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Essay Subject: This paper provides a summary and critique of the experiences of white journalist John ...... More...

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Paper Abstract: This paper provides a summary and critique of the experiences of white journalist John Howard Griffin, who transformed himself into an African American in order to experience the racism rampant in the U.S. south during the 1950s, chronicled in the book Black Like Me. Paper Introduction: Black Like Me Introduction Ironically few books demonstrate the difficulties and challenges ofbeing black in America before the Civil Rights movement than does onewritten by a white Catholic journalist John Howard Griffin\'s Black Like Me provides a fascinating account of the author\'s travelsthrough the racist South in the late s with his skin darkened in orderto appear as an African American The book is organized like a diary withentries for each date that reflect Griffin\'s transformation from white toblack as he travels Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. Yet these experiences onlyserve to reinforce Griffin's main point in the work. Black Like Me. 48). At one point, Griffin (1996) explains thesurvival mechanism taught young blacks from their ancestors, to view racismas an attack on their skin color and not themselves personally, "His motheror aunt or teacher long ago carefully prepared him, explaining that he asan individual can live in dignity, even though he as a Negro cannot" (p.49). This point is thatblacks in American society were being systemically treated as inferior towhite across all social institutions from education to employment, solelybecause of the color of their skin. At a timewhen racism was rampant in the American south, Griffin reveals how manyAfrican Americans suffered from dehumanizing experiences at the hands ofracist whites in a racist society. All of the things he took for granted as awhite man become problematic and challenging as a black man. 25). There arenumerous public bathrooms and drinking fountains but he cannot find any for"colored" people. One poignantmoment shows Griffin (1996) forgetting himself for a moment and offering awhite woman on a bus his seat with his eyes, something he often did as awhite man without ceremony. As Griffin (1996) writes of the general tone ofinquiry from these white men who provided him with a ride, "all had atbase, the same stereotyped image of the Negro as an inexhaustible sex-machine with oversized genitals and a vast store of experiences, immenselyvaried" (p. No good hotels or restaurants will welcome him.One female store clerk that used to treat him well as a white man nowrefuses to look at him as a black man. However, he also does an excellent jobof revealing how African Americans were able to confront the challenges ofsuch an existence with dignity and integrity by asserting their humanity.By crossing the color line, Griffin reveals a unique perspective from theother side of it for whites.ReferenceGriffin, J.H. Griffin (1996) does an excellent job in this book of presentingwhites who are good and anti-racist as well as racist and violent whites.He travels next to Mississippi where racism is in full bloom. In the south blacks are often referred to as boy and other blackswarn Griffin that he should not look at a white woman, even if it is amovie poster featuring a white woman. He explainsthere the Negro was not a second-class citizen but a "tenth class" one(Griffin, 1996, p. (1996). He also shaved his head.When his transformation was complete, Griffin (1996) looked in the mirrorand tells us "the face and shoulders of a stranger-a fierce, bald, verydark Negro-glared at me from the glass. He knows New Orleans well and makes it his first stop in the south.He is shocked and repulsed by how he is treated as a black man. It is other blacks who take Griffinin and show him the ropes of dealing with the challenges of racism.Ironically, Griffin's travels are often accented by hitchhiking and whitemen do pick him up. Conclusion In Black Like Me, John Howard Griffin does an excellent job ofshowing how America before the Civil Rights movement systematicallydiscriminated against blacks across all social institutions. John Howard Griffin's (1996)Black Like Me provides a fascinating account of the author's travelsthrough the racist South in the late 195 s, with his skin darkened in orderto appear as an African American. However, when they do they all get around toquestioning him about his sex life. They want to know if he has ever hadsex with a white woman, if his wife ever slept with a white man, and onegets so carried away that he asks Griffin is he can view his private parts. In this Griffin's book succeedsadmirably well, especially in the way that his experiences reveal thedignity and integrity of African Americans as they struggle to cope withracism in ways that permit them to assert their self-worth in the face ofdehumanizing experiences. The woman snaps at him "What're you looking atme like that for" (Griffin, 1996, p. Body Funded by Sepia magazine, an African American periodical, JohnHoward Griffin used pills prescribed by a physician and sunlamp treatmentsto artificially darken his skin to appear black. Griffin is reminded of the black man's "inferior"status everywhere he turns. Griffin is furious over this, believing blacks are treated no better thandogs by racist whites. Many blacks, in contrast, like a shoe shine operator named SterlingWilliams, befriend Griffin and help him get by. He in no way resembled me" (p.15). 87). Thepurpose of the work is to demonstrate for readers through Griffin's first-hand confrontation with racism the struggles and challenges of blackAmericans living in a racist society. The book is organized like a diary, withentries for each date that reflect Griffin's transformation from white toblack as he travels throughout the racist American south in 1959. In many instances, these examples demonstrate thatAfrican Americans more often than not had to exist as two individuals also;one that never breached the expectations or rules of whites and the other,in private, as themselves. He cannot find decent employment because he is black,though he is qualified. New York: Signet, 1996. Black Like Me Introduction Ironically, few books demonstrate the difficulties and challenges ofbeing black in America before the Civil Rights movement than does onewritten by a white, Catholic journalist. Griffin quickly defuses thesituation by telling her he is not from around there or reverting back tohis "blackness." The book highlights this dualistic aspect of existencefor Griffin, a white man inside enduring racism against blacks because ofhis darkened skin. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.