Black Like Me

Photograph taken at the LBJ Library in Austin, TX

This summer I have been reading incredibly interesting books. Black Like Me is by John Howard Griffin from Mansfield, Texas and was written in 1959 before civil rights, freedom riders, Rosa Parks, integration, voting for Negroes, and basic human rights. This is the story of the author's decision to "become black" and go into the deep South to experience first-hand the atrocities Negroes experienced at the hands of whites.

Even though this was written half a century ago, it is an excellent read.  It took a great effort and courage for a white man to decide to "become black". Griffin began this journey on November 1, 1959. Under the supervision of a dermatologist in New Orleans, Griffin took the drug Oxsoralen and exposed his body to ultraviolet light to make his skin darker. Because he did not have curly hair he shaved his head and used a stain to further darken his head, face and hands. In seven days Griffin was ready to go out in public as a black man.

For a week Griffin stayed in New Orleans and immersed himself in the black culture. He stayed in hotels for blacks, ate at black cafes, and interacted with black men. Negroes were treated more civilly in New Orleans than in other parts of the South. Blacks were not assigned to ride in the back of a bus or trolley in New Orleans which was quite the exception elsewhere in the South.

After a week Griffin decided to take a bus to Hattiesburg, Mississippi; this would begin the real education of how a black man is treated in other southern states. Because of a lynching that had taken place in the nearby town of Poplarville and the fact that a trial by jury failed to convict the white men responsible, Griffin felt incredibly vulnerable when he arrived after dark at his destination.

The conditions in which Griffin found himself were so startling that he began to fear for his life. He decided to call an acquaintance, a newspaper editor by the name of P. D. East who was sympathetic to the plight of the Negro and wrote many articles condemning the deplorable situation in the South. East came into the ghetto and picked up Griffin in the middle of the night.

From the beginning of November until mid-December Griffin went to Biloxi, MS, to Mobile, Birmingham and Montgomery, Alabama and finally completed his journey in Atlanta, Georgia.

After returning to Mansfield, TX Griffin completed his book which was published in February 1960 at which time "the storm would break". Once published Griffin was asked to be on television and radio shows to discuss the problems that he encountered. This radical undertaking was not welcomed in the town where he lived. His parents, his wife and children were harassed and at one point Griffin was hung in effigy from the traffic light in the middle of Mansfield.

Over time the tension became too much for his parents and for the welfare of his own family. His parents sold their home and moved to Mexico and soon thereafter Griffin and his family followed.

It took enormous strength and determination for Griffin to do such an unprecedented thing as to make himself black and insert himself into the Negro culture of the South at such a volatile time in our history. He continued advising both Negroes and whites for a number of years to attempt to bridge the divide between the two races.

This book brought back memories from my childhood and teen years in a small town in central Georgia. Black Like Me clearly and truthfully states the attitudes of people during those years. Whites were intent on remaining in control of their lives and meant to keep black people subservient; to keep them as 10th class citizens with very few rights. It is a lesson that needs to be remembered. Just in case you have forgotten how things were during the 1950s and 60s reading this book will bring it back loud and clear.