16 Feb 2021

James McBride

Black Authors post, day 16.

Black Authors post, day 16.

Today’s author is musician and author James McBride.

James McBride was born in 1957 in New York City. McBride’s father, Rev. Andrew D. McBride Black, and his mother, Ruchel Dwajra Zylska (later changed to Ruth McBride Jordan), was a Jewish immigrant from Poland. Andrew McBride died from cancer months before James was born. McBride’s stepfather passed away when he was 14, which caused a great deal of emotional stress and turmoil for the family. Despite overwhelming hardships and poverty, McBride and all of 11 of his siblings were able to attend college.

After graduating from high school, McBride went to Oberlin College and completed his undergraduate degree in Music Composition. Afterwards, he went to Columbia University and received a Master’s in Journalism.

McBride started his career as a staff writer in established publishing houses like The Boston Globe, The Washington Post, and People Magazine. He also wrote several pieces in The Rolling Stone, Essence Magazine, The New York Times, and many other magazines and newspapers.

In 1987, McBride decided to leave his staff position at the Washington Post and play music full time. He played tenor saxophone with jazz legend Jimmy Scott. As he toured with the band, he started writing what became his first published book, The Color of Water. It was a memoir that told the story of his life and the life of his mother. It was published in 1996. The book spent over 2 years on the New York Times Bestseller List and became a new American Classic. It has been translated into more than 16 languages.

McBride published his first novel, Miracle at St. Anna, in 2002. The book was adapted into a movie in 2008, directed by Spike Lee. He also co-wrote and co-produced the 2012 film Red Hook Summer with Spike Lee.

McBride has won several awards for his books. In 2013 he won the National Book Award for his novel The Good Lord Bird. In September of 2016, McBride was awarded the National Humanities Medal by President Barack Obama. In February 2021, his novel Deacon King Kong won a Andrew Carnagie Medal for Excellence in Fiction. He has also received several awards for his music writing as well, including the American Arts and Letters Richard Rogers Award, the ASCAP Richard Rodgers Horizons Award, and the American Music Festival’s Stephen Sondheim Award.

McBride is currently Distinguished Writer-in-Residence at New York University. He lives with his children in New Jersey.

Links to some of my favorite books by James McBride:

A note: These Amazon links point to Amazon Smile, Amazon’s affiliate charity program. If you have not set up Amazon Smile, I encourage you to point it to an organization like the Urban League Twin Cities, an organization that links African descendants and other people of color to opportunities that result in economic success and prosperity, and advocates for policies that eradicate racial disparities.

Some links:

Image Larry D. Moore CC BY-SA 3.0