--- title: "10 Black Quotes By James McBride" description: "10 Black quotes by James McBride. Plus more from James McBride and more Black sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8f/james-mcbride-4758_accept_the-black-church-will-accept-anybody-408_408206.png" --- > [The black church will accept anybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/the-black-church-will-accept-anybody/) [James McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcbride/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8f/james-mcbride-4758_accept_the-black-church-will-accept-anybody-408_408206.png) > [I asked her if I was black or white. She replied "You are a human being. Educate yourself or you'll be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/i-asked-her-if-i-was-black-or-white-she-replied-you-are-a-human-being/) [James McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcbride/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c79/james-mcbride-4758_asked_i-asked-her-if-i-was-black-or-white-she_3086852.png) > [“The Negro comes in many colors. Dark. Black. Blacker. Blackest. Blacker than night. Black as hell. Black as tar.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/the-negro-comes-in-many-colors-dark-black-blacker-blackest-blacker/) [James McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcbride/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e7/james-mcbride-4758_black_the-negro-comes-in-many-colors-dark-blac_1817995.png) > [The question of religion in black America is something filmmakers don't want to touch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/the-question-of-religion-in-black-america-is-something-filmmakers-don/) [James McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcbride/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da0/james-mcbride-4758_america_the-question-of-religion-in-black-americ_2505017.png) > [It's the same old story. Nothing in this world happens unless white folks says it happens. And therein lies the problem of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/it-s-the-same-old-story-nothing-in-this-world-happens-unless-white/) [James McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcbride/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f82/james-mcbride-4758_black_it-s-the-same-old-story-nothing-in-this_1967610.png) > [I'm one of the few Black writers, or African American writers, who managed to work my way through the system so that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/i-m-one-of-the-few-black-writers-or-african-american-writers-who/) [James McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcbride/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34b/james-mcbride-4758_african-american_i-m-one-of-the-few-black-writers-or-afri_271673.jpg) > [My black friends never asked me how much money I made, or what school my children went to, or anything like that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/my-black-friends-never-asked-me-how-much-money-i-made-or-what-school/) [James McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcbride/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd4/james-mcbride-4758_asked_my-black-friends-never-asked-me-how-much_347081.png) > [My whole family was - we grew up in New York, but all my relatives and all my father and stepfather's family,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/my-whole-family-was-we-grew-up-in-new-york-but-all-my-relatives-and/) [James McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcbride/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e8/james-mcbride-4758_black_my-whole-family-was-we-grew-up-in-new-yo_2051723.png) > [You're not a Black man. You're a human being in God's eyes. So when you sit down to talk to someone and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/you-re-not-a-black-man-you-re-a-human-being-in-god-s-eyes-so-when-you/) [James McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcbride/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84a/james-mcbride-4758_asking_you-re-not-a-black-man-you-re-a-human-be_389987.png) > [As a journalist, I never critiqued anyone. I never review books. I've never felt qualified as a musician to say whether someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/as-a-journalist-i-never-critiqued-anyone-i-never-review-books-i-ve/) [James McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcbride/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d4/james-mcbride-4758_artist_as-a-journalist-i-never-critiqued-anyone_2806799.jpg) ## Other authors on Black ## More by James McBride > [Some things in this world just ain't meant to be, not in the times we want 'em to, and the heart has to hold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/some-things-in-this-world-just-ain-t-meant-to-be-not-in-the-times-we/) [James McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcbride/) > [There are some really great books that have been written about slavery, but I don't think that the discourse about it in society has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/there-are-some-really-great-books-that-have-been-written-about/) [James McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcbride/) > [“Whatever you is, Onion," he said, "be it full.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/whatever-you-is-onion-he-said-be-it-full/) [James McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcbride/) > [There are two responses to really awful things. One is to lament and say, "Oh my God, oh lord." And the other is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/there-are-two-responses-to-really-awful-things-one-is-to-lament-and/) [James McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcbride/) > [If you're going to cheat and take people's history and you're not writing the Bible, you ain't really so great. But if you try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/if-you-re-going-to-cheat-and-take-people-s-history-and-you-re-not/) [James McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcbride/) > [“Most cars drove through there because the drivers is either from The Bottom and wanna get home - or they ain't from The Bottom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/most-cars-drove-through-there-because-the-drivers-is-either-from-the/) [James McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcbride/) > [There has to be some mystery in life, because the joy of being a writer and the joy of being a musician is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/there-has-to-be-some-mystery-in-life-because-the-joy-of-being-a/) [James McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcbride/) > [“And when James asked what color God was, she said, God is the color of water.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/and-when-james-asked-what-color-god-was-she-said-god-is-the-color-of/) [James McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcbride/) > [I'm proud of 'Miracle at St. Anna' and I loved it; there's no question in my mind it's as good as any movie that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/i-m-proud-of-miracle-at-st-anna-and-i-loved-it-there-s-no-question-in/) [James McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcbride/) > [“back,” Daddy said. “It’ll work out.” He had no idea what to do about Helen. They spoke a completely different language. He was an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/back-daddy-said-it-ll-work-out-he-had-no-idea-what-to-do-about-helen/) [James McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcbride/) > [I'm one of the few Black writers, or African American writers, who managed to work my way through the system so that it has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/i-m-one-of-the-few-black-writers-or-african-american-writers-who/) [James McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcbride/) > [God is the color of water. Water doesn't have a color.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/god-is-the-color-of-water-water-doesn-t-have-a-color/) [James McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcbride/) > [First person narrative is a very effective tool but you have to know as a writer how to make it work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/first-person-narrative-is-a-very-effective-tool-but-you-have-to-know/) [James McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcbride/) > [The act of choosing what to place in your piece when you're a historian or a non-fiction writer already renders it into fiction for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/the-act-of-choosing-what-to-place-in-your-piece-when-you-re-a/) [James McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcbride/) > [...since I was a little boy, she had always wanted me to go. She was always sending me off on a bus someplace, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/since-i-was-a-little-boy-she-had-always-wanted-me-to-go-she-was/) [James McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcbride/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black/james-mcbride/#itemlist", "name": "10 Black Quotes By James McBride", "numberOfItems": 10, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The black church will accept anybody.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "James McBride" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/the-black-church-will-accept-anybody/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8f/james-mcbride-4758_accept_the-black-church-will-accept-anybody-408_408206.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8f/james-mcbride-4758_accept_the-black-church-will-accept-anybody-408_408206.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8f/james-mcbride-4758_accept_the-black-church-will-accept-anybody-408_408206.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The black church will accept anybody.” — James McBride", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I asked her if I was black or white. She replied \"You are a human being. Educate yourself or you'll be a nobody!", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "James McBride" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/i-asked-her-if-i-was-black-or-white-she-replied-you-are-a-human-being/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c79/james-mcbride-4758_asked_i-asked-her-if-i-was-black-or-white-she_3086852.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c79/james-mcbride-4758_asked_i-asked-her-if-i-was-black-or-white-she_3086852.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c79/james-mcbride-4758_asked_i-asked-her-if-i-was-black-or-white-she_3086852.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I asked her if I was black or white. She replied \"You are a human being. Educate yourself or you'll be a…” — James McBride", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The Negro comes in many colors. Dark. Black. Blacker. Blackest. Blacker than night. Black as hell. Black as tar.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "James McBride" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/the-negro-comes-in-many-colors-dark-black-blacker-blackest-blacker/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e7/james-mcbride-4758_black_the-negro-comes-in-many-colors-dark-blac_1817995.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e7/james-mcbride-4758_black_the-negro-comes-in-many-colors-dark-blac_1817995.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e7/james-mcbride-4758_black_the-negro-comes-in-many-colors-dark-blac_1817995.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The Negro comes in many colors. Dark. Black. Blacker. Blackest. Blacker than night. Black as hell. Black as…” — James McBride", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The question of religion in black America is something filmmakers don't want to touch.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "James McBride" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/the-question-of-religion-in-black-america-is-something-filmmakers-don/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da0/james-mcbride-4758_america_the-question-of-religion-in-black-americ_2505017.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da0/james-mcbride-4758_america_the-question-of-religion-in-black-americ_2505017.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da0/james-mcbride-4758_america_the-question-of-religion-in-black-americ_2505017.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The question of religion in black America is something filmmakers don't want to touch.” — James McBride", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It's the same old story. Nothing in this world happens unless white folks says it happens. And therein lies the problem of being a professional black storyteller - writer, musician, filmmaker.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "James McBride" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/it-s-the-same-old-story-nothing-in-this-world-happens-unless-white/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f82/james-mcbride-4758_black_it-s-the-same-old-story-nothing-in-this_1967610.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f82/james-mcbride-4758_black_it-s-the-same-old-story-nothing-in-this_1967610.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f82/james-mcbride-4758_black_it-s-the-same-old-story-nothing-in-this_1967610.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It's the same old story. Nothing in this world happens unless white folks says it happens. And therein lies…” — James McBride", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 6, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'm one of the few Black writers, or African American writers, who managed to work my way through the system so that it has allowed me to speak in a kind of free way. But most African American writers don't have that. They don't have that opportunity, they don't have that.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "James McBride" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/i-m-one-of-the-few-black-writers-or-african-american-writers-who/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34b/james-mcbride-4758_african-american_i-m-one-of-the-few-black-writers-or-afri_271673.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34b/james-mcbride-4758_african-american_i-m-one-of-the-few-black-writers-or-afri_271673.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34b/james-mcbride-4758_african-american_i-m-one-of-the-few-black-writers-or-afri_271673.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I'm one of the few Black writers, or African American writers, who managed to work my way through the system…” — James McBride", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 7, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My black friends never asked me how much money I made, or what school my children went to, or anything like that. They just said, \"Come as you are.\"", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "James McBride" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/my-black-friends-never-asked-me-how-much-money-i-made-or-what-school/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd4/james-mcbride-4758_asked_my-black-friends-never-asked-me-how-much_347081.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd4/james-mcbride-4758_asked_my-black-friends-never-asked-me-how-much_347081.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd4/james-mcbride-4758_asked_my-black-friends-never-asked-me-how-much_347081.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“My black friends never asked me how much money I made, or what school my children went to, or anything like…” — James McBride", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 8, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My whole family was - we grew up in New York, but all my relatives and all my father and stepfather's family, they were all from the South. So I like that old Black voice, and I love the sort of old Black man with a corncob pipe, sitting there telling a whopper.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "James McBride" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/my-whole-family-was-we-grew-up-in-new-york-but-all-my-relatives-and/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e8/james-mcbride-4758_black_my-whole-family-was-we-grew-up-in-new-yo_2051723.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e8/james-mcbride-4758_black_my-whole-family-was-we-grew-up-in-new-yo_2051723.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e8/james-mcbride-4758_black_my-whole-family-was-we-grew-up-in-new-yo_2051723.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“My whole family was - we grew up in New York, but all my relatives and all my father and stepfather's…” — James McBride", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 9, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You're not a Black man. You're a human being in God's eyes. So when you sit down to talk to someone and you talk to them in really intelligent terms, you ask difficult questions, there's a militancy that's assigned to you without you asking for it, because you are simply judged by what you look like. If you're a white person asking the same questions, you'd be one of these CNN guys and say how brilliant he is. That doesn't work for you, because this is the world we live in.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "James McBride" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/you-re-not-a-black-man-you-re-a-human-being-in-god-s-eyes-so-when-you/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84a/james-mcbride-4758_asking_you-re-not-a-black-man-you-re-a-human-be_389987.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84a/james-mcbride-4758_asking_you-re-not-a-black-man-you-re-a-human-be_389987.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84a/james-mcbride-4758_asking_you-re-not-a-black-man-you-re-a-human-be_389987.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You're not a Black man. You're a human being in God's eyes. So when you sit down to talk to someone and you…” — James McBride", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 10, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "As a journalist, I never critiqued anyone. I never review books. I've never felt qualified as a musician to say whether someone is a good musician or a bad musician. What happens with Black writers and Black artists is that if you're critiqued, for example, by a Black historian who wants to get his name on the cover of \"The New York Times,\" and he says something, like, wacky, well, he'll get his name on the cover of \"The New York Times\" and he might get tenure, and your career suffers.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "James McBride" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/as-a-journalist-i-never-critiqued-anyone-i-never-review-books-i-ve/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d4/james-mcbride-4758_artist_as-a-journalist-i-never-critiqued-anyone_2806799.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d4/james-mcbride-4758_artist_as-a-journalist-i-never-critiqued-anyone_2806799.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d4/james-mcbride-4758_artist_as-a-journalist-i-never-critiqued-anyone_2806799.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“As a journalist, I never critiqued anyone. I never review books. I've never felt qualified as a musician to…” — James McBride", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black/james-mcbride/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black/james-mcbride/", "name": "Black Quotes by James McBride", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black/james-mcbride/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8f/james-mcbride-4758_accept_the-black-church-will-accept-anybody-408_408206.png" }, "description": "10 Black quotes by James McBride. Plus more from James McBride and more Black sayings from other authors.", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black/james-mcbride/#breadcrumb" } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black/james-mcbride/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Topics", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/categories/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Black", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "name": "James McBride", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black/james-mcbride/" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```