JAMES MCBRIDE

The Color of Water: A Meditation on Identity

Feb 7 at 7:30pm · Mountainlair Ballroom

James McBride is a true Renaissance man. An award-winning writer, composer, and saxophonist, his landmark memoir, The Color of Water, is a classic, read in colleges and high schools across America.

A New York Times bestseller for two years, this book is the stirring account of his mother, a white Jewish woman from Poland who raised 12 black children in New York City and sent each to college. It is a story of love, integrity, self-discovery, and values that is a testament to one woman's true heart and indomitable will. It has been translated into more than 17 languages, sold more than 1.8 million copies worldwide, and is a perennial favorite of book clubs and "One Book, One Community" events, including New York in 2003 and Philadelphia in 2004.

His second book, Miracle at St. Anna, has been hailed by critics as "deeply imaginative" and "searingly, soaringly beautiful." In Miracle at St. Anna, McBride engages the seldom mentioned subject of black combat soldiers in World War II. Four members of the famed American 92nd Infantry Division find themselves trapped behind enemy lines in Tuscany. Surrounded by Germans, they rescue a small Italian boy who proves to be the catalyst in each man's quest for courage, love, sacrifice, and honor. The poignancy of their battle is emphasized by the ambivalence they each experience over fighting for freedoms in Europe that they are not afforded in their own country. To write this novel, McBride did extensive research in Italy where he studied Italian and interviewed 92nd Division veterans as well as Italian survivors of World War II. Through his sharply drawn characters, McBride exposes racism, guilt, courage, revenge, and forgiveness.

McBride's speeches are often punctuated by a colorful, multiracial jazz band, which highlights his amusing stories of redemption, forgiveness, and identity. His rare blend of lecturing with music was captured in the national 2003 Comcast documentary Riffin & Pontificatin.

A former staff writer for The Boston Globe, People Magazine, and The Washington Post, McBride's work has appeared in numerous publications, including The New York Times and Rolling Stone. A recipient of the Anisfield Wolf Book Award, McBride has also received several awards for his work as a composer in musical theater, including the American Arts and Letters Richard Rodgers award, the ASCAP Richard Rodgers Horizons award, and the American Music Theatre Festivals Stephen Sondheim award. In 2003, he was selected by President Bush to serve on the National Council on the Arts.

He has written songs for Anita Baker, Grover Washington Jr., Gary Burton, Silver Burdett Music Textbooks, and for the PBS show Barney. McBride studied composition at The Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Ohio. He holds a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University and is currently a distinguished writer in residence at New York University.