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. He adapted his debut novel, Miracle at St.

McBride, a writer, playwright, journalist and musician, has been a staff writer for The Washington Post and other publications. In 2022, Griffin-Quick was named the “Best Performer in a Play” by the BroadwayWorld Regional Awards. The moderator of the lecture will be actor and arts administrator Deonté Griffin-Quick ’18, a Kean theater and communication graduate who has performed at venues including the Apollo Theater, McCarter Theater Center and Kean’s own Premiere Stages. McBride will use examples from his own life and the lives of those he’s met in his wide experiences to encourage audiences to embrace their history and identity and appreciate the differences of those around them. The lecture will explore the theme The Color of Water: A Meditation on Identity. Admission is free to Kean alumni, students and staff, but tickets must be ordered via the website. Tickets to the lectures are $30 for the public and are available at /lectureseries. at Kean’s Liberty Hall Academic Center Exhibition Hall (LHAC). The Distinguished Lecture takes place at 4:30 p.m.

We look forward to welcoming the community for this exciting event.” “As Kean celebrates Black History Month, it is fitting to welcome such an inspiring figure to our campus. “James McBride is a true Renaissance man as a jazz musician, former journalist and leading writer of our time,” said Kean President Lamont O. That landmark work, considered an American classic, explored McBride’s search for identity as the son of a white, Jewish woman and a black man. 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 author of the memoir, The Color of Water. Award-winning author and screenwriter James McBride will speak about identity and inclusion on Thursday, February 9 as part of the President’s Distinguished Lecture Series at Kean University.

James mcbride book