By Marjorie J. Hurst—-
Kudos and many thanks to Myra Smith and the Diversity Council of Springfield Technical Community College for bringing author, musician, and composer James McBride to STCC last month. His was a performance that will not soon be forgotten and that is saying a lot, especially since over the years, we have been treated to performances by luminaries such as Dick Gregory, Tony Brown, Nikki Giovanni, Juan Williams, Morris Dees, Michael Eric Dyson, John Quinones, Susan Taylor, Steve Pemberton, Pieces of a Dream and Isabell Wilkerson, to name a few.
But this performance by McBride and his quintet was phenomenal! I thought his visit would simply consist of a lecture/reading from his new book, The Good Lord Bird, winner of The 2013 National Book Award for Fiction. I made a special effort to see him because I had read another of his books, The Color of Water, a New York Times bestseller, which is a memoir about McBride’s life growing up in New York with his twice widowed, white, Jewish mother and 11 siblings, all 12 of whom his mother sent to college, and had really enjoyed it.
From the beginning to the end, McBride’s performance was mesmerizing. He immediately drew the audience in by telling us a little of his childhood and how his mother would only discuss two topics: education and religion. Her answers to questions from her 12 children about anything else, he said, was “No.” A few more snippets from his early life and we were hooked, especially the students. McBride then began to set the stage for the book by reminding us about the main character, John Brown’s, connection to Springfield. What made the performance an unforgettable experience was how he blended the reading of passages from the book with soulful, stirring spirituals that were both sung and accompanied instrumentally by the members of the quintet.
There was Adam Faulk on piano, Trevor Exter on bass, Show Tyme Brooks on drums, Keith Robinson on guitar and James McBride himself on sax. The play list consisted of “Since I Laid My Burden Down,” “Standing in the Need of Prayer,” How Great Thou Art,” “God’s Gonna Set This World on Fire,” “Sinner Man,” and the finale, “John’s Brown’s Body,” each being interspersed with an explanation by McBride then the reading of a moving passage from the book.
The entire audience, which consisted of elementary, high school and college students, community members and dignitaries, and STCC faculty and staff, was captivated. We jumped to our feet repeatedly, clapping, cheering, swaying, dancing and had a church-like experience. What an unexpected treat!
Thank you, Myra and the Diversity Council, for such an uplifting and educational performance. And, by the way, The Good Lord Bird, is my book club’s next read!  ■