Reflection On Black Like Me

960 Words4 Pages
Black Like Me is about segregation in the South during the 1950’s and a white man, John Howard Griffin deciding to dye his skin black to see what it was like to be a Negro in the South. At that time, the South was a place where there was war between races, white-only restrooms, and denied rights guaranteed in the constitution. This experiment would help him to understand racism from a black person’s point of view. Black Like Me discusses the difficulty with skin color within a racially unjust society and the damaging effects such a society has on the black community. Black Like Me also discusses three major themes, the theme of white racism, black strengths and white sensitivity. When John Griffin completed the process of darkening his skin and saw himself in the mirror for the first time as a black man he said, "The transformation was total and shocking. I had expected to see myself disguised, but this was something else. I was imprisoned in the flesh of an utter stranger, an unsympathetic one with whom I felt no kinship. All traces of the John Griffin I had been were wiped from existence. Even the senses underwent a change so profound it filled me with distress. I looked into the…show more content…
Imagine if the white race was the race considered inferior. Imagine having to walk five miles to the nearest restroom was available to whites. Or being the last person hired and the first person fired at a job that pays nothing near the amount received by a black. What would a person living in the 1950’s think about segregation and racism now? Would it exist? Maybe they would have seen how morally incorrect it is and how unfair the blacks were actually being treated. This book was easy to read because it was more like a discussion and diary that brought new ideas and thoughts about racism and history in my head like the questions I just brought up. I liked the format because when I was reading it I felt like I was living the moment with
Open Document