Motown Man

Book excerpt: Bradley has worked hard to be a dependable, loving man and capable automotive engineer. He much prefers debugging a new assembly line, which might help preserve a withering way of life in his Midwest industrial town than grapple with the meaning of his black identity. As if he had a choice. Though there are consequences for violating society's mores, he's hard-headed, trusting his intellect and, increasingly, his gut. It's how he romances the woman of his dreams, Abby, who is also unafraid to challenge conventions. She falls for Bradley's charms and, together, they look to build a new life in a faded factory town rife with veiled racial tension, marked uncertainty and on the edge of losing its identity. But to his younger brother, James, their relationship is a fool's errand. ​During an unseasonably cold week in November 1991, the true value of their bonds are revealed and hardened