Charles James Durham was born into a Black family during the Great Depression, a time when businesses were forced to shut down, leaving thousands of people without jobs. Families struggled to keep a roof over their heads, and food on their tables. Black families suffered the most. The Durham family found themselves moving from place to place just to survive, due to the lack of finances coming into the family. Charles was the fifth of six children. This biography reveals how his courage, fortitude, willpower, and determination unshackled him from a life of poverty and rerouted him down a road that led him to achieve becoming an Illinois Circuit Court Judge.