|
I have the opportunity of knowing James McBride who grew up around the corner and up the street from
where we lived in Germantown, Pennsylvania. He was a friend of my younger sister and he became a friend of our family.
All of James' siblings were groomed to appreciate education and are contributing to society in important
ways as adults. Having met Ruth Jordan McBride, I know she was revered by her children and those who knew her because her
story was unlike any other and because it spoke of so many other experiences during that time. The time of which
I refer is the racial divide prevalent in our day growing up in the 50s and 60s. James was biracial like my other
siblings and me.
He is a musician and writer who was able to cajole the painful, yet moving, story his
mother kept to herself during his growing up and into his adulthood. The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to his White Mother is his gift to his mother. In telling her story, he was able to release her story from
the depths of silence and in doing so, James also could understand himself and his mother with batttling isssues of race,
religion and identity. You can understand from where James gets his wit, humor and storytelling style.
McBride tells the story from two points of view, that of his mother and himself, as in reflective
conversations. His words are italicized. This tribute is an acclaimed account and is on reading lists, book club lists and
has been on the Best Seller's List.
Resources for Color of Water are below:
|
