The Color of Water

James McBride is an award-winning writer and composer. McBride is also an accomplished saxophonist who has toured with several renowned jazz singers and musicians. He has written songs for Grover Washington, Anita Baker, the PBS television character "Barney", and for Gary Burton. McBride has worked and written for People Magazine, The Boston Globe, and The Washington Post. He is the author of three books: Miracle at St. Anna, Song Yet Sung, and The Color of Water. He wrote The Color of Water for his mother, and her mother, and mothers everywhere. He also wrote it in memory of Hudis Shilsky, Rev. Andrew D. McBride, and Hunter L. Jordan. The Color of Water is a black man's tribute to his white mother. In this book, the life story of both James McBride and his mother is told. Ruth McBride, James' mother, was born into a Jewish family. She lived a rough life and had many struggles throughout her life. She married a black man and was thrown out of her Jewish family because of it. Her children struggled with their biracial identity throughout their lives. Ruth refuses to reveal her past to her children because she is ashamed of what she went through. The Color of Water tells the story of a white Jewish woman that is trying to do the best for her large family, and the story of a black man that struggles to find his identity and his place in the world.

Ruth McBride was born an Orthodox Jew on April 1, 1921, in Poland. Her family moved to America. Ruth lived a painfully difficult childhood and a rough life. She was sexually abused by her father and she didn't receive any love from anyone as a child. She later married a black man and was shunned from her Jewish family, and was forced to move on with her life. Ruth refused to reveal her past to anyone. Ruth McBride's refusal to reveal her past had a major influence on her children's sense of themselves and their place in the world. She didn't want to reveal her past to anyone, especially her children, because she felt that they wouldn't understand and she just wanted them to fit in instead of feeling different. Her children knew that they were loved and knew that Ruth was their mother, but they always sensed that they were somehow a little different from the other kids at their schools and where they lived. Unlike their black friends with black mothers, they had a white mother that didn't look much like them. Her children had a good sense of themselves and knew that they had a place in the world, although they were confused about their mother and why she was different. This confusion about their mother did have an effect on their sense of themselves. If their mother was white and their father was black, then what did that make them? James questioned his mother about whether he was black or white quite often. Ruth's children later learned that even though they were different, they still had a place in the world and all of them grew up to be very successful people. Ruth McBride's refusal to reveal her past influenced her children's sense of themselves and their place in the world. Ruth McBride Jordan begins her story by telling her son that she is "dead". She was born into a Jewish family as "Ruchel Dwajra Zylska", which was later changed to Rachel Shilsky when her family came to America. Her Jewish family declared that she was dead when she married James' father, who was a black man named Hunter Jordan. She also converted to Christianity later in her life. Rachel Shilsky had to die in order for the rest of her to live. She was forced to put her Jewish past behind her and move on with her life. The statement of her being "dead" specifically relates to the question of her identity because it explains why she refused to reveal her past. Ruth's Jewish identity was "dead" and gone.

Ruth's children were raised with a balanced view towards humanity. She taught her children the pros and cons of both the black and white race. These contradictions of black and white served to confuse Ruth's children further somewhat because they were already confused about why their mother was white. These contradictions may have confused them further; however, I think they did somehow contribute to the balanced view of humanity that James McBride possesses. Since his mother was white and his father was black, his mother raised him with contradictions of the two, resulting in his balanced view of humanity.

Ruth has changed her name three times throughout her life. Ruth was born as "Ruchel Dwajra Zylska". This was her original Jewish name that she was born with in Poland. When her family moved to America, her name was changed to "Rachel Deborah Shilsky". They did this to Americanize her name a little. Her name still had a sense of her Jewish life. Ruth's name was changed to "Ruth McBride Jordan" after her first husband, Andrew D. McBride, had died and when she remarried to Hunter Jordan. This name change represents her as no longer a Jewish woman, but as a strong Christian woman. These name changes represent the transitions in her life and how her Jewish life slowly died. It showed her transition into the strong woman she was. Her past, along with her names, had to die in order for the rest of her to live.

Both Tateh and Ruth ran their households in a "tyrannical" manner. Ruth succeeded because she handled her family in a different manner, although it was still tyrannical. Her father, Tateh, controlled every aspect of his family's lives. Tateh didn't show any love towards his wife or children and was sexually abusive. Unlike her father, Ruth ran her household in a "tyrannical" manner but was respected by her children. She showed her children genuine love but was strict on them because she wanted them to succeed in life. Unlike her father, Ruth allowed her children to live their own lives and to make decisions for themselves with the help of her guidance. Both Ruth and her father, Tateh, were similar in the ways they ran their households because they both had complete control but, they handled this control in different manners. Ruth was more successful than her father at running her household.

McBride's recounting of his mother's life helps him to discover himself. As a child, he always wondered where his mother came from and why she was white. He knew this side was a part of him but didn't exactly know what it was because his mother refused to reveal her past to him until he was grown. When his mother revealed her life to her son, it helped him discover himself by answering his questions of who she was. By discovering who his mother really was, it helped him to discover himself and to identify with his Jewish side that he had never learned about before. McBride's recounting of his mother's life also helped him answer questions of race and identity that had troubled him his entire life. He now knew who he was. He was the biracial son of a white Jewish woman and a black man. There were no more questions or confusion of who he really was. McBride's recounting of his mother's life helped him to discover himself and answer questions of race and identity that had troubled him his entire life.

The title The Color of Water is significant with respect to questions of race and religion. When James questions his mother about the color of God, his mother explains to him that God is neither black nor white, he is a spirit. When James asks his mother about the color of God's spirit, his mother replies with "It doesn't have a color." she said. "God is the color of water. Water doesn't have a color"(McBride 51). This offers a new vision on race and religion to Americans. God made each person to be unique and didn't make one race to be better than the next. It offers a vision to Americans that people should be equal and the color of your skin and your religion shouldn't matter enough to be discriminated against. The lives of McBride and his family members are marked by historical events and people related to race elections in the United States. In the book it mentions several civil rights heroes such as Malcolm X, Paul Robeson, Jackie Robinson, Eleanor Roosevelt, A. Philip Randolph, Martin Luther King Jr. and the Kennedys. He also mentioned the Jim Crow laws. These laws were laws made that discriminated against African Americans. His mother, Ruth McBride, viewed the civil rights achievements of black Americans with pride, even though she was white. James McBride perceived some of the people and events to be a waste of time because it didn't really matter becauseeveryone should be equal. However, he did view some of them as people that tried to break racial and religious barriers and to make America better.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book The Color of Water. James McBride is an amazing writer and he does a great job of telling the life story of both himself and his mother. He shows the struggles that his mother went through and his own as well. As the book progressed, he discovered himself and his identity as his mothers life story and past is revealed. This book reveals the struggles and the discrimination against different races and religions, some of which are still very present today. I would recommend this book to everyone because it is a great book and there is much to be learned from it.

-Sarah Bass