The Boondocks (comic Strip) - Main Characters

Main Characters

• Huey Freeman - A cynical 10-year-old boy who appears angry most of the time, with strident political awareness, and who sees himself as a revolutionary. Named after Huey P. Newton, co-founder of the Black Panthers, he is disturbed by the ignorance in modern-day American society and media. An observant, intelligent child, he often finds himself playing the voice of reason. Huey is fond of some conspiracy theories, and completely distrusts all authorities.
• Riley Freeman - The opposite of his older brother, 8-year-old Riley praises the "thug life," and admires and emulates the rappers and thugs he sees on television. He has assigned himself the nickname "Esco", a reference to the rapper Nas christening himself "Nas Escobar" in the mid-1990s after infamous drug lord Pablo Escobar. He also formerly had the nickname "Young Reezy", but that appears to have faded away with time. Other aliases he has given himself have included "Osama Bin Laden" (chosen many months before 9/11) and Uday. Riley chose this last nickname on one of the extremely rare occasions he watched the news; he normally goes to great lengths to avoid the acquisition of knowledge. He once became upset after getting a C+ in school because he was afraid such "exemplary" grades would ruin his "street cred". Since asking for and not receiving rims for Christmas, Riley has been determined to sleigh-jack Santa Claus on Christmas Eve for the dual purpose of taking what he believes is owed to him and meting out punishment. In 2005, Riley's hair became progressively larger due to his lack of haircut; when it turned into an Afro he was able to trick people into thinking he was Huey until Grandad made him get cornrows.
• Michael Caesar - Huey's classmate and best friend, who agrees with most of Huey's views of life. Unlike Huey, Caesar is more optimistic and cheerful, and usually jokes about whatever issue is at hand. It was Caesar's idea to find a boyfriend for Condoleezza Rice, reasoning that if she came to truly love somebody living on the planet she wouldn't be so "hell bent to destroy it." Caesar is originally from Brooklyn and needs little prompting to vocally represent his home town. He and Huey have co-founded the newsletter the "Free Huey World Report" and the annual "Most Embarrassing Black People Awards."
• Robert Jebediah "Granddad" Freeman - Huey and Riley's retired grandfather, a pragmatist and disciplinarian who usually sees through the shenanigans of his grandsons. Robert is known to panic at news reports, and values his own peace and comfort over the needs of others while still looking out for the children's welfare.
• Thomas and Sara Dubois - An interracial couple in the neighborhood. They both work as lawyers. Tom is often seen talking (sometimes arguing) with Huey about current politics, while Huey tends to deride Tom for being a conformist yuppie, sometimes going so far as to sarcastically suggest that he is not really black. For a while Tom was kicked out of the house by Sara after he called her a "two-timing political floozy" when she voted for Ralph Nader instead of Al Gore. Four years later, Tom kidnapped Nader in hopes of preventing him from taking votes away from John Kerry and costing the Democrats the 2004 Presidential Election. Huey eventually persuaded him to release Nader.
• Jazmine Dubois - Thomas and Sara's biracial, 10-year-old daughter, who seems to like Huey, despite his general coldness toward her. She is notable for her insecurity over her biracial status. Jazmine is often portrayed as naïve, and is optimistic in contrast to Huey's pessimism. Early in the strip she was deliberately ambiguously colored so as to cloud the issue of whether she was white or black. It even prompted her to be directly asked by her teacher. She disappeared for roughly two years, and it was revealed she had been so frightened of terrorists that she would not leave her house. She tried to turn herself in to the FBI three times, because she thought she was helping the terrorists by being scared (having heard statements to the effect that "If you live in fear, the terrorists win"). She eventually came out because of a "Credible threat against her teddy bear." Jazmine is insecure about her curly and voluminous hair, wishing it looked straighter, like her mother's hair. Huey's suggestion to Tom that he and Sara try "emphasizing the natural beauty of her African features" rather than trying to help her change her appearance fell on deaf ears. On one occasion when Jazmine was complaining about her "big and poofy" hair, Huey interrupted her to ask what she thought of clouds. She thought clouds were pretty, but completely missed the point Huey was trying to make.
• Uncle Ruckus - an elderly, overweight black man who is notably racist and self-loathing. He is the darkest skinned character of the cast. He first appears in December 2004 as a replacement mall Santa Claus after Riley took out the first one with a flying folding chair. He appeared again in his first Sunday feature in September 2005 as Huey and Riley's bus driver and he also admitted to working as a janitor at the school. He and Robert are sometimes seen playing checkers together between and after the fore mentioned appearances.
• Cindy McPhearson - A Caucasian girl in Huey's class who appears to be utterly clueless about racial issues. She shows a fondness and curiosity for rap music, particularly Snoop Dogg.