Radio Golf

Mame Wilks is Harmond’s wife of over 20 years. She is a secondary character who undergoes a transformative journey over the course of the play.

At the start of the play, Mame is a professional public relations representative and Harmond’s campaign strategist. She is heavily invested in his success, sacrificing her own professional ambitions to focus on his campaign. She says, “I’m giving up my clients. Sacrificing my business. I’m not going to wind up wasting my time on your campaign if you’re not committed to winning this” (29). Pragmatic, strategic, and ambitious, Mame has a clear vision for Harmond’s future. Harmond acknowledges her influence when he says, “You have every step planned out for what I have to do to be mayor” (8). She often encourages Harmond to compromise his ideals for the sake of power: For instance, she advises Harmond to remove a statement on police brutality from his speech because his campaign needs police support.

By the end of the play, Mame undergoes a transformation. When Harmond abandons his campaign, it forces Mame to reevaluate her role in their relationship. She declares, “I tied myself so tight to you that there is no me. It’s time to cut loose. […] I have to become my own person. I can’t live for you, and you can’t live for me” (72). This highlights not only the sacrifices Mame herself has made, but also the pressures women face to prioritize their partner’s goals over their own. Mame’s journey therefore ends with her embracing a newfound sense of agency.

Roosevelt Hicks is the Vice President at Mellon Bank and Harmond Wilks’s business partner and college friend. An avid golfer, Roosevelt is a static character who does not evolve over the course of the play. Roosevelt represents the corrupt pursuit of wealth and status, serving as an antagonist and a foil for the more morally conscientious Harmond .

Roosevelt’s character reflects The Tension Between Personal Ambition and Communal Solidarity. Unlike Harmond, whose ambitions are rooted in a genuine desire to help his community, Roosevelt is fixated on material success and social climbing. He is excited to partner with Bernie Smith, a wealthy and unscrupulous white businessman, to purchase a radio station. Harmond challenges him, but Roosevelt defends his actions: “I get to get in the door. Remember in school we used to say we wanted to be in the room when they count the money? You’re there already. This is my shot” (36). To Roosevelt, the chance to be “in the room” trumps any moral consideration. 

Roosevelt is arrogant and dismissive, particularly toward Elder Joseph Barlow. He tells Joe that the house at 1839 Wylie Avenue isn’t his anymore, ignoring its historical and personal value. When Harmond reveals that the required public notice for the sale was never posted, making the purchase invalid, Roosevelt is indifferent; to him, the ends justify the means. Joe calls out Roosevelt, saying, “You act like you a rooster. You the King of the Barnyard […] But when you get to the bottom of it a rooster ain’t nothing but a chicken” (27). Sterling also confronts Roosevelt’s obsession with wealth, asking, “You think you the only one got money? Money make you special?” (76). This accusation sums up the moral emptiness of Roosevelt’s worldview:  His pursuit of money and status leaves him unable to consider any competing values. 

By Act II, Roosevelt’s obsession with status peaks. He brags about his new radio station, quits his bank job, and hosts a program called Radio Golf. His love for golf, a sport historically associated with wealth and privilege, represents his desire to align himself with the elite. Roosevelt’s betrayal of Harmond solidifies his role as the antagonist. Using Bernie’s money to force a buyout, he prioritizes personal gain over loyalty or ethics. Harmond, realizing Roosevelt’s true character, says, “I see now. Got you! I see who you are” (80). Ultimately, Roosevelt Hicks represents the dangers of prioritizing wealth and status over integrity. He serves as a cautionary figure within the play’s exploration of success in a post-civil rights era.

In Radio Golf, Sterling Johnson is a secondary character and a powerful moral force who challenges other characters to reconsider their values and decisions. Sterling is an old classmate of Harmond’s with a troubled past: He spent time in jail for a bank robbery thirty years prior. However, Sterling does not let his rough history define him. He has become a self-employed contractor and neighborhood handyman. When he enters the play, he is looking for construction work, and Harmond agrees to let him renovate the campaign office.

Sterling is characterized by his fierce independence and resilience. Growing up in an orphanage and being labeled “slow” in school taught him to rely solely on himself. He proudly declares: “I’m my own union. I got my own everything. Except my own bank. But I got my own truck. I got my own tools. I got my own rules and I got my own union. I don’t play no games. I have to have my own” (42). His independence stems from both personal hardship and his awareness of systemic inequalities. Reflecting on his experiences, Sterling remarks, “I’ve been going in the backdoors all my life” (43). He is aware of the barriers society has placed before him, but he is determined to overcome them.

In the story, Sterling acts as a moral compass, questioning the ethics of Harmond and Roosevelt’s redevelopment plans. He defends Elder Joseph Barlow (Old Joe) and his house, openly declaring war on Roosevelt and Harmond, insisting on The Importance of Preserving Historical Memory. The house has great personal meaning for Sterling, as it is tied to Aunt Ester, Joe’s mother, who gave him guidance during his difficult childhood. Sterling sees the planned demolition as emblematic of injustice and compares it to the displacement of Indigenous people. He protests, “You just can’t tear down the man’s house. That’s the kind of shit they did to the Indians” (51). Despite his lack of education and his troubled past, Sterling displays more morality than Roosevelt or Harmond. At the end of the play, Harmond joins Sterling’s fight for the house, symbolically picking up a paintbrush. By standing firm in his beliefs, Sterling is therefore a beacon of integrity in the play, reminding the other characters that progress should not come at the cost of humanity or heritage.