John Howard Griffen's Black Like Me

“I was imprisoned in the flesh of an utter stranger” was the way John Howard Griffen, the author of Black Like Me, described himself when he stepped into the role of an African American in the United States during 1959 (Griffen 10). Griffen underwent this transformation as a journalist to disclose what the racial tensions were truly like in southern states of the United States. Why he was passionate to do so, was because Griffen felt that the media was not correctly portraying what life was truly like for African Americans or for Caucasians living in the southern states. While exploring the southern states as an African American, Griffen suffered traumatic experiences from discussing the animalistic behaviors of an African American and their

The Caucasians referred to the African Americans as “they”, “hey boy” and other nefarious comments when the openly tried to grab the attention of an African American. To quote Griffen himself, “[Griffen] began to use the “we” form and to discuss “our situation”” (Page 24). Even after Griffen had disclosed his story to Seria, and to other publishers across the nation, Griffen continued to hear the word “we” when discussing with African Americans. This was proven after Griffins’ mother had sold her home and moved to Mexico due to the fear that was being caused by the negative response of the articles being published regarding Griffen’s experience as an African American. Griffen in response hired an African American to assist in cleaning his mother’s freshly sold house, where the following words were transferred between their tongues: “Why do whites hate us - we don’t hate them?” (Page 163). In the case of how Caucasians directed to African Americans the following best suits the depiction: “I was on your side, boy” (Page

In modern United States culture, there is still a lack of understanding everyone’s perspectives, however, it is no longer based on one’s skin pigmentation. From 1959 to present day, Black Like Me, has stood the test of time with its depiction of racism, however throughout the years’ racism has dwindled down to marginally low numbers. At Georgia Southern University, the observations that Griffen saw in places like Mississippi, New Orleans, Montgomery, and Atlanta do not stand or at least are not publicly shown. For instance, in Black Like Me, the African Americans were disgraced, segregated, yelled absurdities at on the public transportation, and were prevent to leave at times, whereas at Georgia Southern University there will be interbedding in seats and anyone is welcomed to sit wherever they