Warning: If you have not watched Boardwalk Empire yet and you intend to, do not read this as it contains a lot of spoilers.
Albert “Chalky” White, Nucky’s counterpart on the North Side of Atlantic City. Though we didn’t know much about Chalky’s past, the bits and pieces we were made privy to suggested that it was pretty bad ass. Born and raised in Texas, the son of a carpenter who himself picked up the trade, Chalky presumably started off as a common street thug with a brain who worked his way up to be one of the most powerful Black gangsters in the United States. That alone, tells us a lot about Chalky. In a time where Black men faced fierce prejudice, Chalky was able to navigate his way through that and find himself sitting down as an equal with some of the most powerful Italian, Irish, and Jewish gangsters in the nation. He ran the North Side with an iron fist but in a velvet glove. He made sure everybody stayed in line but was quick to help with anything from medical bills to Thanksgiving turkey. Therein lay his political power. The African Americans voted the way he told them to vote which made him an integral part of Nucky’s organization. He was way more than just a worker. All Chalky had to do was call a strike and tourist season was ruined, which is a card he pulled in season two. And getting on Chalky’s bad side was never a good idea. After all, he strangled one of the D’alessio brothers in a barn with his bare hands, shot a Ku Klux Klan member in the throat, and took another Klan boy’s finger to get information out of him. When Nucky was at war with Gyp Rosetti and by extension Joe “Joe the Boss” Masseria who did he call on for help? He called on Chalky White and his army of North Siders to help him win. Chalky obliged Nucky and put down several Rosetti soldiers to protect his friend. Before season four, we never saw Chalky be anything but a focused, ruthless, and savvy businessman. He even brought a Harlem style nightclub, The Onyx Club, to the boardwalk. Halfway through the season, smitten with the lovely singer Daughter, he lost his wife, children, and businesses all at the hands of the conniving Dr. Valentin Narcisse. He even lost the North Side and was run out of Atlantic City. In season 5 we see that Chalky has been spending time in prison before he is able to escape. He returns to Atlantic City as a fugitive and is welcomed by Nucky with open arms. Chalky has only one thing on his mind and that is Narcisse. I don’t want to give it all away but Chalky foregoes revenge for his former flame and her daughter, giving his life for them. Chalky was one of the baddest dudes around, cool suits, the hottest nightclub in Atlantic City, and enough money to last a lifetime. To the lost, he be Chalky White.
Article By: Jon DaBove
