John Griffin's Journey in His Novel Black Like Me

The book titled Black Like Me was written by John Howard Griffin, who, in this case, he plays the role of the author and main character in the book. He was a white man who lived in Mansfield, Texas, back in 1959. He was against racism in the south and wanted to do a social experiment to expose to the country and world how the black community was treated. For that, he would undergo a treatment to darken his skin color. For that he traveled to New Orleans where he had a contact in the black community who helped him undergo the ultraviolet light and oral treatment. That’s where his experience of living as a black man started.

After his first experience in New Orleans, John travels throughout Alabama and Mississippi, where he proves the same thing again, and again, the black community is living miserable, and they are treated as if they were not part of the society and more like if they were slaves. He stops to take his medications at times and goes from black to white and vice-versa, and he concludes that conditions for blacks are appalling and that the black community seems to feel defeated. Except in Montgomery, where they had started practicing passive resistance, a nonviolent form of refusing to comply with racist laws and rules. Finally, in Atlanta, he conducts a series of interviews with black leaders before returning to New Orleans to make photographic records of his time there. Since his social experiment had come to an end, he returned to his normal skin color and went back home where he would write his article, which he published in March 1960. In the end, although he was congratulated, his family became subject to hateful reprisals and received treats, which made him move with his family to Mexico. Overall, I think this was a great book not only because of how well written but also because it is in first person, which makes it more interesting and reliable since is a primary source of information and is in its most original form. The journey of John Griffin started 1959, back when the level of racism was incredibly high for the African American community. They were treated miserably according to Griffin’s experience, “When they paid me, they looked as though I were a stone or a post. They looked and saw nothing”(pg 26). They were seen as unworthy people, “Though not all, by any means, were so open about their purposes, all of them showed us how they felt about the Negro, the idea that was people of such low morality that nothing could offend us”(pg 26). One of the strengths of this book is that the plot is very engaging. There is unfairness in basically the entire book, just as people are seeking and trying to find ways to finally treat everybody equal no matter the race. There is a part in the book where Griffin and Mr. Gayle, a New Orleans civic leader and bookstore owner, have a conversation about what’s the cure for all of this? Mr. Gayle answers “Equal job opportunities, that’s the answer to much of the tragedy of our young people”(pg40).

As for the weaknesses, I can not find any. The book is solid, simple, easy to follow, interesting, and very informative. You can learn so much by reading this book about how life was back in the 1950s for black people. For example, in the book, John talks to a young boy who is in his first year at Dillard University; after a brief conversation, the young boy says “No, I’ve seen many make brilliant grades in college. And even when they graduate, it’s a long hard pull. Most take postal jobs or teaching jobs.” (pg39). Once again we see an example of unequal opportunities.

As for the writing style, John Griffin uses a lot of imagery and contrasting to transport us to the scene. “I lay there watching moonlight pour through the crack of the ill-fitting door as everyone drifted to sleep. Mosquitoes droned loudly until the room was a great hum. I wondered what they should be out on such a cold night” (pg113). Describing the scene, this deep can hook you very easily into the reading, which is a big plus for John’s writing style. I would recommend this book for anybody because even if racism was at an extreme level back then, it does not mean it’s gone. Racism still exists today, and I feel like this book can change a person’s perspective. It motivated the Civil Rights movement back when it was published. Overall great book.