Jay is growing distant form her. Even with rootwork and Doc’s assertion that they must stick together, certain spells require that they don’t share what their intent is with one another. This feeling of secrecy between them grows as Jay and Jez aren’t in the same class for the first time. They fight twice during the novel, but they quickly reconcile. They ultimately both value their relationship with one another too much to risk it, and they see how close their mother is with her brother, providing a good example of siblings who are close to one another, even if Doc didn’t come until after their father passed away.

However, Jay’s distance from Jez arises from his feelings of inferiority. He worries that she’s outgrowing him in skill. He also has a hard time talking about his feelings, having been taught that men shouldn’t discuss their emotions. His conversations with Jez help Jay to see that she wants to stay close, and he is able to open up to her about his grief over their murdered father. While Jez’s character has more of a completed arc and closure by the novel’s end, Jay still has growth to complete, but he is a good person on the right path.

Janey Turner is Jez and Jay’s mother. She runs their farm and sells a variety of herbs, jams, and other produce at markets in order to provide for their family. She was once married to Daniel Turner, the twins’ father.

Janey is fiercely protective of her family, and she is the one who handles the police whenever they come to the house, demonstrating that everyone views her as the family’s leader now that Gran has passed away. At times she is stoic, having changed after Daniel left. Overnight, she becomes entirely responsible for the two then-five-year-old twins, and this weighs on her, having seen the way that racist activities go unpunished.

Deputy Collins’s decision to hurt her husband both made Janey more fearful for her children and made her unafraid to stand up to the police when needed. In the former case, she is reticent for them to learn rootworking, knowing that the deputy is being persistent in his chase of rootworkers than ever. However, she ultimately allows it because she hopes that it will help protect them, though she emphasizes that it’s important to “[g]o to school, get good jobs, have a bright future” (23). She herself didn’t learn rootworking, and so she emphasizes that school is the best way for her children to be able to provide for themselves one day, rather than further differentiating themselves through rootworking. On the other hand, however, Janey is the one to confront Sheriff Edwards, calling him out for his inaction in arresting Deputy Collins by saying, “Oh, I see. He’s only a danger to us, not to white folks” (61). Her response shows that she is unwilling to let the police go entirely unanswered for the violence they enact or allow to be enacted against Black Americans. She has already seen too much violence and can’t fully stay silent. She takes much pride in letting Sheriff Edwards know that Deputy Collins got “justice,” allowing her some revenge for the death of her husband (331).

John “Doc” Freedman is Janey’s brother and Jez and Jay’s uncle. He is also the last remaining rootworker on their farm after Gran passes away, and it is his idea to teach the twins rootworking, even though Janey is reticent at first.

Doc serves as a wise figure for the twins, emphasizing the importance of their heritage to the practice of rootworking. He wants them to feel proud of being Black Americans, Gullah Geechee, and rootworkers. This message is one that he reinforces throughout the novel, helping Jez to see her connection with all those that came before her.

Doc’s calm demeanor also balances out Janey’s sometimes stricter parenting style. When Jez tells Janey that she doesn’t want to go to school anymore, it is Doc that helps her to talk through it, giving her Janey’s perspective and emphasizing the importance of being her own person. He views rootworking as being in constant communication with their family legacy, and he ultimately imparts that foundational belief to Jez. He also models the way that they should work together as a family, validating Jez and Jay when they feel something is amiss or emphasizing that he is also there to help to Janey.

Annie Freedman is Jez and Jay’s grandmother. When the novel begins, she has just recently passed away, leaving the family without a matriarch. Her death is particularly difficult for Jez, who saw Gran as her best friend. Through Jez, we learn that Gran was always able to help others, inspiring Jez to “be just like her and help our family and our community stay safe and healthy and happy” (24). However, like Janey, Gran’s fierce, protective nature means that she will do anything to ensure Jez and Jay’s safety, even at the cost of others’ well-being, such as when she takes a piece of Susie’s boo-hag skin.

Gran’s appearance on the twins’ birthday is crucial for their understanding of the complexity and seriousness of rootwork. Her advice to “[r]aise the family” means for Jez to allow herself to be lifted out of her body and connected to her ancestors, which is ultimately what saves the family from Deputy Collins (114). In memory, Gran is present throughout the novel.