Black Like Me By John Howard Griffin: An Analysis

John Howard Griffin's research should undeniably be considered sociological. He began with a theory, if he became black he could help understand the difficulties between races as both a white man and a black man in the south and with this knowledge develop a means to bridge the gap. With this information he developed a micro-theory, trying to explain a limited part of human behavior; why is there hate among blacks and whites? He collected his data in a process of explanatory research. He needed to test his theory in order to elaborate existing explanations. He gathered all his data and went through all research methods in the hopes of explaining his theory. He followed the research

In his essay, “Pretty like a White Boy: The Adventure of a Blue-Eyed a Ojibway,” Drew Hayden Taylor discusses his negative life experiences, and decides that he will no longer classify himself as either a White, or Native person, though he is of dual ancestry. Though he aims his essay at the Everyman, he assumes that the reader has knowledge in Native history. Taylor, the comedian mentions that he never knew his White father, and it is likely that he was raised in First Nations household. This assumption supports the ethos of his essay as a whole. While examining the thesis, Taylor makes jumps in logic that are difficult for the reader to follow, on the path to his conclusion. Taylor’s style is consistently lighthearted, and his essay is structurally sound, however, due to errors in logic, his essay appeals to the heart alone.

The Autobiography of An Ex-Colored Man depicts the narrator as a liminal character. Beginning with an oblivious knowledge of race as a child, and which racial group he belonged, to his well knowing of “white” and “black” and the ability to pass as both. On the account of liminality, the narrator is presenting himself as an outsider. Because he is both a “white” and “black” male, he does not fit in with either racial group. In the autobiography of an Ex-colored man, James Weldon Johnson uses double consciousness to show the narrators stance as a person that gives up his birthright for the “privilege of whiteness”.

In Brian Copeland’s memoir, “Not a Genuine Black Man: My Life as an Outsider”, he vividly shares to what kind of racism and treatment that he and his family have gone through in a white community in San Leandro, CA during the 70’s. Through an ethnic studies lens, we can see clearly that indeed, the treatment of most Americans or “whites” toward African-American or “blacks” are hostile. There’s an invisible gap between two races, and Being an African-American

John Howard Griffin, the author and main character of “Black Like Me”, is a middle-aged white man who is living in Mansfield, Texas in 1959. Deeply devoted to the finding justice for racism and frustrated by his inability as a white man to understand the black experience, Griffin decides to take stand: he decides to change the color of his skin and temporarily become a black man. After securing the support of his wife and of George Levitan, the editor of a black-oriented magazine called Sepia which will fund Griffin 's experience in return for an article about it, Griffin sets out for New Orleans to begin his life as a black man. He finds a contact in the black community, a soft-spoken, articulate shoe-shiner named Sterling Williams, Eventually, Griffin looks in the mirror and sees a black man looking back. He briefly panics, feeling that he has lost his identity, and then he sets out to explore the black community.

The election of Barack Obama as the 56th president of the United States raised many hopes that the “Black struggles” was finally over. For conservatives, Obama victory reassured their beliefs that there was no longer such thing as racism and that every American had equal rights and opportunity to pursue the American dream. While many people have come to believe that all races have equal rights in America, Tim Wise argues in his documentary “White Like Me” that not only does racism and unconscious racial bias still exist, but that also White Americans are unable to simply relate to the variety of forms racism and inequality Blacks experience. This is mainly because of the privileges they get as the “default.” While Wise explores the variety forms of racism and inequality today such as unconscious racism, Black poverty, unemployment, inadequate education system, and prison system, the articles by the New York Times Editorial Board, the Human Rights Watch (HRW), and Adam Liptak further explore some the disparities in the criminal justice system. Ana Swanson points out in her article, “The Stubborn Persistence of Black-White Inequality, 50 Years after Selma” that while the “U.S. has made big strides towards equal rights,” significant gaps still remains between the two races. With the Supreme Court striking down a “portion of the Voting Rights Act that stopped discriminatory voting laws from going into effect in areas of the country with histories of disenfranchisement,” civil

The discriminating social stratification in 1950’s developed a set of servile behavior on the blacks. They were thought to be inferior to whites, and were treated accordingly. Moreover, different parts of the country had various ranges of sensitivities while dealing with the blacks. For example, in Mississippi things were particularly tense after the Parker lynch case. No black man would dare look into any white man’s eyes in fear of the repercussions. On the bus, a man warned Griffin to watch himself closely until he caught onto Mississippi’s ways. In an extreme case like this, it was vital to learn about their roles and behave accordingly.

During the book, Black like Me, John Howard Griffin turned himself into a black man to experience the true discrimination of the south. His experiment is six weeks long. During these six weeks he experienced many different kinds of people in the south and how the treated black people. After he had finished his six week experiment he stopped taking the medication that turned his skin darker, which then turned him back into a white man. After all, some people dispute the fact that he actually experienced true treatment of a black man. I disagree with that that statement, because although he was only a black man for six weeks he still experienced the hardship that the black man faces every day of his life.

Black Like Me In the Fall of 1959, John Howard Griffin set out on a journey of discovery. A discovery of his own nature, as well as a discovery of human nature. With the help of a friend, Griffin transformed his white male body into that of an African-American male body. Through a series of medical treatments, the transformation was complete.

Racism was a large problem during Griffin’s time and is still a problem in society today. Extreme racism was seen in Griffin’s time because of hate groups such as the Klu Klux Klan. It was common to see a black hanging from a noose, or for a “nigger lover”

What if we could walk in each other’s shoes? What if we could truly understand what our brothers and sisters are going through? These questions and more are what John Howard Griffin strived to answer when he surgically changed his complexion to resemble that of a black man in his book, Black Like Me. He set out to write a biting commentary about the state of race in the United States, but what he experienced changed his life forever. Griffin learned two very valuable lessons that dominated his experience; good can exist in the midst of suffocating evil and to bridge the gap between races there must be mutual understanding. To analyze such a powerful book, I will start with a summary and then explain my thoughts on the text.

Life for black men and women in the early and mid 1900s was difficult. They were often discriminated against by members of the white race. Many people tried to understand what life was like for the black race during this time, but none went as far as John Griffin. Some say that his story was not true or that it was not really a black man’s experience, but a white man’s. I believe that a white man could come close to understanding what discrimination against black men and women was like but I don’t believe that it was foolish of him to try it because of his newfound knowledge and empathy towards the black race.

In the beginning of the book, Griffin thoroughly believes that the only way “to bridge the gap between us [white men and Negros] was to become a Negro.” He took the next step after developing this hypothesis and literally became a black man after several days of rigorous treatment to his skin. He looked like a Negro through and through, so much that once he saw his new self, he had an identity crisis. The John Griffin he once knew was erased and replaced with an unfamiliar dark face that goes off into the city looking for a place to stay. As he does this, he observes how people treat him and sees a huge difference in treatment between his once white self and his now black self. Before his transformation, white people had greeted him with friendly smiles and gestures and black people glared at him resentfully.

Black Like Me is about a white male, John Howard Griffin, who was disheartened by how blacks were being treated. In an effort to bridge the gap between blacks and whites Mr. Griffin conducted research on blacks. Because Mr. Griffin is a white man the black community would not speak to him truthfully. Blacks were afraid that whites would harm them if they said anything offensive. Mr. Griffin knew the dilemma so he came up with the idea to become a black man in order to receive the truthful response he desired. Mr. Griffin knew that if he became a black man he would lose all his “white rights.” However Mr. Griffin still continued with his idea.

John Howard Griffin was a writer who wanted to write about the truth. In dealing with the racial discrimination problems in the United States, Griffin wanted to write about the realities of the situation. However, he was a white man. He empathized with the black people and wanted equality for them as well however he lacked the experience and exposure to the truth. He decided that the best way to write about this was to be a part of the black community. He consulted with a doctor about making his skin darker so that he can be physically identified as a black man. His doctor was successful in providing him medicine that would make him dark-skinned.