Commentary On Black Like Me By John Griffin

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Black Like Me As I begin reading the story John Griffin introduces himself to the readers. He began with a speculation; if he became an African American he could help understand the difficulties between races as a white man and African American in the south and with this knowledge develop a means to bridge the gap. His desire to know if Southern whites were racists against African Americans population of the Deep South or if they really judged people based on the individual’s personality as they said they prompted him to cross the color line and write Black Like Me. The author’s purpose for writing this book is simply factual. He speaks of letting it be known about how African Americans in the South are treated due to the color of their skin, and what it felt like for a white man to be an African American in the South. Since communication between the whites and African American races did not exist, neither race really knew what it was like for the other. Due to this, Griffin felt the only way to know the truth was to become an African American and travel through the South. He informs his wife of his idea to change the pigment of skin and stay in New Orleans for a week to conduct this type of experiment. He would not change his name, clothing, or his true identity, but simply only his…show more content…
Griffin started experiment with a medication that would turn his skin color brown. John had to be also secluded in a room alone to lay under a sun lamp for hours at a time. While doing this process John is telling himself that he is finally helping the white race understand the race of African Americans. Once John completes his treatments he goes to the south where he expects to be treated differently but is shocked to find out the true prejudice, hardship and oppression that the United States showed to another human being just because of the color of their skin, something that African American people could not

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