Generally, it is sad that characters drive the story. In Black Messiahs, the story inspired me to develop the characters.
In doing my research on Black military units that distinguished themselves during World War II, I ran across the story of the 333rd Field Artillery Battalion. It’s a unit the played a critical role in the early stages of the Battle of the Bulge – with tragic results. I decided I wanted to tell its story, along with that of the 761st Tank Battalion.
One way to tell both the stories was to invent two brothers and have them serve in different battalions. Once I made that decision, I turned to my own biography to define the characters and part of the narrative.
In reflecting on the creation of the central characters, I drew deeply from my own experiences and family history. The decision to invent two brothers, each serving in a different battalion, allowed me to intertwine the stories of the 333rd Field Artillery Battalion and the 761st Tank Battalion. This narrative choice was inspired by the real-life differences between my brother Gil and myself.
Our personalities and life paths diverged significantly. Gil’s journey was more conventional; he moved steadily from undergraduate studies to law school, ultimately building a successful career as an attorney. In contrast, my own path was far less linear. After my freshman year of college, I dropped out and spent three years exploring—traveling around Europe, moving to California, embracing the hippie lifestyle, and living in a commune in San Francisco’s Haight Ashbury.
These contrasting experiences shaped the fictional brothers in my novel. I shared this with Gil during a phone call, explaining that I was developing two central characters: the older brother, a straight arrow, and the younger, more rebellious one. Gil laughed, recognizing the parallels between the characters and our own lives. He joked about where I might have found inspiration for these personalities.
It is important to clarify, however, that while Gil’s academic and professional path was traditional, he was by no means strait-laced. Despite our different journeys, we share a deep love for each other that continues to this day.