The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother
Publisher
Riverhead Books
Publication Year
1996
ISBN
9781573220224
Pages
228 pages
Genre
memoir
Format
full length
Item Type
Nonfiction
Annotation
Who is Ruth McBride Jordan? A self-declared "light-skinned" woman evasive about her ethnicity, yet steadfast in her love for her twelve 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 memoir.
Grade Level
9-12
Lexile Measure
1140L
Diversity Topics
Family Relationships; Racial Diversity; Culture/Ethnicity; Step parent; Family member death; Interracial; Biracial; Biethnic; step father; death of a father; interracial parents; interracial family; biracial child; mixed race; biethnic child
Main Character
adult male; adult female
Race/Ethnicities
African American / White
Family Formation
mother and step father
Keywords
Jordan McBride; Ruth; mothers; New York; siblings; identity; Christianity; religion
Diversity Impact
direct
STARS Citation
McBride, James, "The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother" (1996). Diverse Families. 387.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/diversefamilies/387