Various mob associations-including the Italian mob in New York-introduced heroin to the most vulnerable populations in the inner cities. Additionally, the late 1960s saw the rise of heroin in America’s major cities. Indeed, open and aggressive racism was common in the 1960s, even in multicultural areas such as Brooklyn. Often, characters in Deacon King Kong will fatalistically refer to the oppressive forces in society meant to keep Black people down, and it’s likely that the political assassinations of the 1960s contributed to their pessimism. These killings led to widespread despair among African American communities who understandably felt that their fight for equality had been stifled.

Malcolm X, a prominent civil rights leader, was assassinated in 1964. The 1960s were a difficult time for African American people in the United States. Currently, McBride is the Distinguished Writer in Residence at New York University.ĭeacon King Kong is set in late-1960s Brooklyn, New York and examines the racial tensions present during that time. He has also written a work of experimental non-fiction- Kill ‘Em and Leave: Searching for James Brown and the American Soul (2016).

McBride has also published two other works of fiction, Song Yet Sung (2008) and Five-Carat Soul (2017). Later, in 2020, Ethan Hawke and Jason Blum adapted it for television. McBride’s greatest achievement in fiction didn’t come until 2013 with the publication of The Good Lord Bird, which won the National Book Award in 2013. Anna (2002), which tells the story of four African American soldiers fighting on the Italian front in WWII Spike Lee later directed a film adaption of the novel.

McBride’s next book was a novel, Miracle at St. It is now considered a classic in the genre. The book details McBride’s upbringing in New York and received critical acclaim for its reflections on race in America. McBride’s writing career took off in 1995 after the publication of his autobiography and memoir titled The Color of Water: A Black Man’s Tribute to His White Mother. He then immediately earned a master’s degree in journalism at Columbia University, which he received in 1980. In the mid-1970s, McBride Oberlin College, where he received his bachelor’s degree. McBride grew up in the Red Hook housing projects of Brooklyn, and his experience has influenced much of his writing, including Deacon King Kong (2020). When he was born, McBride was one of eight children, and when his mother remarried, he became one of twelve. His father, an African American, died of cancer just before McBride was born, and so his mother, a Jewish immigrant from Poland, raised him. James McBride was born and raised in New York City.

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