The Color of Water: A Black Man’s Tribute to His White Mother, by James McBride (1995)
The Color of Water is a touching memoir of James McBride’s mother. The book alternates between McBride, in his voice, telling about his life growing up and his mother’s voice recounting her life. The author was an adult before he learned of his mother’s background.
Ruth McBride Jordon was born on April Fool’s Day in 1921 in Poland to an Orthodox Jewish family. Her given name was Ruchel Dwajra Zylska. When she was 2 years old, she immigrated to the United States with her mother and older brother. Her father had already settled in the United States. She became known as Rachel once in America, but later changed her name to Ruth because she thought it sounded more “American.” Ruth is an interesting choice, since there is a Biblical Ruth who is known for converting to Judaism. Ruth McBride, however, tried to hide her Jewish roots and converted to Christianity.
When the author finally confronts his mother about her past, she acknowledges that they sat shiva for her 50 years earlier, as she became dead to them when she left her Jewish background and married a Black man. We slowly learn of her childhood. Her parents were in an arranged marriage and there was no love between her father and mother.
As a child, he would sometimes ask his mother why she looked different from the mothers of his friends, but her response was simply that she was “light-skinned.”
Life in the McBride home was not easy, but it was filled with love. The author was one of 12 children. The author never knew his father who died of cancer shortly before his birth. Sometime after the death of her first husband, Ruth remarried Hunter Jordan, another Black man, who became a loving stepfather to James and 7 older siblings. Ruth and Hunter would have another 4 children. Jordan did like the chaos of so many children, so lived apart from the family except for weekends.
Ruth was a formidable woman and saw to it that all of her children went to college, and many went on to earn graduate degrees. All the while, James, as a bi-racial child coming of age in the 1970s faced questions of his identity and race. The author’s initial impression of the Jewish community seems harsh, but he was initially learning of Judaism through the eyes of his mother, who left an abusive and unloving childhood home. Through his mother and his stepfather, whom he called Daddy, he learns a life of love and the important things in life.
I loved this book and look forward to reading other books by James McBride.
Read: June 17, 2020
5 Stars
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