By STEVEN A. HOLMES
Black Messiahs
An epic World War II novel that features the role Black soldiers played in Europe’s liberation, and the impact of the war on the families and loved ones. Black Messiahs pairs that narrative with the desperate struggle of a young Jewish boy and his community to survive Hitler’s murderous regime.
Inspired by a real-life story of rescue and redemption, Black Messiahs blends narratives of individual and collective resistance, romance, self-discovery, resilience, forgiveness, and the shared hardships that persevere even through humanity’s darkest hours. It is a saga that is both timely and universal.
Now Available!
Black Messiahs has been released! Click on any of the following locations to order now.
My Story
Steven A. Holmes, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist with an extensive background as a reporter and editor at leading news organizations including Time Magazine, The New York Times, and CNN, brings his expertise in reporting and editing to craft a compelling narrative of three individuals navigating the profound adversities of war, the Holocaust, and ultimately finding a path toward one another.
Steven A. Holmes
Author
Ron Brown: An Uncommon Life
While Black Messiahs marks Holmes's debut novel, it builds on a career dedicated to uncovering overlooked history. His first book,Ron Brown: An Uncommon Life, is the definitive biography of the late U.S. Secretary of Commerce and Democratic National Committee Chairman. Drawing on extensive reporting and firsthand interviews with family members, friends, and political leaders, Holmes chronicles Brown's remarkable rise from Harlem to the highest levels of American politics, offering a nuanced portrait of one of the twentieth century's most influential Black leaders.
That same commitment to illuminating overlooked stories continues in Black Messiahs, where Holmes combines his journalistic rigor with historical fiction to bring to life the extraordinary true story of Black American soldiers during World War II.
"Steven Holmes’ late father, Master Sergeant Jonathan Chesterfield Holmes, World War II veteran, would have been immensely proud to have his son expertly codify both true and imagined events coming from the home front to the battlefield, and through the gates of the Jewish detention camps during World War II. Black Messiahs tells the story. Holmes’ authentic portrayal of soldiers and units in one of America’s Armies fighting in the European Theater, early in the read, sheds light on a military period often forgotten or ignored, when America had two “defacto” armies, one white and one black, soldiers being assigned by race."
Black Messiahs belongs in the personal library of every World War II historian and aficionado. Honors to be awarded for this masterpiece and I highly recommend it."
- Major General Peter J. Gravett, United States Army
Upcoming Readings & Events
August 10, 2026
Black Messiahs Book Reading & Signing
Steven Holmes will be at the Bunch of Grapes Bookstore on Monday, August 10th at 7:00 pm to read from his new book, Black Messiahs.
August 12, 2026
Black Messiahs Book Signing
Steven Holmes will be at Edgartown Books on Wednesday, August 12th from 2pm - 4pm to sign your copy of Black Messiahs.