Black Like Me Analysis

To fully understand race issues, a race issues specialist (Griffin 2), John Howard Griffin, decides to experience the life of a Negro in the deep south first hand. In Black Like Me, a memoir by John Howard Griffin, Griffin turns to medication, stain, and UV lights (Griffin 6) to change his skin pigmentation to turn himself into a Negro. In doing so, he opened himself up for the problems that came with his decision. Many believe that his decision did not change his knowledge of race issues as Griffin knew that he would return to his normal skin color, he did learn to fully empathize with the black race. One way that he empathized with Negros is that he learned their struggle for civil rights. Throughout the book the audience is shown time and time again how the Negros are lacking certain rights. An example of this would be when the bus driver would force them to sit in the back of the bus and would not let them off unless white passengers needed to get off too (Griffin 44). Another example of this would be the fact that …show more content…
A certain, more prominent moment of racism that he encountered was when he tried to get change from a ten-dollar bill. “She jerked the bill furiously from my hand and stepped away from the window. In a moment she reappeared to hurl my change and the ticket on the counter with such force most of it fell on the floor at my feet.” (Griffin 51). Another moment was once again on the bus, but this time it wasn’t a problem with the bus driver but with one of the passengers. “Her blue eyes, so pale before, sharpened and she spat out, “What’re you looking at me like that for?” (Griffin 20). A third, and final way that Griffin experienced racism was when he was hitch hiking. Most of the people who gave him a ride only picked him up to try and “prove” their perverted fantasies (Griffin 86). Though racism was common in the time, there is still one more connection Griffin had with the