In 1938, Chicago’s 3rd Ward elects its youngest alderman, Earl Thomas—a man determined to create jobs and open union doors for colored craftsmen migrating North. His bold stand against the powerful Carpenters Union earns him dangerous enemies, including gangsters ready to silence him at any cost.
Earl’s wife, Tallulah, carries a quiet fire of her own. One year after her mother’s murder, she vows to honor her Choctaw “I can’t rest until I find the person who killed her.” But the truth she uncovers could destroy Earl’s career—or put their entire family in danger.
As war erupts overseas, the next generation prepares for a different kind of fight. Ben enters the elite Tuskegee Airmen program, flying with the legendary Red Tails. His cousin Boyd leads the 1511th Quartermaster Truck Regiment in England, battling not only the enemy abroad but also Jim Crow enforced by American MPs on British soil.
By 1945, thousands of Black soldiers returned home decorated and battle-tested—only to be met with hatred for wearing the uniform of a country that still denies their freedom.
But this is no longer a generation willing to bow.
If Courage Could Talk is Book Five of the acclaimed whileBlack Chronicles—a sweeping saga of courage, family, and the unyielding fight for equality.
One family. Five generations. Living while Black—and rewriting American history.