Depiction of African Americans’ Daily Experiences in Black Like Me by John Griffin

Introduction

Most people in the world recognize the troubles and persecution that African Americans receive from people with different colored skin, but there is only one man who would purposely position himself to deal with the hate given by people with white skin. While hiding his identity as a white man and becoming black, John Howard Griffin felt what other African Americans did. As Griffin was exiting a bus, an old man made a gesture that affected Griffin profoundly. He said, "It was a little thing, but it piled on all the other little things it broke something inside me" (Griffin, 1961, p. 45). Black Like Me received the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, and Griffin also wrote The Devil Rides Outside and Scattered Shadows. Griffin said he is "Annoyed by those who love mankind but are discourteous to people" (Griffin, 1961, p. 67), and he sadly discovered quickly that many people are discourteous to people yet claim to love mankind. Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin is an autobiography that tells a story about Griffin entering the African American life starting in 1959 in New Orleans. Receiving some support along the way from fellow African Americans in various cities, Griffin documents this part of his life to share with the reader.

Griffin's Perspective on Racism

Griffin's viewpoint is that people need to treat others fairly, regardless of skin color, if they claim to love mankind. Griffin wrote this book to expose what African Americans go through because of the white man. At the age of fifteen, Griffin left to study medicine in France, where Africans were not treated poorly as they were in America. This discovery opened Griffin’s eyes to the racism prevalent in America. While in France, Griffin worked alongside Africans in the French Resistance army. In France, Africans were treated like normal people, not receiving hate as they did in America. While fighting for the French Resistance army, Griffin helped Jewish families trying to escape the Holocaust into Britain, which made him question the reason for racism even more. This left Griffin questioning why the treatment of African Americans was different in the United States of America.

The Daily Struggles of African Americans

In Black Like Me, Griffin attempts to depict what African Americans endure in their daily lives. Griffin seeks to expose the behaviors of white people that make African American life as difficult as possible. Additionally, the whites did not believe African Americans had morals and considered them lesser beings. Griffin argues that just because African Americans have a different skin tone, they shouldn’t be treated as animals or second-class citizens. While on a bus, Griffin "[sounded] the buzzer, but the driver continued through the next two stops" (Griffin, 1961, p. 123). The driver eventually stopped eight blocks past Griffin’s stop and let him out just to make the walk longer for him. Griffin would leave his home to eat at seven-thirty without causing any trouble and would be followed by a young white male who harassed him. The man would call Griffin names like "Mr. No-Hair" and "Shithead" (Griffin, 1961, p. 135). While trying to lose the man, Griffin sought help but was ignored and looked at as if he "were drunk" (Griffin, 1961, p. 136). Just because Griffin was black at the time, he was harassed and made fearful, and for the same reason, no one wanted to help him. While trying to move to a new city during his time as an African American, Griffin would be picked up by white drivers who only wanted to talk about the African’s sex life. One man asked questions "entirely sexual, and proposed that in the ghetto the Negro’s life is one of marathon sex with many different partners" (Griffin, 1961, p. 178). All these events show that the white man did not think of the African American as a person but as an animal who has meaningless sex. Griffin is trying to convey that African Americans are thought of as less than people and are treated with disrespect and hate for no reason. Griffin’s main purpose in his study was to find out how African Americans were treated, and he was shocked. He knew they withstood discrimination, but he did not expect so much hate from men and women who would go home and love their family without thinking of what they said or did to an African earlier that day.

Griffin's Observations and Reflections

Black Like Me provides excellent examples of what African Americans go through in their daily lives and how they live. During his time as an African American, Griffin observed how African Americans had to find their own places to use the restroom, get water, or even eat. Griffin would be told, "Hey, nigger, you can’t go in there. Hey, nigger, you can’t drink here. We don’t serve niggers" (Griffin, 1961, p. 201). These quotes offer valuable insight into the inconveniences that make it difficult for African Americans to live daily lives. Griffin does not, however, explain what African Americans can do to help the situation. Griffin hopes, "The Negro will not miss his chance to rise to greatness, to build from the strength gained through his past suffering and, above all, to rise beyond vengeance" (Griffin, 1961, p. 230). Griffin prays that African Americans will become better people than the whites but does not seem to know how, despite living as one for a significant period. Griffin seems only to hope but does not give tips or information that African Americans can use to rise above cruel racism. Griffin’s work is thorough throughout his documentation of living as an African American. Griffin told stories of old men who hated their own people and claimed they were "Not pure Negro" but whose "Mother was French" (Griffin, 1961, p. 245). Short little stories like this made it easy to follow and provided good information about some of the characters Griffin met. Griffin’s work is also very clear; his stories were clear and easy to read. While staying with a family that lived in a swamp, Griffin understood why African Americans had to treat each other with so much love. "When the swamp and darkness surrounded them, it evoked an immense loneliness" (Griffin, 1961, p. 290). This part of the book made the reader focus on the book, forcing them to understand more deeply. The work is also convincing and significant. Griffin gave several examples of how African Americans were treated based on skin color, making the reader realize that all people are the same and should be treated fairly. Everyone should have the same respect that others have; just because a man has different colored skin, he should not be treated like dirt. This is an ongoing problem in society today, so the message in the book is extremely significant. This work adds to my general understanding of the subject by expressing how Griffin felt at times. Griffin would cry just because of how he was treated based on skin color and not the person he was.

Griffin's Objectivity and Impact

Griffin does not exhibit any bias in his book, considering it is his story. Griffin uses his evidence of being treated with cruelty by recounting what the racist man or woman would say or do. For example, all the men he rode with asked about his sex life, and most of them assumed it was meaningless. Many people of the South treat African Americans poorly because laws make it legal to do so. People of the South keep the racist laws and "Haven’t taken them off the dockets" (Griffin, 1961, p. 320). This book’s argument is very convincing, and Griffin uses pathos to his advantage. Griffin would try to do simple tasks like use the restroom while at a bus stop but would be told by a white man to "Get his ass back in his seat" (Griffin, 1961, p. 345). By sharing the stories Griffin experienced, the reader becomes very emotional, making them feel bad for Griffin.

Conclusion

I believe that a man or woman who thinks that racism is a small issue or a non-existent one would benefit from this book. Being able to read about the daily life of an African American could open the mind of a person who does not believe that racism is real. Also, a racist could benefit from this book, as reading about the pain racism can cause might bring sympathy to a racist. Griffin wrote Black Like Me to expose how African Americans are treated by racists for no reason other than the color of their skin. Griffin provided stories and events that explained how racists tried to make African American life as hard as possible. This book serves as a powerful reminder of the ongoing struggle against racism and the need for empathy and understanding.

References

Griffin, J. H. (1961). Black like me. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.