The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother
by McBride, James
- Used
- Paperback
- Condition
- UsedGood
- ISBN 10
- 0733605753
- ISBN 13
- 9780733605758
- Seller
-
Fort Worth, Texas, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Synopsis
Who is Ruth McBride Jordan? A self-declared "light-skinned" woman evasive about her ethnicity, yet steadfast in her love for her twelve black children. James McBride, journalist, musician and son, explores his mother's past, as well as his own upbringing and heritage, in a poignant and powerful debut, The Color Of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother . The son of a black minister and a woman who would not admit she was white, James McBride grew up in "orchestrated chaos" with his eleven siblings in the poor, all-black projects of Red Hook, Brooklyn. "Mommy," a fiercely protective woman with "dark eyes full of pep and fire," herded her brood to Manhattan's free cultural events, sent them off on buses to the best (and mainly Jewish) schools, demanded good grades and commanded respect. As a young man, McBride saw his mother as a source of embarrassment, worry, and confusion--and reached thirty before he began to discover the truth about her early life and long-buried pain. In The Color of Water , McBride retraces his mother's footsteps and, through her searing and spirited voice, recreates her remarkable story. The daughter of a failed itinerant Orthodox rabbi, she was born Rachel Shilsky (actually Ruchel Dwara Zylska) in Poland on April 1, 1921. Fleeing pogroms, her family emigrated to America and ultimately settled in Suffolk, Virginia, a small town where anti-Semitism and racial tensions ran high. With candor and immediacy, Ruth describes her parents' loveless marriage; her fragile, handicapped mother; her cruel, sexually-abusive father; and the rest of the family and life she abandoned. At seventeen, after fleeing Virginia and settling in New York City, Ruth married a black minister and founded the all-black New Brown Memorial Baptist Church in her Red Hook living room. "God is the color of water," Ruth McBride taught her children, firmly convinced that life's blessings and life's values transcend race. Twice widowed, and continually confronting overwhelming adversity and racism, Ruth's determination, drive and discipline saw her dozen children through college--and most through graduate school. At age 65, she herself received a degree in social work from Temple University. Interspersed throughout his mother's compelling narrative, McBride shares candid recollections of his own experiences as a mixed-race child of poverty, his flirtations with drugs and violence, and his eventual self-realization and professional success. The Color of Water touches readers of all colors as a vivid portrait of growing up, a haunting meditation on race and identity, and a lyrical valentine to a mother from her son.
Reviews
(Log in or Create an Account first!)
Details
- Bookseller
- Cat on the Shelf (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 5D6W9200084Y_ns
- Title
- The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother
- Author
- McBride, James
- Book Condition
- UsedGood
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Binding
- Paperback
- ISBN 10
- 0733605753
- ISBN 13
- 9780733605758
- Publisher
- Sceptre
- Place of Publication
- Australia
- This edition first published
- 1999
Terms of Sale
Cat on the Shelf
About the Seller
Cat on the Shelf
About Cat on the Shelf
...It's going to make your bookshelf look way cooler!
In the future will they even still be printing books? Probably not. One day, ALL BOOKS will be antiquarian. We think they will only get scarcer and go up in value over time, so invest in your brain and your future with a big stack of vintage books from Cat On The Shelf! :D
You can never have enough books! That's why we keep bringing them in by the BOATLOAD every week. What sets us apart from the mega cheap book sellers is how much we care & take care of all of our books. White glove handling, nice photos, a climate controlled diligently monitored warehouse, with air purification and regularly scheduled cleaning.
It's as good as it gets... BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE! :D
FREE SHIPPING ON ALL BOOKS & FREE RETURNS WITHIN 30 DAYS!