James McBride is an award-winning American writer and musician.
He is the author of the landmark memoir, The Color of Water, which has sold over 2.1 million copies worldwide and been translated into 16 languages.
McBride has also written other acclaimed novels and screenplays, including Miracle at St. Anna which was adapted into a 2008 film directed by Spike Lee.
In addition to his literary work, McBride is an accomplished musician and composer who has written songs for various artists.
He was born in 1957 in New York City and was raised in the Red Hook housing projects.
Siblings
McBride has 11 siblings including Dennis McBride and Billy McBride.
No much information is known about the two at the time of this publishing.
Parents
McBride’s father was Andrew Dennis McBride, an African American reverend who died of cancer at the age of 45, four months before McBride was born.
His mother was Ruth McBride Jordan, a Jewish immigrant from Poland.
She was originally named Ruchel Dwajra Zylska, but changed her name to Rachel Deborah Shilsky and later to Ruth McBride Jordan.
After the death of her first husband Andrew, Ruth met and married Hunter Jordan, a furnace fireman who became a father figure to McBride and his siblings.
Religion was an important part of McBride’s upbringing, as his father was a reverend and his mother, though originally Jewish, converted to Christianity after marrying his father.
Career
McBride began his professional career as a journalist, working as a staff writer for major publications like The Boston Globe, People Magazine and The Washington Post.
However, he later left journalism to pursue a career as a professional musician.
He toured as a saxophonist with jazz legend Little Jimmy Scott and composed music for various artists like Anita Baker, Grover Washington Jr. and even Barney the Dinosaur.
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In parallel with his music career, McBride also began writing.
His debut memoir, The Color of Water, was published in 1996 and became a major bestseller, spending two years on the New York Times bestseller list.
McBride went on to write several acclaimed novels, including Miracle at St. Anna which was adapted into a film directed by Spike Lee and The Good Lord Bird which won the National Book Award for Fiction in 2013.
In addition to his literary and musical work, he has also composed the score for a musical and received prestigious awards like the National Humanities Medal from President Obama in 2015.
Awards
McBride won the 2013 National Book Award for Fiction for his novel, The Good Lord Bird.
He was honored with the National Humanities Medal in 2015 by President Obama for “humanizing the complexities of discussing race in America”.
His memoir, The Color of Water, has been a bestseller, spending over two years on the New York Times bestseller list and selling more than 2.1 million copies worldwide.
McBride’s works have earned him critical acclaim, with his books being considered American classics and widely read in schools and universities.
In 2016, he was awarded the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction for his novel, Deacon King Kong.
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