Title: Courtesy of ReadingGroupGuides.com
1Courtesy of ReadingGroupGuides.com
The Color of Water by James
McBride
2Summary
By Diana Mehl
3Summary
- Parallel Story-telling
- Ruth and James
- How Past Reflects Future
- Parents influence childrens lives
- Identity and Race/ Ethnicity Relations
- Black/ White vs. Jewish/Christian
- Tribute to his mothers accomplishments
- Every child (12) went to college
4Summary
- Ruth (Rachel Shilsky) McBride- Jordan
- Jewish Orthodox
- Living in rural Virginia
- Ran away to Harlem
- Married African American Man
- Disowned from family
- Became Christian
- Mother of twelve children
- James McBride
- Biracial Man
- One of twelve Children
- Feared for mothers life
- Red Hook projects in Brooklyn
- Became journalist
- Discovered truth about mother
- Discovered truth about himself
5James McBride (Condensed) Biography
Courtesy of BarnesNobles.com
By Karen Schopf
6Parents
- Mother
- Ruchel Dwarja Zylska (Ruth Jordan McBride)-
Polish, Jewish, White - Father
- Reverend Andrew McBride- Baptist, Black
- Step-Father
- Hunter Jordan- Baptist, Black
7Education
- Bachelors in music composition from Oberlin
College in Ohio - Masters in journalism from Columbia University
in New York
8Literary Career Author and Journalist
- Employers
- The Boston Globe
- The Washington Post
- People Magazine
- Rolling Stone
- Books
- The Color of Water A Black Mans Tribute to His
White Mother - Miracle at St. Anna
9Musical Career
- Written songs for Gary Burton, Anita Baker,
Grover Washington Jr., and Everett Harp - Toured with Michel Jackson and jazz artist
Little Jimmy Scott. - Wrote a jazz, hip-hop musical entitled Bobos
- Directed Lady Day a musical about Billie
Holiday - Wrote scores for All Roads Lead Home and Harlem
Kids Symphony. - Written several childrens songs, including some
for the television series Barney.
10Awards (Partial List)
- Alton B. Jones Foundation Grant for Bobos
- American Arts and Letters Richard Rogers Awards
(1996) - Stephen Sondheim Award (1993)
- Anisfield Wolf Book Award (1997)
11Review
- My perspective on The Color of Water
By Molly Desmond
12Review
- Engaging and inspirational, James McBride
creates an emotional, autobiographical piece
highlighting the transcendence of racial and
religious issues through a journey of
self-discovery. With sequential chapter
juxtapositions of James voice along side the
echoes of his mother McBride creates a parallel
that mirrors the histories of both mother and
son. It is through these seemingly contrasting
experiences that James is able to uncover their
shared pains and rise above his personal trials
through his mothers strong example.
13Review cont.
- Through the trinity of family love, education,
and Christianity voiced daily by his mother,
James is able to embrace her doctrine that race
is subsidiary to the ideals that make an
individual righteous. Through this eloquent work
of truth and discovery, James McBride exposes a
reflection between mother and son, a reflection
between family and faith and a belief of why God
is the color of water.
14History
- Understanding the context
By Maryanne Marlow
15HISTORY
- Malcolm X
- Harlem
- Black Power Movement
- The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense was one
of the leading organizations advocating Black
Power. (Source J.C. Albert and S.E. Albert,
eds., The Sixties Papers Praeger, 1984, 105)
16HISTORY
- The Great Depression
- Jewish Immigration
- Jewish African-Americans
- Dorothea Lange's "Migrant Mother,"
17Supplementary Materials for James McBrides The
Color of Water
- Be Prepared for Gallons and Gallons of Useful
Information
Mr. Anthony J. Curtis
18Novels for Students
- Zack by William Bell
- A high school senior takes a road trip to find
out about his African-American identity from his
mothers side of the family. - Jubilee Journey by Carolyn Meyer
- A multiracial teen discovers more about her
African-American heritage when she visits her
great-grandmother in Texas. - I Have Lived A Thousand Years Growing Up In the
Holocaust by Livita Bittion-Jackson - Story of a thirteen-year-old girl who grew up
during the Holocaust and was sent to a
concentration camp. - What Are You? Voices of Mixed Race Young People
by Pearl Fayo Gaglens - Book with interviews, essays, and poetry from
over 40 young adults depicting their experiences
with multiracial identities
19More Reading for Your Students(This is an
English class isnt it?)
- Motibas Tattoos A Granddaughters Journey into
her India Family Past by Mira Kamdar - Another Way Home The Tangled Roots of Race in
One Chicago Family by Ronne Hartfield - Depiction of authors life growing in multiracial
Chicago home - The House You Pass on the Way by Jacqueline
Woodson - Story of a thirteen-year-old daughter of an
interracial couple
20Novels/Books for Teachers
- Trevors Story Growing up Biracial (Meeting the
Challenge) by Bethany Kandel and Carol Halebian - Black, Jewish, and Interracial Its Not the
Color of Your Skin, but then Race of Your Kin,
and Other Myths of Identity by Katya Gibel
Azoulay - Half and Half Writers on Growing up Biracial and
Bicultural by Claudine C. OHearn - Everything You Need to Know About Being a
Biracial/Biethnic Teen by Nash, Renea D.
21More Novels/Books for Teachers(The More You Know)
- Of Many Colors Portraits of Multiracial Families
by Gigi Kaeser- depicts the lives of multiracial
familieslike a scrapbook - Dreams From My Father A Story of Race and
Inheritance by Barack Obama - Life on the Color Line by Gregory Howard Williams
- Jeffersons Children The Story of One American
Family by Shannon Lanier and Jane
Feldman-historical materials, interviews, and
photographs of both families
22Its Showtime Movies
- Mixing Nia-light hearted tale of a biracial woman
grappling with identity issues. - Secrets and Lies-story of an adopted upper-class
black Londoner who seeks out her white mother.
23Now Its Time for the FEATURE PRESENTATION
24Memorable Scenes(Be Prepared I Cried.Yes I
Cried)
- Chapter 6-Sarah Janes Shame
- The end of Chapter 7-What color is Jesus?
- Chapter 14-Boyfriend beats Sarah Jane
25Dialogue.WordsTruth
- Its a sin to be a shame of who you are . . .
- She says nobody is her friend!
- How do you explain to your child she was born to
be hurt? - The Lord must have had His reasons!
26Possible Projects/Assignments You Could Use With
this Novel
- Interview parents/guardians and/or
grandparents-present through a memoir, video
documentary, or scrapbook - Diversity Fishbowl-dispel rumors about different
ethnicities - Passages-explicate for significance and find song
lyrics or poems that reflect ideas - Reading Journal
27Source
- The Writer James McBride New York University
Writers Institute. 1998. State University of
New York. ride.html 17 November 2004.