For Thurs Feb 27
by Prof. Hangen - February 25th, 2014
Today, instead of meeting in our regular classroom, head across May Street to the back end of the Temple Emanuel building for a special lecture at 10:00 am by James McBride, titled “The American Dream Reimagined: Race, Ethnicity and Education.” I will take attendance, so be sure to check in with me either before or after he speaks.
Speaker Bio: James McBride is a renaissance man and a born storyteller. He is the author of Color of Water: A Black Man’s Tribute to His White Mother, a moving narrative about his mother, a white Jewish woman from Poland who married a black man, founded a Baptist church, and put 12 children through college. The Color of Water is an American classic, read in colleges and high schools nationwide. It has sold more than two million copies and spent two years on the New York Time Bestseller List. His new book, The Good Lord Bird, a 417-page novel that is rooted in the true story of slavery, won this year’s National Book Award. A graduate of Oberlin College and the Columbia School of Journalism, McBride has written for The Boston Globe, People, and The Washington Post.
After the lecture, please post a comment (using the box below) giving some feedback and perhaps a discussion question/your impressions on the event. If you don’t see a comment box, click on the title of this post to bring it up at the foot of the post and to see others’ comments. How did McBride’s lecture connect to what we’ve read in this unit? Did it resolve and synthesize what we’ve focused on in this unit, or did it bring up more questions for you? Do you think, given what he had to say, that the civil rights movement as Malcolm X and Martin Luther King participated in it has been realized (and according to whose vision?), or that its achievements have been subsequently dismantled in the U.S.? What do you wish we could talk about as a class after hearing him speak?
For me, McBride’s speech somewhat synthesized the struggle to solve issues of racism in the U.S. One of his initial messages, the idea that you “disarm people when you kill them with kindness” reflects the message of MLK’s civil disobedience toward the end of the unit, and I was glad he directly referenced Malcolm X and the limitations of his message.
In a way, he message reminded me of a modernized MLK, less focused on ending segregation (obviously), and more focused on a message of succeeding as an individual in a culturally diverse society. In general, he discussed how racism and hatred still exist, but society can move forward in the form of small acts of kindness and forgiveness, the way his bandleader agreed that his anti-semitic joke was unwarranted, or the janitor forgave the politician for his racist comments.
In contrast to the more angry college speakers he had in mind from his “Afro-house” days, I’m glad he was able to provide us with a positive and realistic message about diversity in modern society.
What stuck out to me the most from James McBride’s speech was when he stated that it is “impossible to legislate goodness.” That one line made me think back to our Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X reading. King in one of his speeches was discussing the difference between what laws could do and what they could not do. King would point out that laws could make a man support his family financially but it could not make him a caring husband or a loving father. The person had to live to a higher/inner code of conduct in order to be a better person. The change to become better and be better has to come from within us and I believe that is what Mr. McBride was trying to get at when he said a movement had to come from within the individual first.
James McBride wrapped his speech up by summarizing it with three main points: One, nobody is better than you, two, adapt to the changing world, and three, don’t be afraid to fail. These are good words to think of in day to day life. Throughout the speech he encouraged us to be good people and I think that is something everybody needs to have a refresher course in from time to time. Part of being a good person is also accepting people for who they are no matter what race they are, which is another subject he touched upon. I thought he was a good speaker, just didn’t talk about race as much as I was expecting.
I thought that the speech that Mr. McBride gave today made everyone think a little bit. It was not some huge motivational and moving speech like we did our papers on, but a honest opinion about life. As it was mentioned before, he told us to “kill people with kindness.” That is definitely a statement that is ideal in society. I know from personal experience that it works and that person usually just has nothing to follow up with because they do not know how to react to someone who is not as uncontrolled as them. He was very down to earth and a straight shooter. Some people could take a lesson or two from him. Overall, I think everyone came away from his speech thinking about how they could do something differently and in my opinion, he has succeed in doing so.
Many parts of today’s speech by Mr. McBride stuck with me after the oration was over, but one of the concepts he talked about that had a large impact to me was the idea of “adjusting to the world”. As a society of people who always believe that the past was better and that the future is brighter, I believe that Mr. McBride raised an excellent point that at some points you need to simply accept the world as it is, yet still be the best you can be. The idea of false nostalgia over past generations is definitely strong with our generation, and accepting our world for what it is stuck with me as an important topic we should all remember.
I thought that the speech James McBride made today was not exactly what I was expecting to hear. I thought we would it was going to be more about black history and the leaders who fought for equality. It was more about life in general and his honest opinion on how people should live their lives. I liked his point about killing people with kindness and who cares what others say, just live your life and don’t be brought down by everyone else’s negativity. The way his mother just let peoples negative words just bounce right off of her and she never felt the need to retaliate when I’m sure she felt anger towards those people. I also felt his message about being rich in relationships rather than material things is a great message because people today put too much emphasis on money and it’s how we live our lives that will bring true happiness and not the material things. Overall I thought he has a very positive message for all and it was an enjoyable speech to hear in person.
Mr. McBride’s speech was heartfelt and had a greater impact because he drew on personal experience. I enjoyed his quote “you disarm people when you kill them with kindness” because it is a difficult, but necessary action to carry out if one wishes to build a community. I also enjoyed the fact he did not fill the audience with nonsense; he gave us the truth of the world we live in and how we can change it through courage and being actively involved. He said that college will be the last place to experience diversity to such a great extent; it is sad, but true and it motivated me to engage in activities on campus. He convinced me to believe the only thing holding me back is myself and I should look forward to my future with open arms. I enjoy how he explained the universality of failure; everyone fails at one point in his or her life and we are obligated to learn from this failure and strive toward success.
McBride’s speech about his, “America Reimagined” left me thinking that the issue of racism must be fought on an individual and personal level. He talked about how things like race issues can get better, “one person, teacher, or classroom at a time”, and how it just takes one instance of a person pointing out the wrong to make the world better. I took from this speech that bigger issues like racism in this world cannot and will not ever be fixed instantaneously, and the majority will not all change at the same time. It is something that must be improved on a singular level, in one’s own time, but it is completely possible to achieve.
Today’s speech was quite different than I thought it was going to be, I expected an Academic talk from someone with experience. That was most definitely not what happened today. I haven’t read any of Mr. McBrides work, maybe if I had it would have been a bit different but I thought he was kind of on his high horse a little. That being said some of the points that he made were interesting. The learning how to fail part especially applied to my life, I really would love to learn how to fail gracefully, because it happens to everyone and it is a part of life and I think that the fact that you got back on the horse should mean more than the fact that you ever fell off in the first place. I also agree with him about TV. I haven’t had cable in my house since I was a freshman in high school and honestly once you get rid of it you experience a whole new way of life.
The thing that really stuck out to me in James McBride speech was that he said, “Forgive yourself for your past.” I’ve had to do things that I’m not proud of to take care of my son. It’s hard to let go, and move on. Another thing that really touched me was when he said you have to, “forgive people and let go.” I have been able to implement this is my life except for one person. I know it doesn’t hurt him for me to hold this hate in my heart for him, but I don’t know how to let it go. After the speech was over I bought McBride’s book, “The Color of Water: A Black Mans Tribute to his White Mother.” I wanted to purchase the book, “The Good Lord Bird” as well but I couldn’t afford it. I volunteer for an organization called the LGBT Asylum Taskforce. We help individuals from countries where it is illegal to be a part of the LGBT and have been beaten, tortured, and raped due to their sexual orientation to come to America to get asylum here away from the violence. I thought that this book would really help out my friends that I have made in this organization. So while having my one book signed I asked McBride if there was a way to purchase his other book for a discounted rate or if I could buy it as a paperback to lower the cost. So he blessed me and said to wait until after the signing was finished and that he would buy the book for me. When we went to buy the book, they had already packed them all up. So he took my information down and is going to have someone send it to me when he gets back to Brooklyn. I thought that was very sweet of him.
Listening to James McBride speak i was actually able to relate more than i thought i would. I understood his position completely when he spoke of being rich in relationships rather than just material objects. I strongly believe that people are too materialistic in this day and age. You can tell that he chose to live his life how he wanted to and not let what others say influence his decisions. Sometimes this is easier said then done, but listening to him speak you could definitely feel that it was an achievable strategy. Overall a very strong speech.
This lecture really caught me off guard. I thought it was just going to be an academic, dry lecture but it was so interesting. James McBride was so passionate about everything he was saying. In a way he reminded me of our MLK conversations because he talked about how you get to people when you kill them with kindness. I feel like MLK was like that too, he believed in fighting back but peacefully. His whole outlook on life seemed so on point when it comes to things like kindness, and forgiveness. He really summed up some important life lessons, from his first hand experience. I definitely want to get his book now. After hearing him talk I can imagine that it is just as interesting.
One comment that James Mcbride made that stood out to me was when he said that it “is better to be in the ocean than in the rowboatâ€. Mcbride said this while talking about the gentrification of certain parts of the ghettoes where young, rich people move near the ghettoes and it appears that the area is improved in some way. Mcbride says that it does not improve anything because the people that move there are not interested in the people in the ghettoes that they live so close to. They are in a rowboat floating above the less fortunate people who live in their neighborhood. According to Mcbride it is better to be involved in your community and the people that you live with because then you will actually make a positive impact on your community.
I wasn’t familiar with Mr. McBride or his work prior to seeing him speak. He was passionate, eloquent, and accessible. I enjoyed hearing him speak about his multi-racial upbringing, in particular how his mother had been unaffected by the social stigma involved with raising such a family. I also connected with his social criticism of music and how it can elevate or denigrate American culture. Lastly, Mr. McBride spoke about September 11th and connected it to other tragedies that register on the national consciousness. He spoke to the need for healing and forgiveness, a subject that is not frequently broached when speaking of these painful events. Speaking to him briefly after he presented, I found Mr. McBride to be very personable and approachable.
I personally really enjoyed hearing author James McBride speak about his life and his works. Throughout the entire presentation he kept the audience attentive by speaking about topics that everyone could relate to. Something that stuck out to me was the different quotes he used. One in particular was “Issues today are not a black problem but a societal problem” I agree with what he is saying that it’s not just black, but also the struggles of gender identity etc. He told the audience to “learn how to fail” and “adjust to the world we live in”. I would recommend this lecture for other history classes, as it not only gave us an insiders perspective of the world of racism, but he gives great insight that I can take with me.
In his speech “America Reimagined”, James McBride announced his esteem of individualism. From the 1950’s – a decade of conformity, to his “self-segregated” college years, McBride has come to understand that our differences are the sources of our strengths (“our diversity is our strength”). While glorifying individualism, he was careful not to glorify the individual. Individuals can and should fail (“don’t be afraid to fail”), and should adjust themselves to the world. At the same time he asserts that “identity is important”. Realization of what each of us represents (to ourselves and others) is central to our self-concepts. How can we reconcile these seemingly disparate notions? What does it all mean? Essentially that purpose is the key to individual fulfillment and that personal responsibility is the key to societal fulfillment. So I suppose we are to have at least two selves; the individual self and the societal self. Nothing wrong with that!
I enjoyed listening to James McBride, I found what he talked about very interesting. I thought that his message about people “talking white” being looked down upon was true, and that it is not necessarily a bad thing for people to sound as educated as they are. I also liked the message about “cynicism is the killer of every young dream.” I think too often we all forget what its like to think that anything in the world might be possible. His message to be a part of the college was also an important aspect in my opinion. We should participate and be a part while we are around so many individuals that are different than us. We should get to know one another and be open to different perspectives than the one’s that we grew up with.
James McBride’s speech covered an array of topics, all of which I felt were very applicable to life as a college student.