Life of James Mcbride
"The Life of James McBride"
In the book, The Color of Water, by James McBride, a young colored man deals with growing up and having a white mother. James McBride always realized that his mother was different from his friends mothers, but he never understood why. He would always ask his mother why she was different but she would just reply that all people are the same. He never knew anything about the background of his mother because she never talked about it and he was afraid to ask. She would ride her old bicycle in an all black neighborhood that was run by the black panthers. James was scared for his mother because even though he was young at the time, he knew what was going on. I think that this book was an impressive view on how twelve young colored children reacted towards having a white mother during the civil rights movement. James McBride was the youngest of his twelve siblings. His father died before he was born and his mother remarried soon after. He could always tell that his mother was unlike his friends mothers. "When I asked her if she was white, she'd say, "No. I'm light-skinned," and change the subject again"(McBride, 21). When James was around the age of twelve, his step-father bought his mother an old beat-up bicycle. She would ride it all around the town and James friends would always ask him why his mother looked so different. Along with being tantalized, James's family was impoverished. " One washcloth was used by all. A solitary toothbrush would five sets of teeth and gums." (McBride, 68). The family remained as one. Even though young James was curious about his mother and life in general, it didn't hold him back from asking questions. He asked things such as "what color was Jesus?" and "who am I?" and "where did you come from mommy?". His mother always avoided the questions by answering them by saying "Jesus is all the colors" and "You are who you are" and "I came from where everyone else came from." (McBride, 12-13). His
In the book, The Color of Water, by James McBride, a young colored man deals with growing up and having a white mother. James McBride always realized that his mother was different from his friends mothers, but he never understood why. He would always ask his mother why she was different but she would just reply that all people are the same. He never knew anything about the background of his mother because she never talked about it and he was afraid to ask. She would ride her old bicycle in an all black neighborhood that was run by the black panthers. James was scared for his mother because even though he was young at the time, he knew what was going on. I think that this book was an impressive view on how twelve young colored children reacted towards having a white mother during the civil rights movement. James McBride was the youngest of his twelve siblings. His father died before he was born and his mother remarried soon after. He could always tell that his mother was unlike his friends mothers. "When I asked her if she was white, she'd say, "No. I'm light-skinned," and change the subject again"(McBride, 21). When James was around the age of twelve, his step-father bought his mother an old beat-up bicycle. She would ride it all around the town and James friends would always ask him why his mother looked so different. Along with being tantalized, James's family was impoverished. " One washcloth was used by all. A solitary toothbrush would five sets of teeth and gums." (McBride, 68). The family remained as one. Even though young James was curious about his mother and life in general, it didn't hold him back from asking questions. He asked things such as "what color was Jesus?" and "who am I?" and "where did you come from mommy?". His mother always avoided the questions by answering them by saying "Jesus is all the colors" and "You are who you are" and "I came from where everyone else came from." (McBride, 12-13). His