Sins of Survivors - (Blair Underwood Presents) by Blair Underwood & Joe McClean (Paperback)

About the Book

"In 1908 Alabama, precocious young Benjamin Carter brings deadly consequences down upon his father's head when he dares to use a white drinking fountain instead of the 'colored' one. With his fierce and protective older brother Jasper, Ben escapes Alabama, joining the Great Migration to Black Bottom, Detroit's flourishing Black neighborhood. There, the brothers rise from the ashes to become kingpins of this new community, owning businesses, playing politics, and diving into Detroit's violent criminal underbelly. Through their wit and grit, Ben and Jasper establish the Carter dynasty, securing a prosperous future for their families. But heavy are the heads that wear the crowns. Seeing their children come of age--young men and women fueled by ambitions of their own--the brothers clash over which direction to steer the Carter empire"--

Book Synopsis

Harlem Shuffle meets The Godfather in this fierce and dazzling crime family saga presented by award-winning actor and producer Blair Underwood and written by filmmaker Joe McClean, set in the Black Bottom neighborhood of Detroit in the dark and dangerous days of the 1930s.

In 1908 Alabama, precocious young Benjamin Carter brings deadly consequences down upon his father's head when he dares to use a white drinking fountain instead of the "colored" one.

With his fierce and protective older brother Jasper, Ben escapes Alabama, joining the Great Migration to Black Bottom, Detroit's flourishing Black neighborhood. There, the brothers rise from the ashes to become kingpins of this new community, owning businesses, playing politics, and diving into Detroit's violent criminal underbelly.

Through their wit and grit, Ben and Jasper establish the Carter dynasty, securing a prosperous future for their families. But heavy are the heads that wear the crowns. Seeing their children come of age, young men and women fueled by ambitions of their own, the brothers clash over which direction to steer the Carter empire.

With the scent of brotherly discontent, competing Detroit power players will use every advantage--and weakness--to bring the family to its knees.

In Sins of Survivors, Hollywood legend Blair Underwood and Joe McClean have created a scorching crime saga featuring a dynamic cast of characters--a thrilling and cinematic story about family and what it means for a Black community to not just survive, but thrive.

Review Quotes

Joe McClean's script writing chops are on full display in every scene of this fast-paced saga as the competitive Carter Brothers strive to build a business empire in Detroit's Black Bottom. Sibling rivalry, shady deals, family secrets, and political turf wars crescendo into a dramatic finale.
-- A'Lelia Bundles, author of Joy Goddess and On Her Own Ground

"The Carter dynasty is the throughline in Joe McClean's Sins of Survivors, and he has invested them with nearly every dynamic facet of Detroit's fabled Black Bottom and Paradise Valley. The Carters in McClean's lively narrative style are a composite of the community's aspirations, and if the Corleones come to mind, then sit back and enjoy a semblance of the real and the imagined." -- Herb Boyd, author of Black Detroit.

With characters as rich and compelling as Detroit's history, McClean captures the heart of a community navigating profound change while wrestling with the sacrifices of the past and the dreams of the future. For those who appreciate historical fiction that resonates with contemporary issues, Sins of the Survivors is an absolute must-read. It's a testament to McClean's craft that he can make history feel alive and urgent while giving readers an intimate view of lives shaped by courage, resilience, love, and Detroit. This is historical fiction at its finest--urgent, poignant, and unforgettable. -- Bailey Sisoy-Moore, Founder and Executive Director of The Detroit History Club and Detroit History Tours

Sins of Survivors, gives us a piercing glimpse into a part of Black Bottom & Paradise Valley - the people, the places and the stories - that form the basis for the establishment of Black Detroit." -- Jamon Jordan, Official Historian, City of Detroit

"Weaving, my father, Joe Louis in Sins of the Survivors further reinforces the positive impact he had on Detroit...and the world. It's virtually impossible to relive Black Bottom without Joe Louis. The story phonemically documents the great migration and the challenges faced by Blacks as they ventured North to seek a new future. The history is well told with intrigue and a sense of realism." -- Joe Louis Barrow, Jr.

"Sins of Survivors tells an untold yet vital story of guilt and redemption, set against the backdrop of Black Bottom--a once-vibrant Black Detroit neighborhood erased by urban renewal. It honors the lasting legacy of Black Bottom, a community whose spirit and impact are still felt and celebrated today." -- Marcia Black, Co-Executive Director of Black Bottom Archives

Laced with an undercurrent of the history of Blackbottom, Paradise Valley, and the costs of the Black migration into the city of Detroit, SINS OF SURVIVORS allows the everyday people of this storied past to come alive in dimension, with an urgency that is both page-turning and filled with intrigue. -- Dominique Morisseau, TONY nominated playwright of The Detroit Project and Ain't Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations

"The author takes us on a cinematic Odyssey chronicling the rise of a badasss gangster family as they forge their way out of no way, during America's Jim Crow Apartheid. The relevance to surviving in today's often divided America couldn't be more clear." -- Mario Van Peebles, Filmmaker, actor and activist.

"Actor Underwood and filmmaker McClean debut with a satisfying and gritty crime saga set in 1930s Detroit...[they] seamlessly weave rattling depictions of Northern racism and well-rounded portraits of Black Bottom's citizens into a down and dirty noir story." -- Publishers Weekly

This debut tightens its hold by yanking heartstrings, sparking outrage, and twisting expectations; it's a must-read for fans of Walter Mosley, George Pelecanos, and Attica Locke. -- Booklist (starred review)