Black Like Me

but it got a little tedious.

Ok, I fully understand why Mr. Griffin did what he did. Like many perhaps, he wanted to test the claims of racism that permeated the South. His entry in to the world of a black man in the south was somewhat smeared by a tainted eye.

The definition of racism is far removed from what may be termed "curiosity". For sure, if you're honest, there are cultural differences that some might find curious. Mr. Griffin ran into these curiosities but, in my mind, they weren't meant in a racist, hateful way. He recounts these episodes in the book with a "taint" of racism that, for me, just doesn't hold up. Whether that curiosity was born of ignorance or just genuine curiosity, I don't know but, it seemed to me that most, not all, of it was innocent or ignorant curiosity.

Racism does exist. I'm not that naïve that I believe it doesn't. I just feel he didn't hit it full on due to the fact that, had he been exposed, the consequences would be fatal. In my mind, Mr. Griffin bounced off the atmosphere but never actually penetrated the real or perceived racism he went to find.

In contrast, read : Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America

However, I respect what he did and that respect is compounded given the era in which he did it.

Maybe this work is somewhat dated now but, there's still some relevance. A good, fast read.

I read this book quite few years in high school and it changed my perspective of what it might mean to be living in America as an African American forever.

As a white middle class teenager in Maryland, I'd grown up around African American neighbors and classmates, but was definitely aware of the divide. Racism was subtly pervasive and occasionally blatant, though most of the time it was like a set of unspoken rules. I knew it existed, and knew it was wrong, but I had know understanding of what really kept it going. That it was more than people's personal beliefs, but that a whole system was in place, STILL even 40 years after Black Like Me was written. In any case, this book ripped that veneer away and I never forgot the lessons it so ably taught. I'd have really thought that it'd be nothing but a "history" book at this point, but sadly it's still very much relevant even in 2018.

We can only hope that the next generation won't need it except as an archive of the ugly past.

A white man in 1959 decides, for scientific purposes, to darken his skin and shave his head to disguise himself as a black American to see what the African American experience is really like.

I've seen several movies and T.V. programs in which this type of action was a central theme or even a partial theme. There was the movie Watermelon Man (1970), a small scene in Silver Streak (1976), Soul Man (1986), a T.V. production called "Black. White." (2006), and the movie Tropic Thunder (2008). Of these that I've seen, only the Ice Cube produced "Black. White." treated it with the seriousness it deserved. I had never read a book in which a man assumes another race, let alone assuming another race in 1959!! What the author, John Howard Griffin, did in 1959 makes them all look like child's play.

First, what John Howard Griffin did was nothing short of courageous. The time period in which he chose to do this experiment and the locations (Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama) were tantamount to playing Russian roulette. It wasn't certain that he'd be killed but there always existed the possibility that he'd be killed for the slightest infraction there in the deep south.

Second, what John Howard Griffin did was ingenious. Sure, he could've done interview after interview to hear what black people had to say about their condition, but what kind of answers would he really get? Would they tell him, a white man, the truth? Furthermore, he'd still be missing the actual experience, because it was experiencing the racism firsthand that gave John the nightmares and that really opened his eyes to what black people go through for no other reason than their skin is darker.

Third, what John Howard Griffin authored was terrific. On its surface it is a journal but in reality it is so much more than that. It conveys some heavy truths and it really showed SOME of the ugliness of racism. This book was a mirror that showed a true reflection, not the reflection from the trick mirror that racists (whether consciously racist or unconsciously racist) had so long been peering into.

In part of the book he chronicles his hitchhike rides through Mississippi and Alabama. One of the more telling things about his hitchhike rides with white men was their depravity around him when he was disguised as a black man. They had no shame in inquiring about his sexual exploits or revealing their own. They discussed topics and used speech they wouldn't dare use in front of their white brethren but to speak like that in front of a black man was like taking off one's clothes to use the shower: who would ever feel ashamed in that situation? It was just one more indicator of the racist's opinion of black people: they weren't even worthy of acting decent in front of.

John Howard Griffin's groundbreaking experiment and his pointed analysis is invaluable. He, as well as society was only bettered by his work. This was truly revolutionary work and a must read.

“If a white man became a Negro in the Deep South, what adjustments would he have to make? What is it like to experience discrimination based on skin color, something over which one has no control?”

So began the journey of John Howard Griffin and story in what would become a classic in America non fiction and racial history. Griffin served in the Air Corps, studied in France (where he helped smuggle Austrian Jews to safety) and was blinded for 10 years from a war accident at which time he started writing and would soon take on this life altering project. Such a life and such a story.

Where to start with this book? We’ll go with the writing – it’s incredible. He keeps you captivated and so many sentences or insights were beautifully written and profound. He cuts straight to the reader’s heart and soul. You’ll go through all of your emotions with this book. There are so many insightful quotes that I thought about including, but I vote you read the book instead. So much of what he observed can (sadly) be applied today.

“Surely in America a whole segment of decent souls could not stand by and allow such massive crimes to be committed.” – John Howard Griffin

You know those times you read about some period in history and it leaves you completely dumbfounded and speechless? There were many times I felt that way while reading this book – reading stories (ones I’ve read so many times before) of such pure hatred for no other reason than the color of one’s skin. What in the living heck humanity? I simply cannot comprehend that person’s heart or soul.

His honesty throughout the pages is profound. He doesn’t hold back his feelings. He is vulnerable and that is what makes the book the classic that it is. Here’s one of his thoughts:

“The laughter had to be gross or it would turn to sobs, and to sob would be to realize, and to realize would be to despair. So the noise poured forth like a jazzed-up figure, louder and louder to cover the whisper in every man’s soul. “You are black. You are condemned.”

This was made into a movie in the 1964, but I think it’s time for a remake. We still need to hear and see these stories.

Some of the people he encountered were amazing too. Like the old man preacher he met first in Mobile. He understood loving the enemy. “When we stop loving them, that’s when they win.”

I cannot say enough how vital and important this book still is. I’ve read this before, yet reading it a decade later is still so impactful. If you only read one nonfiction book this year, may this one be it.

“Where racism is practiced, it damages the whole community, not just the victim group.”

Is there a book that has recently rocked your world? I’d love to hear about it!

Originally posted at http://booksandbeverages.org/2015/11/02/black-like-me-by-john-howard-griffin-book-review/

I read Black Like Me, many years ago, while I was in high school, living in Canada. It touched me deeply at the time and now, reading it again in this new edition, it touched me, even more deeply; reading with an adult's perspective.

What came to mind as I finished reading this book today was, the incredible and hard-to-imagine courage that John Howard Griffin showed, in taking on this project. He certainly could have been killed and did endure injury and repeated threats to himself and to his family because of what he did.

I found the additional information about Griffin's life, fascinating too. I did not realize that he was blind for 10 years, earlier in life and also that he died at the early age of only 60.

His was a life that mattered. This is a story that will not and should not be forgotten. I hope that it is still on reading lists in schools. The history and relevance of this story will never die.

I first read this book at age 10 in 1962 when my (white) Sunday school teacher snuck me her copy after I asked her about it. My parents never knew I had it. It stayed with me for my entire life (I'm 64) and this book, among other things, caused me to go into psychological counseling and social work and become a voice to make a difference. I worked with former Crips and Bloods gang members and always noted the way they were treated in public until people noticed that I (a blonde white woman) accompanied them. Since that was 1980 I was saddened that this was still so. Now... tragically it is still a current message in 2018 for black and hispanic people as well as those of Muslim faith. Now, under the current Administration there has once again been an embrace of white supremacy and a culture that openly attacks non-whites. Racism was still there but more sublimated and it seemed change was gradual but positive. Under this Administration, racism has openly been encouraged and we have seen these problems even more. That's not meant to be a political message but 54 years later It's heartbreaking to see that this book is still relevant in society. I'm hopeful (and even confident) that, more than ever, our intelligent, strong minority youth will step up to become leaders in the fight for equality and respect. Hopefully, they'll run for office where they can help make changes for all people. As a white woman I can say we're struggling for our rights too but it's not the same.

I listen to defensive white people protest that they can't help they have white skin. They're missing the point. Walk a mile in a black or brown person's shoes. Then take that inspiration and step up to speak out, do community outreach and take that message to the voting booth. At any rate, I hope we can all embrace those who have the courage to step up to help make this incredible man's message simply a historical one 10 years from now.

Buy this book for yourself and for all of your friends. It's a life-changer.

This book was recommended to me by my sister and I'm so glad I read it. The racist experiences that John H. Griffin goes through really show how hard it was to be a black person in the south. Privileges that were available to John, before he turned black, were gone after the procedure. When reading this book, it almost takes you to the 1950s. If you are someone that hasn't experienced any real discrimination in your life, then you can really relate to Griffin's reactions. He's accustomed to the white lifestyle where he doesn't need to worry about what bathroom to go in or if there is someone following him. The events that happen to him help realize the poor treatment African Americans receive on a daily. It showed that back then, the color of your skin basically determined your future. This entire book is a really good read and helps put a perspective on the treatment of Black Americans in the 1950s.

This is one of the 2 best books ever written about understanding people different than yourself. The idea is simple. A white man disguises himself as a black man, and he writes about how people treat him differently.

It's really interesting because just as no white person knows what its like to black, no black person really knows what it's like to be white. But this guy is able to compare the 2 experiences -or nearly. He still doesn't know exactly what it's like to be black, but his insights are valuable for both white AND black readers to study.

The other book that's similar to this is "Self Made Man" in which a woman disguises herself as a man and writes about that. Both books are valuable for the same reason, they provide useful points of comparison. If every one on earth would read both of those books, the world would be a much better place.

John H. Griffin wrote this book about him changing

his skin color from white to black, to experience

black life in 1959.

This was a bold step.

Maybe modern readers do not understand how bold

it really was.

There were no cell phones in 1959. If Griffin needed

help, he would have to hunt for a pay phone. That phone

would probably be in the poorest part of town.

Today, he is almost a forgotten man. That seems

wrong, to this reader. Like so many other fighters for

civil rights, white and black, he risked his life daily.

There are no statues or streets named for him or for

many of the civil rights heroes, of all races, who

worked together.

Perhaps those brave pioneers make us uncomfortable

today. Maybe they saw and exposed too much. It

could be that America sees them today as

extremists.

This reader, a white guy, wonders why nobody

sees the sacrifice today that Griffin made.

His book opens us up. His words show careful choice.

He does not pump for sensationalism.

Everything that he wrote had to be the exact truth.

In those days, non-fiction writers and reporters were

held to much higher standards than they are today.

A reporter who inflated the truth back then was

finished professionally. Editors checked and double-

checked every paragraph. There was no New Journalism

yet. Composite characters were forbidden.

No professional

writer could play fast and loose with the truth.

Griffin did not.

He spent weeks disguised as a black man, scared

most of the time. The feeling of doom kept trailing

him. White clerks in bus stations refused to sell him

a ticket because they said that they could not change

a five-dollar bill.

Bus drivers on interstate rides would not let blacks

get off to use restrooms.

When Griffin hitchiked, white drivers kept asking him

about the black sex drive and if he craved white women.

This astounded Griffin. He had seen life already. As

a teenager, he had lived and studied in France. During the

war, he smuggled Jewish children to safety from France,

risking his life. During the war, he spent three years in

the South Pacific in the Army.

A Japanese shell blinded

him for eleven years.

But these normal decent white drivers shocked him.

We readers should honor this man. He died of diabetes

at age 60. Like other black or white freedom fighters,

he has no street or library named after him.

But we can buy this book and read it. We can give it

to our friends.

Nobody else did what Griffin did. According to his

friend and biographer Robert Bonazzi, Griffin considered

himself a coward.

This book says differently. Buy it, talk it up

and keep John Howard Griffin's memory alive.

--- Frank Hickey, writer of the Max Royster crime

novels of Pigtown Books.

I'm still not convinced that appearing to be one thing when you're really another, is anything like what it actually feels like, deep in your soul, to be that 'other'. When you know you're just 'pretending' to be one thing when you're not - you know you have an escape route. When you're the 'real thing', you don't have the privilege of the escape route - do you? Quite another thing altogether.

There are many books on the condition of African Americans in the Deep South during the 1950s and '60s, but each of these repeats, usually, the standard views of one of a few groups: the justified white man, the sympathetic white man, and the angry black man. John Howard Griffin's "Black Like Me" is unlike anything else I have ever seen from this time period. Griffin's unique experiment consisted of taking a southern, well-educated white man, himself, and darkening his skin enough to be able to appear as a black man. He changed nothing else about himself and yet as one reads the diary-like entries of this book it is clear how much such a simple change mattered. Griffin became an African American in many senses of the life and culture. He felt like he was black and experienced all of the psychological effects of being a member of the race. Griffin was no longer simply sympathetic of the, as he might have said, problems of the Negro, but he understood and experienced life in their shoes.

The style of the book, which reads alike to a diary or journal, allows the reader to feel as if they were in Griffin's head or following him as he went about his experiment. I felt this style to well fit the nature of the topic and gives this non-fiction work more concrete footing in the reader's mind. After reading this book, I felt that for the sake of what Griffin wished to accomplish he succeeded and was able to create a great end product, though personally I wish he had taken the opportunity to visit more places and gain more experience than only the Deep South, though this may be a result of being from the northern United States. Regardless, this book was a quick read that was somewhat difficult to put down, but brings many questions about race relations, stereotypes, and the history of civil rights that can even apply to the racial inequalities of today, over 50 years later. I think that this book is an important read for many, especially young adults who may not have further experience with the history of individualized race relations from the civil rights era. Griffin's book represents an important time in American history, and a unique view of this time.

I was 12 years old during the Civil Rights Movement around 1964. I hadn't met a black person, but reading the book "Black Like Me," and crying all the way through gave me a glimpse. To this day, I ask myself "what would I do if I woke up tomorrow as an African-American and couldn't change back?" This is my "check in" for how I know we have so much work to do.

This book has and will never become irrelevant - it is timeless. Each decade keeps this book just as relevant as when it was written.

Schools should make this mandatory reading for civics classes. Read the book first as your imagination will take you places your heart can't even fathom. Only after you've read the book, then watch the movie with James Whitmore (1964).

Of all the books I've read in my life, this has had the most impact. I thank John Howard Griffin for being so brave, bold and honest for helping me understand what he experienced. "Black Like Me" is written so honestly, which is why it continues to have the impact it does.

All these years later and it's a MUST READ!

Books written by individuals who intend only to write, as truthfully as possible, of their experience or discovery can be boring. For many, researching a specific topic or seeking out the studied experience and speaking of the results, irrespective of the response is a matter of moral integrity, for others it is fodder to be used in order to espouse one's cherished opinion. Typically, these type of books are read by individuals who are interested in the specific subject studied, the reverberations are limited to a relatively small discipline where the findings are discussed, studied and incorporated into the discipline or quickly ignored. When such a book is penned by a "common" writer about his experiment in changing his ethnicity (in this case, a White man becoming a Black man), plunging into the world inhabited by that ethnic group (the segregated South of 1959) then writing with explicit truthfulness of that experience, the result can be historic. Black Like Me is a historic book, celebrating its Fiftieth anniversary, which is just as relevant today as it was when published in 1961.
John Howard Griffin was a respected author living in Texas in 1959 when he choose to surrender his privileged life in order to speak with authority to those of his white community of the plight of their black neighbors. He did so by literally changing is skin color and spending five weeks living as a part of the Black community in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia. Those states at that time were the center of Segregationist laws and behavior. It was well known, within that region, that a white person could do any harm, including murder, to a person of color without fear of legal retribution. Mr. Griffin found the racism of a much more insidious, pervasive and expected reality than even he had expected. He quickly discovered that he was on the receiving end of this evil for the single reason of his skin color.
Reading of the pain he suffered, indignities demanded of him and the realization that this was "as good as it would get" for those whose daily life he was experiencing for a short time was an encounter with my own ignorance, prejudice and arrogance. Mr. Griffin shares his epiphany of seeing himself as a black man was a transformative one,
"I looked into the mirror and saw nothing of the white John Griffin's past. No, the reflections led back to Africa, back to the shanty and the ghetto, back to the fruitless struggles against the mark of blackness. Suddenly, almost with no mental preparation, no advance hint, it became clear and permeated my whole being. I had gone too far. I knew now that there is no such thing as a disguised white man, when the black won't rub. The black man is wholly a Negro, regardless of what he once may have been." (p.31)
The remainder of the book is his detailing, often in horrid detail, of just what being black in the segregated South was like. Mr. Griffin's looking into the mirror for the first time and seeing a black man looking back shook him to his core, reading this book has caused a similar response within me.
This Anniversary Edition includes an epilogue written by the author in 1976 which speaks of the repercussions of this work, the results of the Civil Rights struggle of the 1960's and was very educational as to how race relations turned out so differently than was "The Dream" of that time period. It also includes an essay by Mr. Griffin, "Beyond Otherness" one of his last, which speaks of the power of the individual within the culture. The book ends with an Afterword by his Biographer Robert Bonazzi and it speaks to the timelessness of this powerful book.
As I read, sometimes fighting nausea, then tears, then finding myself smiling, this book, I saw how Mr. Griffin's experience applies to our present culture. Then as now all are "accepted" as long as "they" comply with "our" expectations, do not have a name that's sounds as if it originated in the looks Middle East or skin color that is "too dark" or appear to be attracted to people of one's own gender or . . . . I am unsure how deeply this book has unsettled me but, at this moment, it seems profound and I hope it will be lasting.

John Howard Griffin's "Black Like Me" is probably one of the most important works of the Civil Rights Era. Sadly, it's not important so much for what it says (although, what it says is quite powerful), but for the fact that a white man said it. Griffin doesn't say all that much that black writers hadn't been saying for decades, but for a variety of reasons, white people - even well-intentioned white people - couldn't hear it until it was said by one of their own.

One of the biggest obstacles in the Civil Rights Movement was that most black people had long been conditioned not to tell the truth of their experience to white people for fear of angering them and suffering reprisals. In turn, because of this silence, whites could comfortably wear their blinders and assume that "separate but equal" was working just fine. After all, most whites interacted with blacks at least from time to time and most didn't harbor any ill sentiments. Most were courteous and pleasant, and most were genuinely - albeit naively - unaware of any real suffering by blacks. It was just the way things were.

The only way to breach the barrier between blacks and whites, and thereby bridge the communication gap, was for a white man to become black and live in the "Negro" world. The important thing to note about Griffin's transformation is that, while he was scrupulous about altering his appearance, he specifically chose not to alter his name, speech patterns, mannerisms or any other fundamental aspects of himself. This gives the lie to the oft-repeated rationalization that blacks were judged by the "content of their character" rather than the color of their skin.

Perhaps the greatest strength of Griffin's book is his ability to simultaneously sink himself fully into his new persona while at the same time consciously and carefully observing and critiquing his responses thereto. Griffin makes passing reference to "when I was blind". We don't know the circumstances of either his blindness or his recovery, but it shows that Griffin has had previous experience entering into and returning from an alien world.

The first time Griffin sees his new "Negro" self in the mirror, we, the readers, experience the shock and alienation right along with him. As he learns to navigate as a "Negro", we too learn things before that we'd never even thought to think about before, let alone experienced before. We feel Griffin's fear as he is stalked by a young, threatening white kid. We squirm in disgust as white man after white man probes the "sexual character" of the "Negro". And we sigh in gratitude for the small and large kindnesses he receives along the way. Most of all, we too lose touch a bit with our comfortable white existence and sense, perhaps for the first time, what it feels like to be literally uncomfortable in our own skin.

My only regret about the book is how short it was. I, in my own selfishness, wanted the experiment to go on so I could experience more of that alien world which I thought I knew. But the fact that Griffin could endure the experiment for only a few weeks speaks volumes. Certain places he is only able to stay a few hours before fleeing or being rescued. Fortunately, he had the resources and connections to do so. Imagine being poor and black, consigned to such places having to struggle like an animal to survive, and then having that very animal-ness flung back in your face as the reason you are not worthy of equal citizenship?

Griffin's 1979 epilogue is also immensely important as it gives a context and understanding of the development of the Civil Rights Movement. Many of the same patterns which existed pre-Civil Rights - the "Negro" as an ignorant child who needed to be led and controlled by smarter, "benevolent" whites for his own good - persisted throughout the movement. Well-intentioned whites were understandably upset to be pushed aside after putting their time, money and reputations on the line, but seen from the black perspective, it made perfect sense. It wasn't about separatism as much as it was about empowerment, which blacks could (and can't) achieve so long as whites are in charge of deciding what rights will be fought for and how.

Finally, many will argue that this book may have been important "back then" but it's dated now because things are different. After all, we have our first black president, don't we? But the very rise of that black president has made it crystal clear that the struggle isn't over and that the movement still has a place. From the documented rise in overtly racist "hate" groups to the perhaps naïve ideas of people like Rand Paul who thinks that private businesses should be legally allowed to discriminate, it is inescapable that "Black Like Me" is as relevant today as it was then. If anything, perhaps we need a new John Howard Griffin to cross racial barriers and compare the lives of today's blacks to those whom Griffin encountered. I do believe we've made progress, but I'm sure today, just like fifty years ago, many people would be shocked to hear the truth.

As most everybody should already know, a man named John Griffin disguised himself as a black person and traveled around the Deep South late in 1959. He was able to intimately understand the divide people are faced with on both sides. He completely immersed himself in his role, thinking, feeling and experiencing everything as a black man. His writing is very insightful and so sad.
Having been born in 1981 and having lived in Minnesota my whole life, I have never really understood what this situation in our country was like. Though we have made great strides towards equality and justice, there are still folks down where my dad lives in South Carolina that have similar attitudes to the whites encountered by Griffin in his book. Each generation gets a little better, and I agree with Griffin's point that it is only through education, knowledge, empathy and love that this shameful attitude can be completely demolished.
This is an important book, even still today, for everyone to read. It reminds us that those times were not long ago and that there is still work to be done in this arena.

Originally published in 1961, Black Like Me is the account of how white journalist John Howard Griffin had his skin medically darkened and traveled through the Deep South as a black man in an attempt to explain the hardships black people in the South faced. It also covers the backlash against the publication of his story.

Black Like Me is a concise, fast and engaging read. The reader is often able to see things through Griffin's eyes, even as Griffin tries to see things through the eyes of others. He does an excellent job communicating the cultures of fear and despair he encountered. The entire account of his travels as a black man is riveting.

If there is any nit-picking to be done, let it be for this: at times, particularly early on, Griffin's descriptions of mundane, everyday objects and details seem forced and do not aid the narrative.

While today's racial tensions are much less overt (and much less publicized), Black Like Me still has quite a bit to say about the universal elements of human nature and the culture of racism.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

I have wanted to read this book for over ten years, but never made it a priority. I knew the basic premise of the book as being a white man making himself look like a black man to see how bad racism was at the time. I was fortunate enough to find an old copy at the local Goodwill, so I figured it must be time for me to give it a read. I had high expectations of this book, but they were far exceeded.

This book is raw, almost terrifyingly so at times. The tales told on many of the southern whites made me ache inside and out, and really made me check myself for any hints of racism that may be lurking in the dark recesses of my own heart. I fear we are all guilty in small ways of this, though I wouldn't have believed it before reading this book.

I will say it may be a good thing that I didn't read this book when I first heard on it. As a high-school student, I'm sure I was probably too immature to appreciate the depth of man's hate. Life experience has proven invaluable to my understanding of this book and Griffin's project.

John Howard Griffin, after convincing a doctor to make his skin darker using a combination of pills and tanning beds, lived for a month in various places in the South as an African American. When this book, which is essentially his journal of that time, was published in 1959, I imagine this was groundbreaking and also extremely controversial. Griffin's simple descriptions of the way he is treated as a white man and the way he is treated as a black man speak volumes about race relations in our country.

By its nature, the book/journal meanders a little, but I found Griffin's musings after the story is publicly known particularly thoughtful and incisive: "The mail poured in, hearteningly favorable and moving. Most people in other areas, including the Deep South, understood, though the situation remained uncomfortable at home. Our townspeople wanted to 'keep things peaceful' at all costs. They said I had 'stirred things up.' This is laudable and tragic. I, too, say let us be peaceful; but the only way to do this is first to assure justice. By keeping 'peaceful' in this instance, we end up consenting to the destruction of all peace - for so long as we condone injustice by a small but powerful group, we condone the destruction of all social stability, all real peace, all trust in man's good intentions toward his fellow man."

Recommended for its unique and interesting perspective on the lives of Americans.

having dealt with walking while black, department store while Black, driving while Black and just being a Black Man in America any place, anywhere here this book speaks the truth and always will because there is still a divide and if more people went on the journey that this man went on, then they wouldn't think that things don't still exsist and still happen because they still do very much so.there is still privledge and acceptance in the United States based on the color of your skin. the author felt a month was too long, imagine a year or longer? the naiveness and Priviledge is still mind boggling and is very real, because without proper acknowledgement and other factors you can't ever Enslave a race of People and then call them free without understanding the Pshycological and physical damage that has happen and how it still has impact and effect to this very day, but Props to one very daring Soul to expose the reality within the reality.

a must read for all and when i see the Fox Network or the Tea Party or the Dixie Democratic party its a reminder of how powerful of the past still has pressence on the now.

Though approaching the fiftieth anniversary of the events in this book, reading BLACK LIKE ME today shows both the inroads America has made towards erasing the blight of racial intolerance, as well as the limits that America has in truly educating itself about all kinds of Hate. Indefensible Hate still exists here, and there is no indication that it will make as great a stride in the next fifty years as it has in the last fifty.

Without question, this book should be required reading for all teenagers (and adults) across the country. To understand another's perspective is the first, primary step in eradicating intolerance. This book (which is a slight bit didactic at points) is the remarkable journey of a man who bothered to really try to understand the life of the black man in the American South as best as he could. Of course he could never truly KNOW, but he certainly took pains to do what he could to understand the experience better than anyone before.

Students (eighth-graders) in my Honors Language Arts class are required to read this book, and I hope they will discover from where we as a nation have traveled. Those who easily bandy about epithets or think unkind thoughts about others (whether because of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, heritage, or ability) might get an honest sense of perspective by taking the trip with John Howard Griffin.

Better yet, after reading this book, ask yourself these questions (and I will ask my students): "If given the opportunity to change my appearance so dramatically as to appear to be from a different race for six weeks, would I do it? What would I fear going into it? Suppose I was told after four weeks that it was impossible to change back; how would it make me feel?"

For a country that falsely prides itself on equality for all, I believe that our conversations about racial equality are sorely lacking in our public dialogue. BLACK LIKE ME would be an excellent place to start a meaningful conversation.

Five stars for the author's courageousness, four stars for content at the time of publication, three stars for content when read today.

No white man - no matter how well-intentioned - can satisfactorily explain the social or emotional climate faced daily by blacks, a fact that was even more true a half-century ago. Coupled with the relatively brief period Mr. Griffin spent posing as a black man, it is understandable why I, or another reader, could be left asking, "Is that all there is?" But Griffin placed his family on the line during this project, put personal relationships to the test, and had to maintain his wits to maintain his facade. At a time in our history when the only exposure whites had to blacks took the form of media coverage of early civil rights demonstrations and a "daring" television program hosted by Nat King Cole, Griffin performed a true public service in helping to explain, albeit in surface terms, what it just might be like to be black. That would be contribution enough, circa 1960. Looking back now, "Black Like Me" can almost be viewed as a stunt, as something we might associate with Geraldo Rivera or someone from "Dateline", but it was a daring technique for its time, a selfless act by a man with newly-restored vision who could have played it safe.

If you want raw, unvarnished narrative on the black condition, try "The Autobiography of Malcolm X". If you desire a window into the "white" side of the civil rights movement and a first-person narrative on personal courage, this is the book for you.

You only have to be human for a short period of time to know the unjustice out world has. Black Like Me takes John Howard Griffen's life and puts it in an inthralling and delicious true novel. An unbeliecable tale that is inpredictable in nature and thought.
John Howard Griffen was born a white man. In the late 50's he darkened his skin through the use of creams, sun and medication to become a black man. During this extremly scornful and racist filled society, what was Griffin's thought process for this life-altering change, albeit a short one? To see how the segregated black man lived, communicated and were treated. But, most of all, he wanted to know the truths and the false accusations placed upon 'their people'.
What John Howard Griffin found was more than a group of people who were treated unfairly; he found people treated disrespectfully and with unjust fear. Above all, Griffin found a community of people who understood one another with a smile, touch or with few words spoken. As Griffin explained, it is obvious that a black man is deeply changed inwardly when subjected to conditions as the ones he lived in.
Griffin chose the most southernly places in which to reside, as the Southern blacks were treated the worse. Griffin wanted to get to know the culture and later referred to himself as mulatto.
His writings posess great tragedy, heart, horror and happiness. To have done this was very brave. Something that many more persons should have done. The horridness of then American democracy was clearly shown. It takes a brave man to do what Griffin did. He speaks of the squalor with such despise and love. What you read, you wish was unreal and was a piece of fiction. Although we do not 'see' segregation today, this is a chilling book making the reader look at people differently and with due respect.

What better way to discover what it is like to be someone than to become them? This is exactly what John Griffin did in 1959. John was a writer for an African-American magazine, Sepia, who wanted to discover what it was like to be an African-American in the Deep South. By medication and ultraviolet rays he turned his skin a rich brown so he could pass for an African-American. He decided he would not change his name, the way he talked or the way he dressed and with two hundred dollars and a duffle of close he was off to New Orleans. John immediately was amazed at how only the change in his skin color made him hated by whites but in the same way it made him loved by African-Americans. He traveled through the south looking for a job. Normally a well-dressed, educated man would have no trouble finding a job but that's far from the truth if you're an African-American living in the Deep South. After three months he had more than enough and could not stand that quality of life any longer. He changed his skin tone back to the old milky white went back to his home in Texas. Here he would encounter the same hate that he did as an African-American. Now simply changing his skin color cannot free him from this hatred. Black Like Me is a definite must read. It is an eye-opening experience for the reader. It is important for every American no mater age what to read this masterpiece. It lets one see the horrific crimes we committed against an innocent race because they were different. It lets the reader fully understand the conditions if you were an African-American living in the South in the 1950's. When something is understood it can be prevented from every happening again.

This book had a profound effect on me as a teenager back in the 70's as part of a psychology class in high school. I've just listened to it - all 7 hours. I am moved once again.

It is amazing to think about the courage that John Howard Griffin had in order to turn himself in to a black man so that he could truly experience the racism of the South in the late 1950's. His writing is powerful as he details in diary-form his journey and the people that he encounters - both good and bad.

It is also amazing to think about how far we as a country have come in our race relations. Although there are still serious injustices and inequalities in the US today (2011) as it relates to blacks and whites, we as a nation have come a very long way. This book is a profound reminder of how far we have come.

I strongly encourage anyone who wants to develop a keener understanding of the human psyche and to develop a stronger sense of empathy to not only read but to listen to this book as I have just done. (Note: I was not able to find the audio version on the store. I found it at my local library - a pleasant surprise.)

Black Like Me was a great book and taught me how the black person who lived in the South had such a hard life especially in the Deep South of Mississippi or in New Orleans, which is the setting of the book. In New Orleans the white person is nice to the black man but the white man does not respect the black man just tolerates him. In Mississippi the white person is very degrading to the black man. You cannot even look at a white woman in Mississippi without getting lynched. John Griffin who was on a bus ride in Mississippi was not allowed to get off at his stop because the bus driver was a white man and a horrible racist and he just wanted to mess with John Griffin. John Howard Griffin was a courageous journalist because he was a white man who wanted to turn himself black to see how the black man lived in the South. He wanted to see what the real hardships were for the everyday black man. For example how hard it is to find a job or a place to live; everyday things that we take for granted in today's society. The book showed me that racism is a real thing that blacks even in today's society have to deal with. The book was great and I would recommend the book to anyone who wants to learn about the South and how black people really have to live their everyday lives.

My 7th grade teacher, Mr. Decker, read this book to us during summer school and I thought I'd sleep right through it. And after a few chapters - I was captured by the depth and humanity for which it stood. Never in my "white" life did I ever consider the feelings of a man of another race and the spectrum of shame, hate and despair heaped upon the main figure gave me cause to reassess my life, my biases and bigotries. My father once washed out my mouth with a bar of soap for some disparaging remarks I made about some poorer folks in an older, oil-smoking jalopy riding aside us, on our way to the beach house we had rented. I learned "a life's lesson" that day about humankind and my place in it and a father's "efforts" to make sure his son knew he was no different than those "okies" (as I called them..) and to this day, some 50 years later, that harsh lesson still resonates with me.

Everyone should read this book to understand one man's diligent efforts to walk on the other side of the human race, via the Black experience. The experiment required that John Howard Griffin be chemically induced with a medication that turned his skin Black and the rest of this transformation required using dye. Discrimination against the newly Black Griffin was harrowing, yet just like Obama said recently nationwide about his Black experience - prejudice from the white community was persistent and uncomfortable. Griffin could not wait to enter back into the world of being himself white. It was a safe haven that I believe many whites take for granted. Blacks adjust to their environment to the point that these kinds of injustices are something we simply learn to live in.

I commend people to take a second look on the 50th anniversary of Black Like Me.

Black Like Me

By John Howard Griffin

Black Like me is a great book to show the true meaning of racism. In this book, the main character, John Howard Griffin, undergoes a temporary medical treatment that turns his skin dark. When he does not take the medication, he turns light again. While he is black, John Howard Griffin finds the experience to be much worse than he expected. Though fellow black people treat him with warmth, white people treat him with hostility and contempt. He never expected the comments on every street corner and the constant dirty looks. When he was white again, he found that white people then treated him with respect and were courteous. On the other hand blacks gave him weary looks filled with fear. John Griffin was soon discouraged within a few weeks and could see the exhaustion on his face just as well as the next black person. In the end, this experience brought him to the conclusion that racism was simply a huge misunderstanding between the different races.

I really like how this book shows not only more than one point of view, but from one person and one mind set. So he has taken his same views, and applied them to both worlds. It is interesting how John Howard Griffin goes takes the initiative to actually try and understand the other side of racism. He goes all the way through with his deal to write an article and finds how hard it really is to be black because of the reality of it all. I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone. The story is a true reality check for the main character, and, though it seems slow at first, it is a really eye-opening book for someone to read.

Shannon

I grew up in the south (Atlanta and Athens, GA) in the 60's and 70's, went to public schools in which we had serious racial tension, and I've only now just read John Howard Griffin's outstanding book of investigative reporting, Black Like Me. I honestly don't understand why this book was not required reading in my junior high school; in fact, it would be a service to America even today to make it required reading for everyone. Living in the suburbs and going to newly integrated schools, black rage was inexplicable, unavoidable, and terrifying to my friends and I, but this book would have helped us by giving us a real context. There will always be minds closed to the truths presented here, but if a more vital call for compassion toward those who seem different to us but are united in humanity exists, I don't know what it might be. And herein lies the true worth of this book--not only that it documents the constant oppression of blacks in the South under segregation, but also that it documents the distances that build up between any oppressor and oppressed. Black Like Me makes completely clear that the oppressed of any class, race, ethnicity, religious orientation, sexual orientation, etc., cannot "rise above the problem" without a lessening of that oppression; and that even the best willed of the oppressors are scarcely able to even recognize the extent of the problem. The mythologizing of the "other" so overwhelms our commonalties that they are almost completely obscured. Although many whites in the deepest South spoke of blacks as "subhuman" (or at best did not speak out against such grotesque characterizations) Griffin documents the fact that many blacks in the segregated South were astonishingly and universally civil toward one another, sharing what little they had with complete strangers. This generosity of spirit was practically unknown to most whites who had no real point of contact with the black community, as black relationships with one another were decidedly different than black-white relationships.
Although the story of Griffin's changing his skin color to live as a black man in the south is totally compelling, ultimately I regretted that it wasn't longer or more detailed. Griffin was an absolutely extraordinary man, yet entirely human himself, and occasionally when situations turned too extreme he felt it necessary to retreat. At one point Griffin decides that he must go to Mississippi and so he gets to Hattiesburg immediately after a Mississippi county court rules against indicting anyone for the kidnapping from jail and lynching of a black man accused of a crime in spite of evidence gathered by the FBI. Once there, Griffin immediately finds the tension intolerable, the constant threat of violence overwhelming, and the degradation absolute. Rather than sticking with the story he calls a white friend and stays with him for a few days, then leaves. I can't fault him personally for this decision, and it certainly speaks to the horrifying environment in which he found himself, but a chance for some important journalism was missed. Similarly, the book feels truncated--after visiting Atlanta (which came off rather well at least in comparison, I'm pleased to say) Griffin winds up the project rather abruptly. He continues to suffer the consequences of his project for some time, facing threats and ostracism from his white neighbors to the point that he and his parents move elsewhere.
Griffin rather casually dropped in some shocking autobiographical statements without any follow-up: "when I was blind"--he was blinded in a bombardment and his impairment lasted for 10 years; and "It reminded me of the nagging, focusless terror we felt in Europe when Hitler began his marches, the terror of talking with Jews (and our deep shame of it)."--he's not writing in the abstract. as he worked in Resistance France helping rescue Jews. Perhaps Griffin's humility causes him to omit some of these details, but I would have liked to have understood Griffin himself a bit more, to have known how he came to the decision to live as a black man. Regardless of its minor faults, Black Like Me, a veritable cry for compassion toward one another, is a true "must-read"--it has my very highest recommendation.

'Black Like Me' by John Howard Griffin was bombastic when it was first published in the early 1960s. It brazenly articulated the differences on how people, in particular the author, are treated in the Deep South based on the color of their skin. The author had his skin darkened through chemicals and ultraviolet light. He traveled from New Orleans to Atlanta by road (mostly bus) and chronicles how people looked at him differently just because he was black. For a white man he found the experience utterly appalling. It was also staggering how various white men approached the author to discuss very crude sexual matters, thinking that African-Americans are only of any value based on their sexual prowess.

This book should easily be considered five stars by most reviewers. However the book is flawed. The author is not a particularly fine writer; he has a tendency to ramble. And I feel the author has taken some journalist liberties. I wanted more of the facts about people, what they look like, what they said and did, etc. But the author seems to be inconsistent; sometimes he wants to lecture us on racism, other times he delivers a documentary on his travels.

Bottom line: an important and very shocking read. Recommended.

It's not a master piece in literature. We all agree, because John Howard Griffin is not a novelist, but a pure journalist, so this book is pure journalism. It's a lesson on journalism, developing a subject (racism) still in the news nowadays (2015). All arguments in this book are perfectly valid now, when racism is everywhere.
The story in "Black like Me" travels straight and in a very basic way, as in any journalistic product should be, letting the reader take his/her own conclusions. I just miss someone, with better writing sense than the author, could edit some parts and make the reading absolutely brilliant.

WAY ahead of its time and so very important a read---an education all in itself. Should be required reading for everyone who lives in or ever wants to understand what it was like to be Black in America during my early lifetime (focus on the 1950's.) Too many people have never known ANY of what was written here and too many still don't believe it. It was a unique and razor sharp perspective of what it was like on this extraordinary adventure and experience. I wish I had had a chance to meet the author. I never did

Black Like Me was a great book and taught me how the black person who lived in the South had such a hard life especially in the Deep South of Mississippi or in New Orleans, which is the setting of the book. In New Orleans the white person is nice to the black man but the white man does not respect the black man just tolerates him. In Mississippi the white person is very degrading to the black man. You cannot even look at a white woman in Mississippi without getting lynched. John Griffin who was on a bus ride in Mississippi was not allowed to get off at his stop because the bus driver was a white man and a horrible racist and he just wanted to mess with John Griffin. John Howard Griffin was a courageous journalist because he was a white man who wanted to turn himself black to see how the black man lived in the South. He wanted to see what the real hardships were for the everyday black man. For example how hard it is to find a job or a place to live; everyday things that we take for granted in today's society. The book showed me that racism is a real thing that blacks even in today's society have to deal with. The book was great and I would recommend the book to anyone who wants to learn about the South and how black people really have to live their everyday lives.

Anytime you that you think your life is bad, pick up "Black Like Me", a riveting expose on how black people were (are?) treated in the Southern U.S. in the 1950's/1960's. You think you've got it bad? Has anyone ever prevented you from using the restroom facilites when your bladder was full, just because they could? Has anyone hung you from a tree just for looking at a white woman the "wrong" way?
What white America did (and still does to a certain extent today, they just aren't as obvious about it anymore) to the black community is revolting, disgusting and stomach churning.
I found myself closing the book in several passages because I couldn't bear to continue reading about the absolute delight white men and woman took in berating, insulting, ignoring and torturing black people.
You will be distubed and sickened while reading "Black Like Me" in which a white man uses pills to darken his skin in order to pass as a black man while traveling through the deep South. What he experiences pure evil behavior from whites (with a few exceptions). However, time and time again, he is amazed by the kindess and courtesy shown by his "fellow" black man.
Perhaps faith in humanity can be restored by witnessing how kind your fellow man can be, but you will be appalled at how cruel others can be.
A must read for everyone.

Scooter Jones' (age 13) Review of Black Like Me

"Rest at pale evening...

A tall slim tree...

Night coming tenderly

Black like me."

--Langston Hughes

In 1959, John Griffin, the author of Black Like Me, used ultraviolet rays and stain to make his white skin darker. He shaved his head, took some traveler's checks, bade his wife and children goodbye, left his Texas farm, and boarded the nearest bus to Mississippi. Griffin wanted to learn whether African-Americans really had a "'wonderfully harmonious relationship (p.7)'" (as the Southern legislators put it) with the white people of the Southern states. He visited Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, and Georgia. Griffin was amazed at the things he discovered. He traveled as an African-American man for about half a year before returning home and writing Black Like Me.

When I read this book in 2005, I was blown away. I had always assumed our country is one of the world's most advanced in treating all citizens equally-and I had believed that it had been this way for a long, long time. You know, there had been slaves and everything, but we'd taken care of that, like, 150 years ago. But John Griffin showed me that I was dead, dead wrong. It was like he took me by the hand and we both plunged into an alien world, quite unlike the one I know now. He led me into the segregated South. Along with him, I felt the "hate stares" on my back. I felt the discrimination. I felt the loathing faced by African-Americans just 45 years ago. People in America today need to read this book so that they can understand a shameful, but educational, piece of our nation's history.

I really liked Black Like Me. I experienced powerfully how segregation made so much of our society off limits to to the African-American Griffin. I analyzed people's true natures based on how they treated Griffin first as white, then as black. I learned how young children had their hopes for the future robbed from them, just because of their skin color.

As a white upper middle class man, Griffin never had to worry about finding simple public things such as a bathroom, a water fountain, or a park bench. After darkening his skin, Griffin asks a black man about where to find a bathroom and a church. The man says, "'Well, man, now just what do you want to do-[pee] or pray?....Lordy, Lordy...if you stick around this town, you'll find out you're going to end up doing most of your praying for a place to [pee]...you can go in some of the stores around here, but you've almost got to buy something before you can ask them to let you use the toilet (p.24).'" At one point, Griffin has been walking all over town and needs to rest: "My legs gave out. At Jackson Square, a public park, I found a long, curving bench and sat down to rest for a moment...I looked to see a middle-aged white man across the park...get to his feet and amble toward me...With perfect courtesy he said,'You'd better find yourself someplace else to rest. (p. 45)'" At this moment, Griffin and I are both amazed at how white people feel that black individuals are lower class, and forbid them to do something as simple as sit in the same park as themselves.

As a black man, Griffin quickly learns that people will not give him the same courtesy he has taken for granted before. People he had always interacted pleasantly with when he was white now refuse to speak a civil word to him, and sometimes even try to hinder him. When Griffin tries to cash one of his traveler's checks, he becomes painfully aware of the discrimination. "I took the bus to Dryades and walked down it, stopping at the dime store where I'd made most of my purchases. The young white girl came forward to wait on me. `I need to cash a traveler's check,' I said smiling. `We don't cash any checks of any kind,' she said firmly...I went into one store after the other along Dryades and Rampart Streets...It was not their refusal-I could understand that; it was the bad manners they displayed...they would have cashed a traveler's check without hesitation for a white man. (p. 51)" Griffin feels upset that these people will treat the exact same person differently just because of his skin color. As a reader, I feel the same sense of outrage, and though painful, this remains my favorite part of the book--because it show the "double face" of racism so acutely.

Growing up, Griffin had always assumed his right to hope for a bright future. If he was smart enough, he could get into a good college, earn his degree, get a good job, and make a lot of money. He hadn't realized that African-American children could not do the same. One black man says that the crème de la crème of the African-Americans become postman or pastors, and that is only if the family can raise enough money for the child to go to college. Today's generation needs to understand the hopelessness faced by African-Americans just one generation ago.

After reading Black Like Me, I see why it is a classic. I recommend it for people ages 13 and up, because this book showed the injustices from an insider's perspective. In 2005, when our society hasn't left racism as far behind as many of us would like to think, people need to learn how it feels to face segregation, discrimination and hopelessness. John Griffin was a brave man; he could have been killed by hate groups for writing this controversial book. Americans everywhere should honor his efforts by having this book in their bookcases. It will remind us of the shameful irony in the statement: "all men are created equal."

This gripping book helps whites to experience life from the other side of the racial divide. In 1959, author John Howard Griffin (1920-80) used special medication to darken his skin, and then traveled the Deep South as a black man in the latter days of legal segregation. The "Negro" Griffin encountered separate facilities, hate-filled stares, assumptions that he was over-sexed, and job options limited to menial labor. He found conditions slightly better in big cities like New Orleans and Atlanta, but never free of rudeness or indignities. Griffin also met a small number of whites that apologized for racism. When Griffin switched his skin color back to white, blacks became surly, and whites became friendly. Unfortunately, Griffin never ventured outside the Deep South, depriving us of a chance to compare racism between regions. In this sense, his stirring book is too short.

BLACK LIKE ME angered white southerners when published in 1960. Griffin (who'd once recovered from blindness) received anonymous death threats, and soon developed health problems associated with his special medication. Too bad we cannot step into each other's race the way Griffin did - it might make for a better society.

John Howard Griffin offered one of the most important contributions to the Civil Rights movement when his work Black Like Me was published in 1960. Griffin approached his study on race relations in the South by asking a very poignant question: "If a white man became a Negro in the Deep South, what adjustments would he have to make?." To answer this question, Griffin shaved his head and had his skin temporarily darkened by medical treatments and stain in order to travel through parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia as a black man.

Griffin had a deep understanding of discrimination even before he began this ambitious project. As a medic in the French Resistance Army, Griffin helped evacuate Austrian Jews away from the advancing Nazis. During the Second World War, Griffin lost his sight and was forced to live with this disability for over ten years. By 1959, Griffin was a published author and a specialist on race relations. Despite such credentials Griffin "really knew nothing of the Negro's real problem." Only by becoming black did Griffin understand what it was like to live as a second class citizen in "the land of the free."
As a black man, Griffin described the variations and similarities of race relations in different areas of the South. Although some states were more "enlightened" than others, blatant acts of racism were found almost everywhere Griffin went.
In Alabama, where Martin Luther King first introduced passive resistance, Griffin endured the hate stares from whites and observed that even graduates from Tuskegee Institute would not be allowed to climb the social ladder in the South because, "whites cannot lose to a traditionally servant class." Finally, while traveling to the otherwise enlightened city of Atlanta, the simple act of a bus driver saying "Watch your step" as his passengers filed out was only reserved for whites.

Even more interesting than these experiences was the way in which Griffin was allowed to converse with blacks and whites on racial matters. Understandably, blacks were highly suspicious of whites and were often inclined to play "the stereo-typed role of the 'good Negro'" when around whites to survive in white southern society. As a "black" man, Griffin enjoyed a rare glimpse of how blacks really regarded segregation beyond the white propaganda. He also discovered the ways in which blacks assisted and supported each other against the perils of racism. In other cases, Griffin observed blacks who were ashamed of their race and who would denounce other blacks for their darker skin or shabby clothes. As a "black" man, Griffin also saw a side of whites that would otherwise be hidden if he had met them as a fellow white man. His experiences with whites while hitchhiking through Mississippi are particularly intriguing.
Despite his experiences, Griffin was surprisingly fair in his analysis. While the reader may despise the hate-filled whites in his story, Griffin did not stoop to the racist's level by denying them their humanity. Instead, Griffin made it a point to see the whites in other roles-as a parent, grandparent, church leader, and loyal neighbor. He also realized that whites who may have been sympathetic towards their African American neighbors, were pressured by southern society to continue segregation. In his epilogue, Griffin was even critical of fellow white freedom fighters who often failed to consult with black community leaders on the race issue.

Griffin's work was a landmark for his time, but weaknesses in his study were present. Griffin visited the larger cities of the South; however, a comparison of race relations between the major cities and the countryside may have created a more complete study as would a visit to other states in the South. A better explanation was needed regarding Griffin's practice of alternating his role as a black man and a white man by scrubbing the stain off his skin. At first, the reader may assume that the author could no longer handle the discrimination and longed to enter the South as a first class citizen again. Later, Griffin maintained that he was studying how the reactions of blacks and whites reversed themselves as he changed his skin color. Both reasons are valid; however, if a need to be white again was the primary explanation than an important point was made: An educated and worldly white man could barely survive in six weeks what a black person must endure every moment of his life.

I read this book in the early 1980s when I was a teenager and recently picked it up again. While not having quite the impact and eloquence of Richard Wright's "Black Boy" or anything by Ralph Ellison, this is an interesting contribution to the essays and commentaries on race in the Deep South in the early 1960's.

The premise is something of a gimmick in some ways, although very seriously intentioned, but one that works like this: a middle aged white man, who also happens to be a writer and commentator on race, "blackens" his skin with medical pigmentation procedures and stain. It all sounds quite rudimentary, but it appears that this combination allowed him to pass for a black man for a period of about six weeks in the deepest parts of the American South. He actually switches back and forth between white and black society over that period, and the differences in treatment are astounding, but also expected.

While this is a useful part of writings of the 1960s race issues, I could not help feeling that the plight of the black race was deeper of course than Griffin was able to go: he could always opt out of his situation and reappear as a white man. While he experienced some of the feelings of hopelessness and violation that was part of the daily life of the black person in 1960, he also could escape it at any time. This book is arguably superficial in that respect since it deals with race on an emotional level - how Griffin felt, how people felt about him, what he experienced while temporarily black. While this is a valiant and noble effort, I doubt that anyone who has not completely walked for a lifetime in the shoes of a race victim can truly feel the impact of racism. I say this as someone who is white. In the end, I admire what Griffin set out to expose, and he probably has done much good by so doing, but the impact to me was considerably less than from reading Wright or Ellison.

Originally published in 1961, Black Like Me is the account of how white journalist John Howard Griffin had his skin medically darkened and traveled through the Deep South as a black man in an attempt to explain the hardships black people in the South faced. It also covers the backlash against the publication of his story.

Black Like Me is a concise, fast and engaging read. The reader is often able to see things through Griffin's eyes, even as Griffin tries to see things through the eyes of others. He does an excellent job communicating the cultures of fear and despair he encountered. The entire account of his travels as a black man is riveting.

If there is any nit-picking to be done, let it be for this: at times, particularly early on, Griffin's descriptions of mundane, everyday objects and details seem forced and do not aid the narrative.

While today's racial tensions are much less overt (and much less publicized), Black Like Me still has quite a bit to say about the universal elements of human nature and the culture of racism.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

"Have you ever heard of a white man impersonating a black man to the extent of changing his skin color? I've never, and after reading this book, I am truly amazed by the courage John Griffin had to do such a thing. In his book, Black Like Me, John uses medication and ultraviolet light to change his skin color for journalistic purposes. His goal was to see how blacks were treated now in the 1950s. What he sees is shocking: blacks are constantly insulted, beat by white men, and very obviously segregated. I would definitely recommend this book, because it shows the large difference between how whites and blacks were treated. Also, from this book, you see the contrast of how people treat John when he is white or black. Black Like Me digs deep into the segregation of the South, revealing the between-the-lines horrors the blacks had to face during this period of American history."

As a caucasian American, I don't know what it is like to live as an African American in the United States, day in and day out. I have rarely experienced direct or indirect racism. Perhaps I never will. And for that reason, I can never truly relate to the racism experienced by people who are not caucasian. This book provides a place to start, however. Without it, I think many may be tempted to say, "surely that never happens," or "I'm sure it's not that bad." It is a sad testimony to our country that it took a white person writing a book like this (instead of just listening to those already experiencing racism) to wake us up, but at least it has served its purpose. As I read the book (which is a very quick read) I felt like I was riding along with Griffin in the South and walking the roads with him. I don't know how he maintained his composure during some of the situations he found himself in. I respect what he did, especially considering the hate he experienced both during and after his "experiement."
In conclusion, I wonder what would happen if someone did this again, in the year 2000. Given what I've read by African American authors and heard from black friends, I don't know if it would be all that different. Perhaps the racism wouldn't be as blatant. But all in all, not very different.

The author was born and raised in Texas, went to France to study psychiatry, and became embroiled in World War II while working with the French insurgents against the Nazi-installed sham government there. His insurgent work became known to the Gestapo and he had to "leave France in a hurry". He joined the Army Air Force as an Intelligence Officer, was badly wounded twice, and suffered from temporary blindness. He underwent a spiritual conversion and became a Catholic.

He returned to Texas and pondered doing covert participant observation on racism in the Deep South employing his skills developed through his experiences in the French Resistance: "For years the idea had haunted me, . . . If a white man became a Negro in the Deep South, what adjustments would he have to make? What is it like to experience discrimination based on skin color, something over which one has no control? . . . How else except by becoming a Negro could a white man hope to learn the truth?"

Indeed, Griffin made a sound case for the benefits of covert participant observation as a method of sociological enquiry. "The Southern Negro will not tell the white man the truth. He long ago learned tht if he speaks a truth unpleasing to the white, the white will make life miserable for him", he explained. People behave differently when they know they are being studied. Through covert particpant observation, it was possible for Griffin to experience what goes on, to see who or what is involved, to note when and where things happen, how they occur, and why.

With the help of a doctor, he darkened his skin in order to pass as a Negro in order to experience white hostility towards blacks: "The transformation was total and shocking . . . who is this large, bald Negro"?, he asked.

"In the bus station lobby . . . She answered rudely and glared at me with such loathing I knew I was receiving what the Negroes call 'the hate stare'. It was my first experience with it. . . I realized I had done nothing - my color offended her".

A pioneer of the growing sociological field of covert participant observation, Griffin's own experiences as a Negro in the Deep South are repeated in this volume "in all its crudity and rawness". Griffin provides a beacon in which other ethnographers might frame covert particpant observation research and illuminates some of the obstacles and dilemmas they might expect to encounter along the way. "It traces the changes which occur to heart and body and intelligence when a so-called first-class citizen is cast on the junkheap of second-class citizenship", he said.

This book should be read along with Jack Douglas's "Investigative Social Research" and Erving Goffman's "The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life".

As a human, I don't think anyone can 100% relate to another person's situation, unless they have the same experiences. So when I heard about the book Black Like Me, I was amazed anyone would put themselves into a different culture so they could understand it from an insider's perspective. What I got out of this book was amazing.

The book Black Like Me is about a white man by the name of John Howard Griffin. He grew up during a time when Blacks were poorly treated by Whites in the South. Griffin goes out of his way to create an appearance and environment that is authentic to the one that most Blacks dealt with during this time. He goes through an operation that turns his skin black. Griffin discovers how easily people judge and label others by their appearance.

It is a powerful book that gave me a good perspective on the hardships that minority cultures face. It was interesting to read, and it is definitely at the top of my list. I strongly recommend it to everyone, young adults and adults alike.

PR 15

This book is over fifty years old, but it is still a revelation -- at least to an elderly white liberal like myself. I can remember the South in the 1950's, and what Griffin did took great courage. That produced a view from the other side that no visibly white person could have had, then or now. And it also makes vividly clear the deep evil of racism -- of not treating another person as a human being. What is encouraging is the progress that has been made since he wrote: what's discouraging is the gap that still exists. Griffin's style is straight reportage, plus editorial comments, in a diction that already sounds slightly old fashioned. Should be required reading in high schools across the country

I wish more books were like this. This is an amazing book written by a man of courage. It brings to light the age-old issues of racism and prejudice based on a person's looks. More specifically, this gives a rare glimpse into the inner lives and working of the deep south of the 50s. For people who talk about the "good old days" in the south, I challenge them to fine one "good old day" in the life of a black man in the 50s in the south after reading this book.

All in all, an amazing book and wonderfully written. Worth reading over and over again!

I read this book in the 70's while in high school. It has to be one of the best books I have ever read. And the book that made me appreciate the life long work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I am a white woman who was raised in the coal regions of Pennsylvania. At the time there were no people of color (any color) in my small town. Most were of Irish/German/Polish ancestry. I never saw any form of racism UNTIL I picked up this book.

This book opened my eyes and made me understand a LITTLE bit of what life was like during the 50's and still are like for some to this day. We need to take a lesson from this man. If I could I would give this book 1000 stars.

I read Black Like Me because the picture on the cover intrigued me. I think now I am a better person for having read it. Just like Mr. Griffin confronted his own prejudice when looking at his reflection in the mirror, I realized too that I might be harboring baseless stereotypes. The fact that a white man darkening his skin color meant that he had to walk miles to eat or drink just forty years ago is astounding and sickening at the same time. People that are easily angered by acts of segregation or intolerance may not want to read this book because there are several instances of blind hatred. White truckers would offer John rides at night only to ask inappropriate questions about his sex life. A bus driver refused to let the black passengers off to use the restroom on a trip. I am not sure I would want to experience what life must have been like for a black person in those times. However, I am glad that John Howard Griffin did. The fact that the author happened to be extremely talented at his practice makes the reading that much better. I think everyone should read this book at some point in their lives...black, white, brown, old, or young. There are few books that can alter your day to day living, and this is one of them.

This book was recommended to me, and i bought it and it sat on my shelf for a time. I got it down the other day and started reading and could not put it down. It was amazing.
I was brought back to so many memories of the deep south and the attitudes, (that still are now today) prevailing in that time.
I admire this man's courage so much. I despaired at the attitudes the white people had tword him. The look, the tone of voice, the lonliness.
When he looks into the mirror for the first time, he is greeted by, himself yet a stranger.
To walk in another man's shoes is indeed a gift of God, and to be able to have compassion for that experiance is great.
This will be one of my fave. books along with Watership Down and several others i have read over and over again.
This would be a book you could read over again and get more and more from.
Amazing book.

This book had a profound effect on me as a teenager back in the 70's as part of a psychology class in high school. I've just listened to it - all 7 hours. I am moved once again.

It is amazing to think about the courage that John Howard Griffin had in order to turn himself in to a black man so that he could truly experience the racism of the South in the late 1950's. His writing is powerful as he details in diary-form his journey and the people that he encounters - both good and bad.

It is also amazing to think about how far we as a country have come in our race relations. Although there are still serious injustices and inequalities in the US today (2011) as it relates to blacks and whites, we as a nation have come a very long way. This book is a profound reminder of how far we have come.

I strongly encourage anyone who wants to develop a keener understanding of the human psyche and to develop a stronger sense of empathy to not only read but to listen to this book as I have just done. (Note: I was not able to find the audio version on the store. I found it at my local library - a pleasant surprise.)

As I write this review I have my old copy of Black Like Me in front of me. It's a Panther paperback, printed in 1964, bought by my parents, and found by my sister and myself on their shelves a few years later. I can still remember the shock when I read this, at the age of perhaps eleven, at realizing just how inhuman people could be because of something as seemingly trivial as skin colour.
Griffin spent a little over a month--parts of November and December, 1959--with his skin artificially darkened by medication. In that time he traveled through Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia, finding out at first hand what it is like to be treated as a second-class citizen--or, as he says, as a tenth-class citizen. Everyone now know the story of the big injustices, the lynchings, the civil rights cases, and for most people those are now just another page in the history text book. Griffin's experiences take the daily evils of racism and thrust them in your face, just as they were thrust in his--the rudeness of the clerk when he tried to pay for a train ticket with a big bill; the difficulty he had in finding someone who would cash a traveler's check for a Negro; the bus-driver who wouldn't let any blacks off the bus to use the restrooms; the white man who followed him at night and threatened to mug him.
I've heard people worry that this is the white experience of racism: that whites can read this book and feel good because a white person felt the pain too. I'm white, so I don't know that I can judge that argument completely impartially, but I can tell you that this book profoundly shaped my views on racism, and that any book that can do what this book did for me is a book that is good to have around.
One more thing. I've said a lot about how powerful, and how influential the book is. I should add that it is also a gripping story. Though Griffin only spends a month with dark skin, by the time you finish the book it feels like an eternity.
A wonderful read, and a truly amazing story.

This is a non fiction book but it reads quickly like a novel, partly because its told in I narrative and instead of concentrating on facts and statistics John Griffen focuses on his emotional journey as a white man traveling as a black in the deep south.
Before reading it i knew what racisim was of course, and i've read books on this time period and since about racisim but this was the first book that really made it real for me. This has to do mainly because he had a white man's perspective, or a perspective of being one of the opressors and switching to one of the opressed.
It is also amazing what John Griffen did- turning his skin color black, traveling through the south, and then later reporting on what he found even though he knew he would jeopardize himself and his family. It took a lot of bravery and not many would do it. He changed his whole identity at the cost of losing it.
This book can relate to any situation where one group is being degraded because of their skin color, religion, etc. John Griffen's views of how racisim plays out and how it affects the whole society are timeless.
Everyone should read this, it only takes a short time, its not a long book, but the book's impression and story will stay with you for a long time after.

In 1959, John Howard Griffin temporarily abandoned his privileged life as a Southern White male, medically darkened his skin, and posed as a Black man in the deep South. Some reviewers rightly question whether a short period of immersion such as this can allow the pain of racism to etch onto one's soul. Of course it cannot. It cannot allow for the decade after decade after decade build-up of racist attitudes and history. Nor can it allow for the day after day after day of soul-numbing hatred. Still, for its time, this book was revolutionary. And even for our time today, "Black Like Me" can at least provide Whites with some small slice of the horrors of racism.

Reviewer: Bob Kellemen, Ph.D., is the author of Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction , Soul Physicians, and Spiritual Friends.

I wish more books were like this. This is an amazing book written by a man of courage. It brings to light the age-old issues of racism and prejudice based on a person's looks. More specifically, this gives a rare glimpse into the inner lives and working of the deep south of the 50s. For people who talk about the "good old days" in the south, I challenge them to fine one "good old day" in the life of a black man in the 50s in the south after reading this book.

All in all, an amazing book and wonderfully written. Worth reading over and over again!

I read this book in high school in the 70's and it made such a profound impact on me and how I view race relations. I can remember being stunned and overwhelmed by the mistreatment of this man. Although things have changed since the 50's, there is still a long way to go.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a history or as a starting point for exploring race relations in America.

As an avid reader, I have long wished for a book that would in some way enable white Americans to feel the pain of hatred based on something that one has no control of. The history of African-Americans and their struggle for equality is seldom discussed in schools, homes and churces of the majority group. This is not simply a matter of not caring, but a matter of not knowing the courageous struggle of an entire race of people which has gone on for over 400 years and continues today. As a black southerner, I can empathize with the bigotry that Mr. Griffin encountered, I can also testify that it still (in less obvious ways) occurs today. I only wish that he could still be here to document the often unbelieved fact that the hands of racism still choke opportunites for minorities in this country. This book is a must read for any person who wishes to become more enlightend, more aware and more understanding of the plight of minorities in these(almost)United States.

This book was a great read! It is about a white journalist who travels to the south in order to experiment, see and document the lives and culture of black people. Tension was high because it takes place during the 1950s in the south when racism was still and an uncomfortable high. The journalist, John Howard Griffin uses a medication to darken his skin. He documents his experiences and what he sees living as a "negro" in the deep south. I loved the book because of how real it was, he doesn't hide or candy coat what he experiences, sees, feels or hears. But I don't like the fact that he left his kids and wife with them not knowing exactly what he was doing. This book is a good read because it is very informative and real. I learned black people at this time had to use different bathrooms, drinking fountains, and seats on the bus. Many were afraid to even talk about the south let alone go there. Many whites hated blacks not because of their personality, but because of their skin and that's it. I would highly recommend this book it is very touching, real and informative.

Brave, chilling, and honest. When John Howard Griffin sets out to discover the truth about racism in the deep south in the late 50's, the results of his daring experiment would become a literary sensation around the world. As you read, you can't help but wonder what the results of such an experiment would be today. While there can be no doubt we've made great progress in the last 50 years, this book also serves as a reminder that we've still got a long way to go. A great read for today, and a great reminder of who we were as a people half a century ago. I strongly recommend it.

Although some of the things that Griffin faced as a "black" man have changed (we no longer have separate drinking fountains or different lavoratories for blacks and whites), the subtleties of racism still pervade our culture, so Griffin's book remains pertinent. I was intrigued, among other things, to see Griffin changing shades of skin color to flip back and forth from the "white man" to "black man" appearances, recording the marked differences in the way apparently polite people displayed their true feelings when they suddenly saw him as a member of the "other" race. This is an easy book to recommend, and I only wish Griffin were still around to update his comments and give his observations of how America appears now compared to four decades ago; (his experimentation as a negro took place in 1959).

This book is an incredibly eye-opening, raw, horrifying, and hopeful work. It's a fantastic book in the way it takes you to the deep south and shows the bigotry, kindness, and fear so present in that time period. while it painted a dark picture of what existed in graphic detail, it also gave a fair and surprising account of the good-minded people who felt the injustices should be corrected but didn't have the power or courage to take a stand. They were not vested and the risk was so high. in terms of the author, what an incredibly courageous way to get to the truth given the hostile environment. John Griffin lived the Mark Twain quote: "Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest.". this is the most important book I've read.

Although the events author John Howard Griffin recounts in this short book took place over 50 years ago, they still provide important lessons to those wondering what life was like for African-Americans during a dark period in our country's history. In 1959, a white journalist decided to change his appearance so that he could see firsthand what it was like to be black in the South. He shaved his hair, ingested a substance that would darken his skin pigment (and applied another topically), then headed to the streets of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. What he found was that even some of the persons who behaved quite civilly towards him when he was white, behaved badly when he was black. During the month that he was disguised, he experienced firsthand the hardship his fellow (non-white) Americans were forced to endure when wanting to do such things as: use a lavatory, ride the bus, and engage in transactions with merchants. Sometimes, even when he thinks that a white person is being helpful (a man at a park for example), he realizes he's mistaken.

He experienced racism not only in Baton Rouge (his first stop), but everywhere else he goes (Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia). Traveling by bus to these other southern states, he finds things even worse. Eventually, he realizes he's had enough and outs himself to a journalist friend who helps him obtain photos of some of those he's interacted with along the way in order to help document his experiences. He recounts what happened in a sort of diary/journal format in this book. In summary, Black Like Me is a must read for anyone who needs a reminder (or not) about how far we've come...and how far we've yet to go in improving race relations in America. Also good: The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Alex Haley, No Higher Honor by Condoleeza Rice, and Roots by Alex Haley.

A previous reviewer suggested that this book should be required reading in high school. When I was in high school in the '60's, it was required reading for my class. I don't recall much about that year high school any more, but I remember this book. I couldn't put it down then, and although I haven't re-read it in all these years, I still think about it to this day. That is the mark of an incredible book. Read this book and allow it to seep into your pores. It will change you forever. And I WILL be re-reading this book.

What a sensation Black Like Me caused when it was first released, back in the 60s, I think. I was in college, and everyone was suddenly reading it. The fact that it's still in print and selling at #3000 on the store is a testament to the universal appeal and underlying message of JH Griffin's book.
Here's the deal: in the 50s, the author was a journalist in the Deep South, and decided to experience the life of a black man by crossing the color line. He took medication that darkened his skin and exchanged his live as a privileged white man for the world of an unemployed black man. Black Like Me is his eyewitness history about race and humanity - and ultimately humility.
Should be read by every thinking person in the country. I just put it into the hands of my 19yo son and said, "Read this."

I can say that at 50+. I still remember this book from reading it at High School at 12years old and how significantly it touched me. it gave me an understanding the was reflected in all my life versus culture shocks. I have noted that in black and white towns that children who have no black in them but with meditteranean colouring is treated as a black derivative by white people. until they see that their mother is white and obviously so then the attitude changes to a better behaviour. So many years and people do not change.

I think this book covers the attitudes of people of all races to other races. I have noted as a white person that some coloured women in my country in specific area of the country will not speak or will speak in a unfriendly way to others not of their culture.

I hope I have written this respectfully as information not as to judge. I think this book was a courageous act by the author and respect him highly for it. without these people, undercurrents go by secretly instead of out in the open. Nothing can be denied from this action by one man concerned.

This book is the account of a white man, named John Howard Griffin, who turned himself black to study the real extent of racism. It starts out with his experiences in New Orleans as a black man. He knew about some of the things that are done to black people, but didn't know the full extent of how much white people try to degrade the sense of value or self-worth of all black people. He experiences having to walk miles ot get a drink of water, working for hours and having just eough money to eat that day, and the whites attempts at lowering all black's self worth, including the "hate stare." However, New orleans is relatively nice for Bkacks. When he reads that in Mississippi there was a lynching case the FBI had found tons of evidence for and the White grand jury wouldn't even open the packet of evidence. The mississippe folks claimed they had wonderful relationships with the Negros. Griffin had even met some of them before, and talked about there relationships with the Negros. He saw a whole new side of them when he went as a black man. He was horrified at how inhumanely people could treat other people and shares very insightful thoughts ion what racism was really like.

I would highly reccomend this book for someone to read, although it's not for younger children. it''s more for tenns and audults. It has a plethora of large words that some with smallish vocabularies might not understand. Otherwise this is one of the best boos I have ever read and I highly reccomend you read it.

When I graduated high school in 1969 and went off to college, this was required reading over the summer. For a young person with idealism and equality in their heart, this was an eye opening book. This book should define empathy. I would love to go back and reread it now after so many different live experiences and knowledge. So glad it is on the 100 best.

To really, honestly, see the world through another person's eyes is something that's incredibely rare and is difficult to do. Griffin darkened his skin and changed his life to be able to see what it was really like being a black man in the segregated South. The things he heard, felt, and saw are things that will forever be impressed upon my mind as a reader. The way he told his story was very simple and straightforward, which almost seems to bring the messages home even harder. You can easily see him struggling with concepts that were everyday for the people he encountered: segregated restrooms, segregated water fountains, sneering, baiting, hatred, and disdain. If this book doesn't make you want to cry, then you don't have a pulse.

"Black Like Me", by John Howard Griffin, is a personal observation into the African American life in the Deep South of the 1950's. Griffin gives truthfulness to the world of blacks of the time and not the traditional look. The purpose of this book is to afford the audience with a practical understanding of the everyday life of a black man. Another feature of the story is its contribution into resolving the racial issues contained in the United States. Griffin determined that white and black people did not understand each other. "Black Like Me" not only portrays the African American existence in the Deep South but correspondingly provides an observation from both sides, black and white that would have perhaps aided with a greatly needed resolution to the race problem in the United States.
Imagine a white male whose skin colored is darkened to experience the life of a black man in the South of the 1950's. Such a technique, to deepen skin tone, was available and in use in 1959. Griffin accomplished this through medically altering his skin pigment to mimic that of a black male. He then traveled in the South during the end of 1959 and into 1960 in order to conduct what he deemed was scientific research and study of African Americans. As Mr. Griffin journeyed throughout the South, he witnessed differing reactions from different individuals of opposite races upon his transition from white to black. His first visit is to New Orleans, Louisiana. As a white man, Griffin speaks of how incredible and marvelous New Orleans is and comments how merchants pressed him to enter their businesses. As a black man, he cannot go into several of these stores.
The book is structured, as a journal, to document the writer's experiences in the course of his transformation to a black man. These memoirs can be structurally separated into five segments. As the story begins, Griffin resolves to do something truly historic and exceptional, temporarily turn into a "Negro." Regardless of the forewarning of his friends, Griffin remains resolute in his quest to traverse the color line and ascertain through his own individual experimentation in reality, the impressions of white racism. The following portion of the memoirs, intensely and affectingly conveys the three lengthy weeks the writer travels the Southern States of Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana and Georgia. The author realizes how appalling and extensive white prejudice is against blacks. At this point, Griffin offers a meticulous depiction of his individual experiences as a black man.
The third segment of the story refers to the writer alternating back and forth between a black and a white man. The accounts of these three weeks are diminutive and piercing, similar to the writer's hasty and hurried skin color alterations and his intensely different experiences as black and white. Within the fourth part, the story demonstrates Griffin readying his collected materials for print and then going public with his experience to the media. The fifth and concluding part of the chronicle is the culmination of the journey, when the situation in Griffin's hometown turns horrible as citizens dangle his effigy in the center of the main street. Griffin is additionally the recipient of threats of castration. The situation turns so bad that, for safety reasons, it becomes necessary for Griffin to escape to Mexico.
Since "Black Like Me" is a first-person biography instead of a novel, its themes arise from Griffin's experience and unambiguous feelings instead of from artistic creativeness. Accordingly, "Black Like Me" is a comparatively unpretentious book. Most of the significant messages in the book are conferred at length by Griffin through the use of its introspective narrative structure. The central plot of "Black Like Me," undeniably, is the query of self and explicitly the examination of identity as it transmits to race. Unquestionably, the astonishing substantial change Griffin undertakes as a black man is a commanding authentication to the fundamental importance of race as an issue of identity in a bigoted society.

I have nothing but positive to say about "Black Like Me." The book overall was an eye opening read. John Howard Griffin took a stand against racism in 1959 when it was really horrible during that time. The book is one of the best books I have ever read due to the amount of true facts at the time and the scary experience John H. Griffin went through. The non fiction novel is the experience of John H. Griffin darkening his skin with medical treatment to go into the rural south as a Negro. Griffin experiences the mistreatment of Negroes, and cruelty the Negro goes through on a daily basis regarding racism and maltreatment. Griffin's goal was to understand the mental and physical cruelty of racism in the south. With reading this book I can honestly say he has experienced what he wanted to achieve and more. What John H. Griffin goes through and has completed has impacted society overall.
I completely love this book from the beginning to the end. The way the story is written is very unique and very easy to understand and imagine Griffin the things he talks about. The story is written like a day by day diary and he list the important and significant dates that tell the story and experience of John H. Griffin. I had sympathy for Griffin while reading the books and imagine the things he went through throughout his time in the south as a Negro. I didn't dislike anything if anything just the fact that he skipped from date to date and left me questioned on what went on during that time. The book overall was great and John H. Griffin wrote with all honesty and it has impacted my view of an African American and a White person in the United States. I learned that Negroes had it really bad during 1959-1960, the time the story took place. The amount of mental cruelty and as well as physical cruelty is insane to know about. The amount of realism that I read has made me intelligent about the fact of racism at that time period. I would definitely recommend this book to everyone because I feel you can get an insight and understanding of a Negro during the racism era. My experience of reading "Black Like Me" is amazing and it had opened my eye towards racism and being able to recommend this book to someone else will also make them more intelligent and knowledgeable about racism between a Negro and a White person. It was an overall easy read overall.

I just read this book having taken an interest in it for some years and I must say it does give a very glaring eye at the Deep South at the end of the 50's. It's completely heart wrenching and I was very much into reading it but I did feel it was a bit rushed. It would start describing how he felt at certain situations and I would think "break through, he's shedding his persona of a reporter and letting his story take him into itself" but then it would stop. I felt there were a lot of details that could have been added that would have made it so much more powerful. All and all said though it is an American classic that gets its point across and for that I truly respect it. I just wish there were more in it... It really did seem rushed an unfinished, which I thought was even more depressing then the story itself.

Black Like Me is a great book to read. It described life in 1959,
when blacks had no happiness and little freedom. Life was like prison, but a prison for life that blacks couldn't leave. This is shown by John Howard Griffin who went through a medical transformation that turned his skin color black. The outcome shocked him and me. I felt the pain of his mistreatment, and the shame he went through. The people that he knew gave him no respect as a black man. For example when Griffin went back to his hometown New Orleans, he went to a restaurant that he ate there all the time as a white man, but now that his black they won't even lit him use the restrooms.
This book is one of the best books I ever read; it will show you that one man wanted to see what it is like to be a black man in the Deep South. Griffin had to live the life of a black man, and be what whites thought he should be. This book is GREAT, you should read it.

... ...
09/07/02
Core 8
Book Review
Black Like Me
Book Review
For my summer assignment, I read the novel Black Like Me by John Griffin. It is an autobiography about a white man who explores The Deep South as a black man by changing the pigment of his skin. This is a terrific book and I strongly recommend it.
Mr. Griffin's purpose is to find out how African American's are treated compared to Caucasian American's. To achieve this, Mr. Griffin travels to The Deep South. He finds himself in the middle of two cultures who accept or reject him merely because the color of his skin. He finds the discrimination gets worse as he travels farther South.
The book takes place in the late 50's and early 60's. It is set mainly in New Orleans and The Deep South. The mood of the book is depressing and poignant.
I think Mr. Griffin proved his point by telling America and the rest of the world how badly black people in society were treated. His writing is fairly easy to read with a few difficult words. I would have liked the book more if Mr. Griffin was not so verbose. Overall, the novel is very moving and John Griffin vindicates himself. I would recommend this novel because it tells a lot of history and Mr. Griffin speaks very eloquently and from his heart.
The novel taught me some history along with how African American's were restrained from having a normal life.

When we learn about history we seem to only learn about the events themselves and never their context. One thing I didn't know about Black Like Me is that Griffin was only black for like six weeks and the book is mostly his journal notes. That, of course, changes the entire context and reading of the book.

I've done some research for Robert Greene, and I wish I had read this when I was researching for The 50th Law Publisher: Harper because it is much, much better than Native Son and says most of the same things. (Two sidenotes, if Griffin was able to successfully fool people into thinking that he was black using the resources available in 1950, how incompetent were the makeup artists on Black White? Secondly, the best part of the book is the editor's note at the end where his biographer basically admits that after John died he married his widow and took over his estate, including the book he happens to be writing the epilogue to.)

This book will make you very afraid of many things happening in this world that don't stop happening because we stop thinking about them. The force behind racism is blunt stupidity which can't be negotiated with, can't be dealt with, must be avoided as much as possible. It is dangerous as it knows no respect for the laws of either nature or civility.

To launch ones self headlong into near-certain risk of personal harm, with no easy or sometimes no means at all of escape, all in the pursuit of knowledge for the betterment of one's fellow man, is the definition of a hero. Racism does not produce, it is a fire that consumes. John Howard Griffin is the firefighter who was willing to run into a burning building to search for a child who might not even be there, willing to risk his life and unwilling to face the prospect that he didn't give it all, didn't do what it would take.

Or, maybe the man was just crazy. Probably a little bit of both. 5 stars of course. And like I seem to say a lot, this book isn't about a man and it isn't about a society, it is about YOU.

I believe that this book can be taken many different ways. Many people may find that this book it offensive due to the language and the content of this book.
I am now reading the book and am enjoying it throughly. The book brings to perspective how you as a reader can experience what the author is writing about.
you can do this by feeling hurt by what is said and by feeling all the pain that he experiences and the seperation that you can see, also you can see that people have
different views of racism. I feel that the book is very powerful and that if you have never read it and only heard about it that you should read it and develop your own review of this book.

John Howard Griffin's nonfiction story Black Like Me tells of this white man's firsthand account of dealing with racism in the deep south. This experiment of changing from the white race to the black race took place in the 1960s' when the United States was facing severe racial conflicts. He migrated to southern cities in search of knowing how it feels to be hated and discriminated against just because of his color. He encountered hate that he never knew existed changing from one race to another in a matter of several minutes. He soon learned what real hate feels like, and that it was not easy being a Negro in the south during this time. John Griffin's experience taught him many important lessons. He learned that their ministers preach sin and hell just as much as his, have the same puritanical background as his, and many more of the same qualities and ethical thoughts about life. He is trying to say that we are all equal, no matter the color of our skin and flesh. You should not judge a man by his race, but by the quality and depth of his true character and soul. He is stressing that Negroes should not be treated badly or unfairly just because of the simple fact that they are a Negro. Overall, he wants people to know that a black man is just as much of a man as a white one, and one day he has a dream that whites and blacks can live together without discrimination and hate. This firsthand account happened in the late 50's and early 60's in the deep south of the United States. It took place in several cities such as New Orleans, Louisiana and Jackson, Mississippi. It was experienced when the US was having racial problems such as the assassination of a Negro leader, and the morbid conflicts between the two dominant races. This book keeps the reader interested by making you wonder what will happen next, strange settings, and unbelievable encounters with racists. By embarking on this journey with Mr. Griffin, the reader feels as if they were rig! ht there, and they may even feel sympathy for him. At the end of the story you feel as if you know John like a close friend. After all, he shares with you an experience of a lifetime. I recommend this book to anyone interested in true stories and history. Though, I would not recommend it to children because of its profane language. Overall, I enjoyed this book because it tells of a man's pain and triumphs dealing with this hatred of the south. It also tells of a man's struggle to defeat this terrible fear that Negroes had to deal with. Finally, this story touched the depths of my heart because it made me realize that people really do endure this kind of unfair and unjust treatment.

Black Like Me extracted a gamut of emotions from me; at times I was extremely proud that John Griffin wanted to understand the reality of living in black skin. While on the other hand I thought why what are we (black people) a science project.
Clearly as you read the book your questions change and your initial emotions are either magnified or remain the same. One question blanketed me throughout the book, why leave your privileged life to walk in the shoes of a black man or any minority?
This classical non-fiction journal of the writers experience was captivating and educational. Walking behind Johns' eyes allowed me to see my people and the actions of others in a different light. The author captures the accents and slang in such a way I could hear the characters speaking.
It is my hope that many different people will read Black Like Me, and realize that people are "human individuals" the actions of some or one does not represent the total race.
Missy

Racial prejudice has long been an issue in the United States of America. What irony that a nation titled "United" should go through so much division! In his poignant narrative Black Like Me, John Howard Griffin chronicles his experiences in America's Deep South during the 1950s as a white man dyed black.

Griffin's journal entries are easy to breeze through and intense enough to keep your eyes glued to the book. I basically read this book in 2 days.

Although this story did not surprise me, it profoundly impacted me and added to my personal convictions that no one should mock, scorn, or humiliate another individual solely because of appearance. It is pure ignorance to say that because a man is black, he is less deserving of basic human rights.
I feel that this book has given me great insight and is another astonishing example of how important it is to treat others, no matter what they look like, with respect, dignity, and honor. Not doing so can cause them to feel unwanted, ashamed, and desolate (as Griffin so aptly points out).

Overall this book has stirred up a myriad of emotions in my heart: anger, repulsion, anguish, outrage, and amusement. It pains me to see how some people justify their cruel treatment toward others. It pains me to see others being treated with utter contempt and disrespect. The fact that a person can degrade another human being merely for the color of his skin is ridiculous and utter foolishness.

This book is an honest telling of a time in our American history.
I say, definitely go read it!

Black Like Me: 50th Anniversary Edition or Black Like Me: The Definitive Griffin Estate Edition
Griffin readers should be aware that the definitive 50th anniversary edition of Black Like Me, re-edited from the original manuscript (correcting numerous typos), and including an introduction by Studs Terkel, an extensive afterword by Griffin biographer Robert Bonazzi, and photographs of Griffin during and after his "experiment" -- is available as a hardback or ebook from Wings Press.

I read this book 20 years ago and found it to be very impactful. I have recently rediscovered it and incorporated it into my sons' homeschool program. Synopsis: The author, who is caucasion, wants to discover first-hand the experience of African Americans in the south. He finds a way to actually physically appear to be an African American. It is an essential and very enlightening book. If you haven't given too much thought to civil rights issues; this book will leave you with a new appreciation for those who experienced racism. I would recommend this book for seventh graders and adults. In my opinion, this book is truly a classic and deserves to be rediscovered!

The book I read was called Black Like Me, By John Howard Griffin. This book is about a white, middle aged man who darkened his skin. He wanted to see what it was really like to be a black man in the Deep South. So he is basically under cover going to experience the treatment and life of a black man in the Deep South.
To me this book was pretty good. The only bad part about this book was in the begining it was kind of confusion, because they were talking about how the plan was going to work, and it was kind of hard to understand.
My recommendation for this book would be to peole who like to learn about history and how things were back then. If you are a person who doesn't know much about how things were in those rasis days, then this is a book for you.

Black like me is a journey into the depths of human emotion and prejudice. Griffin chooses under his own power to brave the hate of a world in its own and an existance that is not fit for human survival. He wishes to know how and why our society is destroying itself with inconsequential arguements. Griffin discovers that some would prefer the truth remain hidden, and that this danger and intolerance can hit quite close to home. Griffin endangered his life, and also that of his family, because he believed his experience was one that needed to be told, and his story upset a generation to enlighten the next.

The book BLACK LIKE ME is about the author John Howard Griffin who wanted to somehow turn himself black for a little while to see what it was like to be a black man in the late 1950s. Griffin got together with a doctor who artificially darkened his skin by medication. John traveled through parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia while he was "black." While he was a "tenth class citizen" he sometimes had to go all the way across town to go to the restroom or get a drink. Griffin even had a hard time cashing travelers' checks because he was black. The white bus driver wouldn't let him get off to go to the bathroom. One night he was followed by a white man who threatened to stab him. On Griffin's journey he found out that blacks will do anything they can to help each other out. Strangers would pull him off the street into their homes. The way the book ended was Griffin stopped taking medication until he was white again. Then he saw blacks in a different way.

I suggest this book to people from 13 years old and up because there's some bad language in it. I liked this book because it taught me that if you were black back then, you were treated like garbage by whites, but blacks would treat others really nicely. I would give this book four stars. It went into detail, but a lot of the whites he met acted the same way, mean.

I remember reading this in the sixties ( i think) Loved it. Opened my eyes to a world i had never imagined. I tried to keep them open since then. It still seems so brave to walk out the door a black man even for a short time.

I bought this book after reading Uncle Tom's Cabin, because I wanted to see a man's point of view on the treatment of Blacks.
This was very informative, and gave a view of a white man's life as a Black. However, as an African American, I could not help but feel sad by reading this book. This man had the opportunity to go back and forth as a Black, but many that he came in contact with did not. I wish that there was more written about how this affected the author's home life, and also how the author felt about the experience once time had passed.
This is a highly suggested book for one who would like to know about the race relations of the 1950's.

This is an excellent book for anyone to read. It reallys shows the reality of what racial discrimination was and is occurring. This amazing true story goes through the life of a man who, like most whites males, will never be in a situation of being a true minority. It is astonishing the reactions this educated man gets because of a simple change of skin color. I think everyone can learn a lot from this book and make those who don't see it ,realize the racial tensions this nation has. I garauntee if you read this book (not being a minority) you will feel shame for what we cause minorites to go through for simply being a minority.

I enjoyed re-reading this book, a nonfiction kind-of-documentary by John Griffin, a white journalist who reports on his travels throughout the South of the US in 1959. During this era of Jim Crow, segregation of Blacks and whites was commonplace in the South, and institutionalized discrimination against Blacks was too. However, what makes Griffin's book very unique is that he traveled in disguise as a black man in the South.

The book is an excellent study of many sociological issues and concerns of that time period in the US, and I was particularly struck by the compelling information of racism and sexism that Griffin objectively presents. Griffin introduces the reader to many stereotypes which were used to describe African-Americans during this journalistic odyssey. As with most stereotypes, the stereotypes presented in the book are based on ignorance and misunderstanding of African-American culture.

Griffin reports of a certain perverse curiosity that many whites had (and may possibly still have) regarding African-Americans. Unfortunately, Griffin chooses to present the reader with certain stereotypes without attempting to explain them. Such stereotypes, however, need to be carefully examined, in my opinion, to illustrate the dynamic interaction between racism and sexism, and to clearly see how racism and sexism are utilized in Black Like Me and in everyday life as mechanisms used by whites to discriminate against,and often times, victimize African-Americans.

Griffin, as a black man, speaks of the numerous encounters he experiences with white people. The vast majority of these interactions occur at night. Griffin writes, "A man [white] will reveal himself in the dark, which gives an illusion of anonymity, more than he will in the bright light." [Griffin, p. 85] Griffin refers to his encounters with white people as pornographic. In conversation, white men interrogate Griffin in hopes that he would reveal some mystic information concerning the lifestyle of sexual behavior of black people. From these experiences with white people, Griffin posits that these individuals believed that blacks were " an exhaustible sexual machine with over-sized genitals and a vast store of experiences, immensely varied." [Griffin, p. 85]

Griffin's nocturnal encounters with white men suggest that such sexual perverse curiosity was one means by which white men subordinated and exploited the black male. Centuries-old white mythology is also employed in the book to victimize blacks. That is, fearful white men established untruths which have been used throughout American history to impede African-American progress.

White mythology has been used to explain the unexplainable as well as to place the white man above other non-whites. History chronicles how white men used to portray the black male as an animal, a horse, a stallion possessing physical prowess, inexhaustible sexual appetite, and uncontrollable passions. In support of such mythology, Griffin recounts an incident when a white man asked him if he had ever had ever been with a white woman. When Griffin responded that he had never been with one, the white man states, "There's plenty of white women who would like to have a good buck Negro." [Griffin, p. 86]

Another established mythological portrayal is of the black female by white people. black women were perceived to be sensual, exotic, and extremely provocative. "...NOTICE!...it was only another list of prices a white man would pay for various types of sensuality with various ages of Negro girls." [Griffin, p. 81] Griffin reports that black women were greatly used and abused by white men, and frequently black women were also mistreated by their own race. Sadly, some black men, when paid a certain amount of money, would even assist white men procure black women and children.

In mythological terms, the black man was viewed as Apollo, the black woman was viewed as Venus, and the white woman was viewed as the Virgin Mary. These stereotypes which were devised by white men have not only caused significant problems for blacks, but also have caused problems for white people. Two more frequently employed stereotypes created by white men and given to blacks included the aggressive savage beast, and the docile child inferior to whites in all aspects. Many other stereotypes have been created and utilized by whites in the US to describe blacks, however, the previously mentioned ones are perhaps the most ingrained in the American psyche and the ones which surface in Griffin's work.

Although Griffin painted himself black on the outside and experienced many things which African-Americans experienced at that time, his interpretation of his collected data was from the perspective of a white man. Griffin's cultural orientation, ethnic heritage, gender and race were constantly with him at all times even if they were not always visible to the naked eye. Therefore, Griffin was only able to draw a conclusion from his darkened `white' feelings, reasoning, and senses.

Griffin's experiment stands as a testament to the wrongs which had been done to African-Americans during the Jim Crow era. I would recommend Black Like Me to anyone interested in investigating how white people perceived and treated African-Americans in the South prior to the Civil Rights Movement in the US.

Black Like Me written by John Howard Griffin was a very captivating novel. It brought to many people's attention the extream condition of segregation, and discrimination. Griffins way of getting into this inside world was something that no one had ever done, this in my eyes took a lot of guts and not to mention research. Like a few other authors Griffins way of explaining this owrld to his readers was astonishing. Griffins use of dialect and blending in with the local color was the first think that cought the readers attention. Right away to blend in with the Black community Griffin took on their dialect, he began using slang and other forms of speech. Also he started to blend in culturaly, Griffin attempted to find the places in the French Quarter of New Orleans where the locals went. This right away brought me into the story because it made it so real and life like, you almost forgot that he was originally white and just assuming a role to get a story.
Another interesting part of John Howard Griffins novel was his ability to define sybolism. He would find little things along the way that would mean something to him, and even in the end he would never forget them. For example the shoe-shiner who on the first day of Griffins being in New Orleans made him feel right at home by sharing with him the little food he had with him and teaching him how to grill it. To Griffin this symbolized the black communities ability to allow any person in to their culture unlike the white who shuned that kind of behavior. This showed how well Griffin was at looking at things deeply which helped the reader to further understand what was going on in Griffins novel.
Finally John Howard Griffin's Black Like Me showed realism extreamly well. He was able to take a story plot that most people could not think of being real. I mean come on, someone dying their skin to become black and blend in with their culture, ya right. But Griffin did, and did it well. It was almost too beleivable, he fit in like a real black man visiting on vacation. He acted like the townspeople, spoke like them and yes looked like them too. He looked so much like a black person that when he went home his family could not recognize him, and his neighbors began to treat him poorly because they believed he was black. I have never read anything as amazing as this novel.
John Howard Griffin I believe started a revolution and helped further the compleation of the civil rights movement by proving to people further just how bad our society had gotten about discrimination. I belieave that everyone should read this book to get a new perspective on minority groups. This book will amaze everyone who reads it

I first read John Griffin's "Black Like Me" as a teenager, in 1962, just two years after its publication. It caught my attention then, but after 50 more years of living in America, it was much more meaningful and edifying this time. This edition includes the author's reflections in 1976 and recent commentaries by others as well. Race relations have improved since Griffin's bold experiment in 1959, but we still have far to go. This book should be required reading in American high schools and colleges. I hope book clubs read and discuss it too. Fear is one basis of racial discrimination; fear can be conquered by standing closer to and learning more about the feared group.

Black Like Me showed the plight and injustice done to African Americans as I never saw it before. John Howard Griffin made me realize how much discrimination a person can go through just because of the pigment of his or her skin. He made me realize that the "colored people" were oppressed to the point where they couldn't trust anyone of the white race. Griffin makes it clear of how it felt being denied things others take for granted, such as getting a cup of water or even the privilege of using the bathroom. His honesty is what I enjoyed the most in reading this novel. The way he describes how it feels to be given the "hate stare" made me feel as if I felt the anger and frustration that had boiled from within so many others. It's hard to understand how the mere sight of a person's color could repulse others so violently. However, Griffin doesn't try to cover up the "evils" of American society. He doesn't try to defend the actions of his white counterparts either because he suffered the same injustices that only the colored could understand. Unlike other books, Black Like Me has given me a different perspective. His experience made me see a part of America that I could have never imagined existed until now. It saddened and shocked me of how inhumane humans can treat one another. It also saddens me that this racial inequality is still prevalent in today's society, although not to the same extent.

John Howard Griffin's Black Like Me is the best book that I have read in years. I admire his nerve for being so gutsy. He now knows what we dark skinned people have been putting up with for 400 years. I learned something valuable: The white people were more afraid of their friends, peers and family members than they were the dark-skinned people. He took a risk of losing his health to feel what we have always felt.
I admire him for his courage and compassion for the love he had for others.This book is a great book. It describes the way a white man feels when he switches from having a normal life in the late 1950's to being a black man in racist situations. It has an important lesson along with this book: it says that blacks in the 1950's should have been treated with the same respect that white men were. White men picked on the blacks, not letting them even share the same restroom, simply because they didn't think they're skin was the right color. This is a story about a man who discovers that color isn't an object to place racism on, and that people can get along when there's no prejudice.This book recounts one of the most exciting sociological experiments of the 20th century. The Caucasian author undergoes chemical and physical changes to appear as an African American, to document the bias and social injustices of the white American society from personal experience.

I read Black Like Me for an American Literature class at my boarding school and really enjoyed it. The reason I picked this book was because the very concept caught me and interested me and I had not heard of something like this before, so I chose it to find out exactly what it was like. The topic was interesting, which right away can account for a good book but that is clearly not the only reason that I thought that Black Like Me was good. John Howard Griffin, the author, Narrator, and main character of the book goes further than most people would even think to go, especially for someone in his period of time. After the publication of the contents of Black Like Me Jack was terrorized by people who called him a 'traitor to the white race'. John Howard Griffin is a writer who decides that the best way to show people that there is heavy racism is to experience it for himself and then report on it. So he does, at probably the most dangerous time period to do so, and with permission from some magazine people undergoes a process to become black and then travels throughout the south, experiencing black life.
The part that sets Black Like Me apart from other novels like it is some of the points it makes clear to the reader. The most noticable of which to me was the idea that no matter how aware a person thinks that they are in regards to racism in the south, they will never even begin to fathom such a horrible experience unless they go through it themselves. And the reader comes to notice that even while John Howard Griffin is a black southerner he cannot completely understand the pain that black southerners experienced as a result of racism. From the start of the book Griffin at least aknowledges the existence of racism in the south and even believes that he might have a grasp on what it would be like to be a black person living in the south. But what he finds is what makes this book interesting, the things Griffin experiences just as result of the change of pigmentation in his skin are startling and shocking and provoke some pretty startling revelations. I would probably reccomend Black Like Me to any one who thinks they know what happened in the south in regards to african americans, and I also would reccomend it to anyone who has any doubts as to what kinds of horrors african americans experienced in the south. People who read this book will probably need somewhat of a sence of empathy in order to be able to understand this book, and the people that need this book the most would probably not care or not understand that any of the events in this book should not have occurred, so this book's purpose may be long lost. This book will probably change the way you look at life and increase your respect for other people.

I just read an incredible book. It is called, Black Like Me. The author, John Howard Griffin tells about his accounts of taking skin pigments to change his Caucasian body to African-American. This is one of the few books out there in today's literature that gives a true account of what life is for an African-American male living in the south in the late 50's early 60's. Griffin, a journalistic man, went out on this experiment to get a story but instead of getting a story he got a life long lesson. This is a story where it is more then putting yourself in their shoes. You are they, you live their life and you understand what they always talk about. The details in this book, come out and grab you. While reading this book you will not want to put it down because you as the reader are always waiting to see what happens next. This may shock you because it cannot be found in any history or biographic book. It is a story you can understand because it comes from a person who entered a life they never experienced before. It makes you believe that you were there and maybe now you have a little more understanding of what African-Americans deal with then and now. This is a must read book because you will not find this anywhere else and it is a fact that we need to learn. We cannot hide from this any longer, we need to come to reality and face it.

I am 16 years old and needed to do a book review on a certian topic. My mum was going to give away a pile of old books that she had had ever since she was 10. I picked up Black Like Me and stated reading it. I couldn't put the book down for a second! It made me feel ashamed to be a "white" person and relise just how cruel the human race can be. I have been researching the topic and discovering many terrible things "whites" did - and still do sometimes - to native people, immigrants, even our neighbours.

Honestly before reading this I use to get mad that there was so much racism around and that I thought that as a mixed woman I had it bad because I had two different colors in me. After reading this you will change your view.
Its starts off that John Griffin decides that he wants to know what it's like to be black and goes to get surgery on his skin color. The doctor doesn't think it will happen but tries it anyway and soon John's skin begins to get darker. He then decides to see what the average white man will do since his color and the opposite of his and turns out to be very disappointed. He tries to by a train ticket in the middle of the book and the things that the people say to him made me shiver. He travels to Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia and still nothing changed. After he collects his data on this mischief he starts to write about it for the newspaper and gradually things changed. You must read this book to find out what really happens. It will make you view our world a different way and make you think about every time you had called someone something mean or were racist towards them. When the book first came out in 1964 there was nothing but controversy about wither they should ban the book or not. Personally Im glad they didn't or I would've never known what respect was. If you haven't read this book yet you should it will teach you a lot about the past and make you appreciate the future.

This compelling novel by John Howard Griffin has truly all the elements of a great writer. Griffin whom has written many compelling books such as: `Encounters with the other', `Forgive My Grief' and many others has captured investigating writing. He not only gives writing its purpose but also defines it. Within the novel Black like Me he explores the life of a white man, but as a black man as well. Griffin uses his remarkable investigating skills and truly walks in the shoes of a black man. John H. Griffin walks in the shoes of a black man literally for he transforms himself by dying his skin. This novel is quite the read, for it deals with the struggles and hardships that African Americans faced in the 1950s.The novel gives one a taste of the never-ending discrimination African Americans face during this time. One can not help but be compelled to John H. Griffin and his profound determination upon the subject of racism. This is a well-written novel, which is filled with America's history of hate and degradation. But John H. Griffin uses his writing expertise to bring this to light.

5+ stars for this true story of a man who dared to reveal the horrors of our nation we try to hide. What a heroic task for a man not only to investigate the truth behind the racism toward the black race but also to publish the entire investigation and findings. This book aroused more emotion in me than any other book I've read. The fact that this horrific story is non-fiction makes this book a necessity to be read by all Americans. Truly a righteous attempt to bring the truth of racism to light. A victory for all who oppose racism!!

I just finished a class at school on black/white relations, and this book drove to the heart of the issue in a dramatic and truthful fashion. The book is the true account of Griffin, a white man, changing only the color of his skin so as to experience first-hand the life of a black man in in the very openly racist Deep South of the late 1950s.
The account becomes particularly revealing when Griffin describes how towards the end of his investigation he "switched" back and forth between black and white on a daily basis, noting the negative reactions he received from both black and white communities based on the color of his skin.
Additionally, the epilogue by the author is incredible. He bemoans how people, particularly northerners, have tokenized him, seeing him as the only white person capable of communicating with blacks. Specifically, he describes one situation where a city task force brought him in as the "liason" to their black community, yet they had not even taken preliminary steps to communicate with its most outspoken representatives.
I don't typically read books in their entirety at one sitting, but this book drew me in by its interesting topic, and I wasn't able to let it go until I had finished it. This book is a great book, and I recommend it to all. Specifically, I would imagine this book to be particularly helpful for a white seeking to better understand the nature of race in this country, but there is nothing about the book that would preclude enjoyment by another demographic.

I read this book a while ago. But even now, I still remember how good of a read it was. Griffins way of showing how it is to be black in those days was a major leap in trust. Not many well-liked white men would dress up as a black man to show the injustice in america. I would have a hard time changing my skin color to become a black man. I think that showing the injustice was just as scary as almost anything you could imagine. Throwing yourself into a world that might kill you, and all the while gathering information to show the rest of the world was daring and gutsy. I admire Griffin for his ability to do that. The plot was a gripping one that kept me reading and wanting to know what was goint to happen next. I would recommend this book to anyone.

Black Like Me

Black Like Me is a story of a white man living in Texas, who decides to go far into the Deep South. He wants to experience and write about what it was like to be a black man and how white people treated them. As a person who is of mixed race, I found Black Like Me an interesting book because it was like I could understand from both sides. What I liked about this book is that he as an individual white man actually wanted to be black and wanted to show his own race how it was like for them to treat black people that way. What I also liked about this book is how the friends that he had before did not look at him in any different way even though the color of his skin was darker then theirs. The things about this book that I like the most is that he was okay with everything that would come at him regardless if it was bad or good. He also didn't really let white people talk bad about black people. I believe that he realized that even though he is white he also believes that he is black too. For me being a mixed race with both black and white I feel he knows what its like to be a mixed race as well. What I didn't like was how some white people would try to be his friend and then after a certain discussion point they would say something ignorant or nasty about a black person. What I also didn't like was when Griffin (the main character) had gotten a ride from a white man and while they was talking the white man says that white people think that they are doing black people a favor by putting some white in their blood. Other than some down falls in the book where it was racist a lot, I believe that this was a very good book. I would recommend this book to seventh graders, because when they get into middle school and start realizing that they are from different social statuses that racial comments start to interact. I would also recommend Black Like Me to older people who want to read an interesting book. I don't think that I would change much of anything in this book because everything is real and talks a lot of how they used to live and how they were treated back then in the Deep South. I also don't think that much had changed since the 1960's up until today.

I choose to read this book because of the title and found myself reading a great book. I feel that everyone should read this book because it talks about alot of important things that may still need to be addressed. From this book, I can see how much a positive change the world has made in the racisim issues,but it also made me aware of things we still as a world need to change. I think what John Howard Griffin did was outstanding. I also believe that by me reading this book it has changed me. My personal opinion of the book is that, it's one of the top 10 best books and maybe thats because I am a black teenager but I don't have any negative comments. I would like to not only congratulate John Howard Griffin on his success but thank him as well.

This is such an impactful book, with direct ties to our society today. It should be on everyone's must read list! I had read it as a highschool student, but re-reading it as an adult was better and more meaningful.

In the novel, Black Like Me, the author, John Howard Griffin, temperaroly changes his white skin color the the hated color, black, to research in the Deep South what it is really like to be hated for the color of your skin. The theme of this non-fiction novel is hate. Griffin recieves the "hate stare" from many whites in the bus stations and other businesses that he tries to enter. "Then came again, the Hate Stare." (129) Griffin goes into businesses as a Black person and is refused service and bathroom facilites, but he returns to these businesses as a White person and is treated with dignity and respect. This is exact proof that people hate other people just because of their skin. It is also ironic when Griffin finally returns home after going public with his project. Whites in his hometown that once repected Griffin, wouldn't even talk to him and white supremisists hung a dummie of Griffin painted half black and half white to ridicule him. It is ironic because he is White, but they still hate him just because he was trying to help the Blacks. Americans are overflowing with hate and disgust for all the wrong reasons. Hate is a disease that infects the ignorant minds of young Americans and grows inside and is spread to their young. It is almost uncurable and in some cases is fatal. I recommend this novel for any person, Black or White, that has a heart and cares enough about America' citizens to try to unite the different races to make our country a better place to live.

The author changed the color of his skin with the help of a dermatologist and traveled through the deep South in the year 1960. It was fascinating to read of his experiences and to see and feel the raw hatred that existed at that time. There is some bad language, as some of the people he met were less than polite.

This was a compelling novel that showed the true struggle African Americans in the Deep South went through against racism. It was commendably written. At times, I felt as though I could smell, feel and taste the events that Griffin described. With each new experience every detail was given. Black Like Me is a true story of a man, John Howard Griffin, who used medication and dye to change the pigment of his skin from Caucasian to African American. He went to the southern United States to find out if African Americans were actually treated differently. He then wrote an article revealing how differently he was treated when his skin was dark. This novel depicts what it was like for a black person living in the south in the 1950's. It shows the hatred, and disgust that was directed towards them for no other reason than the colour of their skin. It discusses the obstacles that they had to overcome as a race and the problems that they had within their race. Black Like Me tears at your heart. It shows how far we've come since then but also how much farther we need to go. The book ends with a fairly long epilogue explaining what has gone on since he wrote his article. It talks of great men such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and what they did for the black movement. A book like this is a must read if we will ever as a human race fully judge people by who they truly are and not by the colour of their skin.

An unbelievable experiment turned our racial preconceptions upside down. What would you do if you woke up one day and you were a different ethnicity? A courageous man actually did this. He turned his skin black to see what it was like to live in their world. The results were startling. There was no end to the cruelty and unfairness. He also gained insight into the everyday life and attitudes of African Americans during that time. It was a really groundbreaking novel.

I'm in the middle of reading this book right now and it is amazing! There are things in this book that I've never heard of through history books. This is a true story about this man that decides to color his skin and go to Alabama & Mississippi in the 1950's to write a book of what it is really like down there. He finds out things are worse than he even thought. I'm about half way through and it's just wonderful! So interesting to see how things were that could only be told in this way.

We simply cannot experience everything. There are too many options to choose between. Our only hope to understand all that is out there is through books. Vicariously we can at least partial understand the suffering in our world. Black Like Me is one of the better inside looks at a particular reality. Griffin sunned and dyed himself black and went into the deep south to experience life as a black man. The book is a revelation of human nature. Written as a diary it is hard not to symphathize with the situation described. Everything should read.

Black Like Me delineates the experience of John Howard Griffin, a white writer who specialized in race issues, who desperately wanted to know what it was like to be an African-American in the Deep South in order to experience discrimination based on skin color, something over which one has no control. In 1959, Griffin risked everything, including his career, his family, and his reputation. With the support of an African-American magazine and the help of dermatologists, he took medication that darkened his skin to a deep brown. He changed nothing but the color of his skin, and witnessed on a first-hand account what it was like to be a Negro. He began his journey in New Orleans and was shocked to discover how the whites treated him like scum, and all African-Americans treated him like their brother. He immediately found that he had to walk across town just to find a café that would serve him food and water, or that he would have to walk around a building in order to find a "colored" bathroom that he could use. Despite his education and qualifications, he had trouble finding a job. He traveled all throughout the Deep South, stopping in Alabama and Mississippi, which made New Orleans seem like the North. He began to feel like he had truly become an African-American, and felt bitter towards the Southern whites. His experience completely opened his eyes to what the real definition of racism is, and he hoped that his book would do the same for millions of people throughout the world. Black Like Me is John Howard Griffin's attempt to reveal the truth about discrimination and racism, and in my opinion that is exactly what it did. I recommend this book to those readers who usually can't stay interested in a book. You will not want to put this one down.

I had seen this movie when I was younger, needed to be able to read the book. I think it took a lot of courage to do what Mr. Griffin did. He stood tall and fast in the face of adversity. I loved the book, I think everyone should read it.