UNION, NJ — Award-winning author and screenwriter James McBride will speak about identity and inclusion on Thursday, Feb. 9, as part of the President’s Distinguished Lecture Series at Kean University.
McBride, who received the National Book Award for his 2013 novel “The Good Lord Bird,” which was adapted into a recent Showtime series, is also the author of “The Color of Water: A Black Man’s Tribute to His White Mother,” a memoir. That landmark work explored McBride’s search for identity as the son of a white, Jewish woman and a black man.
“James McBride is a true Renaissance man as a jazz musician, former journalist and leading writer of our time,” said Kean President Lamont O. Repollet. “As Kean celebrates Black History Month, it is fitting to welcome such an inspiring figure to our campus. We look forward to welcoming the community for this exciting event.”
The lecture takes place at 4:30 p.m. at Kean’s Liberty Hall Academic Center & Exhibition Hall.
Tickets can be purchased at kean.edu/lectureseries. Admission is free to Kean alumni, students and staff, but tickets must be ordered via the website.
The lecture is titled “The Color of Water: A Meditation on Identity.” McBride will use examples from his own life and the lives of those he’s met to encourage audiences to embrace their history and identity and appreciate the differences of those around them.
The moderator of the event will be actor and arts administrator Deonté Griffin-Quick, a Kean Class of 2018 theater and communication graduate who has performed at the Apollo Theater, at McCarter Theatre Center and with Premiere Stages, Kean’s professional theater in residence. In 2021, Griffin-Quick was named Best Performer in a Play in New Jersey by the BroadwayWorld Regional Awards.
McBride, a writer, playwright, journalist and musician, has been a staff writer for The Washington Post and other publications. He adapted his debut novel, “Miracle at St. Anna,” into a 2008 film with director Spike Lee; toured as a saxophonist with jazz legend Jimmy Scott; and has written songs for Anita Baker and others, including the PBS television character Barney. His latest novel, “Deacon King Kong,” was published in 2020.
In 2015 President Obama awarded him the National Humanities Medal “for humanizing the complexities of discussing race in America.” McBride is currently a distinguished writer in residence at New York University.
Following the lecture, attendees are invited to a meet-and-greet champagne reception with the author. Light refreshments will be served, and the newest art exhibition at LHAC, “Sayaka Ganz: Reclaimed Creations,” will be open for viewing.
The next guest in the President’s Distinguished Lecture Series at Kean will be Michio Kaku, a theoretical physicist, bestselling author and frequent TV commentator, who will speak on Monday, April 24, at 4:30 p.m., in Kean’s STEM Building.
The event coincides with Kean’s Research Days, a universitywide exhibition of student and faculty research. Kaku will speak on “The Future of the Mind,” exploring what the future might hold for the human race, including practical telepathy and telekinesis, artificial memories implanted into our brains, and a pill that will make us smarter.
Photo Courtesy of Kean University