Black Like Me
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Black Like Me is a non-fiction book by journalist John Howard Griffin first published in 1961. Griffin was a white native of Mansfield, Texas and the book describes his six-week experience travelling throughout the racially segregated states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia passing as a black man. Sepia Magazine financed the project in exchange for the right to print the account first as a series of articles.
Griffin kept a journal of his experiences; the 188-page diary was the genesis of the book.
In 1959, at the time of the book's writing, race relations were particularly strained in North America; Griffin's aim was to explain the difficulties facing black people in certain areas. To expedite this, under the care of a doctor, Griffin artificially darkened his skin to pass as a black man.
In 1964, a film version of Black Like Me starring James Whitmore was produced.[1]
Robert Bonazzi subsequently published the book Man in the Mirror: John Howard Griffin and the Story of Black Like Me.
The title of the book is taken from the last line of the Langston Hughes poem "Dream Variations":
- Rest at pale evening...
- A tall slim tree...
- Night coming tenderly
- Black like me.
Contents |
[edit] Account of the trip
In the autumn of 1959, John Howard Griffin checked into the Monteleone Hotel, located at 214 Royal Street in New Orleans, Louisiana. Once there, under the care of a dermatologist, Griffin underwent a regimen of large oral doses of the anti-vitiligo drug Oxsoralen and spending up to fifteen hours daily under an ultraviolet lamp. (Vitiligo is a disease that causes lightening of the skin and is most noticeable among people of African ancestry.)
To complete the illusion, Griffin used dyes to cover uneven areas and closely cropped his hair.[2]
During his trip Griffin made it a rule that he would not change his name or alter his identity; if asked who he was or what he was doing, he would tell the truth. In the beginning, he decided to talk as little as possible[3] to ease his transition into the "black world", i.e., the social milieu of southern U.S. blacks.
After he disguised himself, many people who knew John Howard Griffin as a white man did not recognize him. A shoeshine man named Sterling Williams in the French Quarter, a man whom Griffin regarded as a friend, made no connection with his looks now that he was black. The only way Sterling realized it was Griffin was because he recognized his shoes, and Griffin opened up to him, explaining his research .[4]
[edit] New Orleans (Santa Crose)
A black counterman at a small restaurant chatted with Griffin about the difficulties of finding a place to go to the bathroom. He turned a question about a Catholic Church into a joke about "spending much of your time praying for a rest room".
An episode on the bus reveals the climate of the times. Griffin began to give his seat to a white lady on the bus, but disapproving looks from black passengers stopped him. He thought he had a momentary breakthrough with the lady, but she insulted him and began talking with other white passengers about "how uppity they are becoming".
[edit] Themes
From the entire experience, Griffin discovers that when people (in the book's case, black people) are mistreated or deprived of rights they in turn do mischievous and bad things in order to manage their lives or to ease off the pain which they receive from their abuses, such as killing, drinking, drugs, etc. Because their acts are considered bad, those who inflict the pain on them (in the book's case, racist white people) only hate them even more and thus, gives the reasons of why segregation and racism continue to go on, even to this day. Also, it turns to the theme of falsely judging people.
[edit] Backlash
After the publication of the book Griffin was vilified; he was hanged in effigy in his home town and threatened with death. However, the book earned him international respect as a human rights activist. After its publication, he became a leading advocate in the Civil Rights Movement and did much to promote awareness of racial situations.
Not only did many people hang his effigy in the town center, a few people also sent negative letters threatening to kill him if he didn't recall his book. However, the majority of letters were positive, helping him to get through this challenging period in his life.[5]
[edit] Later effects of Oxsoralen
It has been erroneously claimed that the large doses of Oxsoralen John Howard Griffin used in 1959 allegedly led to his death in 1980 at age 60 from (the claim asserts) skin cancer. However, Griffin never had skin cancer; the only negative symptoms he suffered because of the drug were temporary and minor. The worst, arguably, were lassitude and nausea.[6]
Griffin had suffered from myriad health problems for much of his adult life: in addition to a severe head injury he suffered in World War II, Griffin contracted malaria, which attacked his spine and temporarily paralyzed him. He later contracted both diabetes and osteomyelitis. In 1976, Griffin suffered a heart attack during a lecture tour; he would suffer several more in the final four years of his life.[7]
[edit] Editions
[edit] USA
- John Howard Griffin (1961). Black Like Me. Houghton Mifflin. LCCN 61005368.
- John Howard Griffin (1962). Black Like Me. Signet Books. ISBN 0-451-09703-3.
- John Howard Griffin (1977). Black Like Me. Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0-395-25102-8.
- 2nd Edition, with an epilogue by the author.
- John Howard Griffin (1996). Black Like Me: 35th Anniversary Edition. Signet. ISBN 0-451-19203-6.
- With an epilogue by the author and a new afterword by Robert Bonazzi. Library-bound printing is ISBN 0-88103-599-8
- John Howard Griffin (1999). Black Like Me. Buccaneer Books. ISBN 1-56849-730-X.
- John Howard Griffin (2003). Black Like Me. New American Library Trade. ISBN 0-451-20864-1.
- John Howard Griffin (2004). Black like me: the definitive Griffin estate edition, corrected from original manuscripts. Wings Press. ISBN 0-930324-72-2.
- New edition. With a foreword by Studs Terkel, historic photographs by Don Rutledge, and an afterword by Robert Bonazzi. Library-bound printing is ISBN 0-930324-73-0
[edit] UK
- John Howard Griffin (1962). Black Like Me. Collins.
- John Howard Griffin (1962). Black Like Me. The Catholic Book Club.
- John Howard Griffin (1962). Black Like Me. Grafton Books. ISBN 0-586-02482-4. (repeatedly reprinted under same ISBN)
- John Howard Griffin (1964). Black Like Me. Panther. ISBN 0-586-02824-2.
[edit] References
- ^ Black Like Me profile at the IMDB
- ^ Urban Legends Reference Pages: Death of John Howard Griffin
- ^ "I had made it a rule to talk as little as possible at first." (page 23)
- ^ He looked up without a hint of recognition. ... He had shined them many times and I felt he should certainly recognize them.(page 26)
- ^ "There were six thousand letters to date and only nine of them abusive" (page 184)
- ^ Urban Legends Reference Pages: Death of John Howard Griffin
- ^ Urban Legends Reference Pages: Death of John Howard Griffin
[edit] See also
- American Civil Rights Movement (1896-1954)
- American Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968)
- Timeline of the American Civil Rights Movement
- The Lowest of the Low (German: Ganz unten), a similar book about Turks in Germany written by Günter Wallraff
