Garden City, NY - September 16, 2015 - Adelphi University will host National Book Award–winning author James McBride on Wednesday, October 28, 2015, at 7:00 p.m. in its Thomas Dixon Lovely Ballroom in the Ruth S. Harley University Center. McBride’s memoir, The Color of Water: A Black Man’s Tribute to His White Mother, was a best-seller and is the subject of the 2015–2016 Adelphi Community Reads program. McBride’s critically acclaimed work explores African American identity and history in the United States. Admission is free and available to members of the public. A book signing will follow the lecture.

In The Color of Water, McBride delves into the hidden past of his mother, Ruth McBride, and examines his own identity as a black man raised by parents of mixed heritage. McBride’s novel, The Good Lord Bird, a slave’s account of the abolitionist movement led by John Brown, won the National Book Award for Fiction in 2013. A major motion picture based on the novel and starring Liev Schreiber and Jaden Smith is due out soon.

A graduate of the Columbia School of Journalism, McBride has written for the Boston Globe, People and the Washington Post. Also an award-winning composer and saxophonist, McBride has written both music and lyrics for Anita Baker, Grover Washington Jr. and Gary Burton.

In his talks, McBride covers his life’s rich lessons, exploring the nature of identity, race and heritage. He is an inspiring speaker and delighted to talk with audience members, especially students. In his words, “All of my work speaks to the commonality of the human experience. That’s where I live, to move audiences to think, to question, and to find common ground.”

Adelphi Community Reads is an annual initiative to engage members of the campus community in a shared reading and discussions. This year’s reading and programming are also part of Adelphi’s Racial Justice Matters initiative.

For more information, please contact the Adelphi Cultural Events Hotline at 516.877.4555 or via email.

About Adelphi University
New York’s Adelphi University is a nationally ranked, doctoral research university where students succeed by gaining the skills, knowledge and exposure to thrive as professionals and active citizens in an interconnected and fast-paced global society. Today, nearly 8,000 students from 38 states and 46 countries pursue degrees in person and online through Adelphi’s eight distinguished schools and programs—the College of Arts and Sciences, the Gordon F. Derner Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies, the Honors College, the Robert B. Willumstad School of Business, the Ruth S. Ammon School of Education, University College, the College of Nursing and Public Health and the School of Social Work. Chartered in 1896, Adelphi is known for offering a personalized education—one is which students are mentored by talented and committed faculty members and readily find opportunities to initiate, innovate, explore and understand. With dynamic learning hubs on Long Island, in Manhattan and in the Hudson Valley, Adelphi serves communities, both regionally and globally, through the research and practice of its faculty, the collaborative initiatives undertaken by its centers and programs, the staging of distinguished cultural events and, most essentially, the education of future leaders and informed citizens.