Black Like Me: Experiencing Racism in the Segregated South

Introduction and Background

There is an old saying: "Never judge a man until you've walked a mile in his shoes." While the origin of this aphorism may be uncertain—whether uttered first by Native Americans or others—the truth of the statement resonates deeply with modern audiences. The author of Black Like Me, John Howard Griffin, was a white man who sought not merely to walk a mile in the shoes of an African American but to sojourn through the segregated South disguised as a Black man during 1959–60. By examining this poignant work, readers gain a greater appreciation for the plight of the Black community struggling to live under the harsh reality of white racism in the Deep South.

Black Like Me is a firsthand account by John Howard Griffin, a middle-aged white man living in Mansfield, Texas in 1959. Griffin harbored a desire to see racial inequality come to an end and decided to help raise awareness of Black suffering in the South by darkening his skin in an attempt to pass as a Black man. He gained financial backing from George Levitan, editor of Sepia, a magazine for Black readers, in exchange for an article Griffin would write. Griffin bid farewell to his family and underwent medical treatments to change his skin color. After several treatments and shaving his head, Griffin believed he could pass for a Black man. Convinced of his transformation, he set out for New Orleans to begin his life as a Black man, feeling that his own identity had been swallowed into oblivion.

Griffin's Journey Through the South

With his new identity, Griffin began his travels through Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia. Along the way, he found occasional kindness, mostly from Black people but occasionally from whites. For the most part, however, he was the victim of systemic prejudice and racism. He was called dehumanizing slurs, forced to use separate facilities for dining, sleeping, and bathroom use, and viewed with suspicion by the white community and law enforcement simply for attempting to rest in one place. Place after place, he was bullied and harassed in public settings. Griffin witnessed firsthand that conditions for Black people were terrible in the South. During his six months as a "Black" man, he found himself worn out and run down, with a general feeling of hopelessness identical to what he observed in the citizens of Black communities.

Yet Griffin did experience some hope for the Black community. He witnessed the civil disobedience and non-violent demonstrations of Black leaders, such as Martin Luther King Jr. After spending time with Black leaders in Atlanta, Griffin returned to New Orleans to make a photojournalistic record of his experiences. Sepia published his article in 1960, and Griffin was inundated with opportunities to appear on television, radio, and in print material including Time magazine. While many congratulated him for his courageous work, others threatened his life and family, burning him in effigy. Ultimately, Griffin called for real and meaningful dialogue within American society and urged true tolerance and understanding between Black and white people. He believed that Black and white people were born as blank slates, and that social conditioning was responsible for the inequalities found in American culture.

Jim Crow Discrimination and Daily Realities

Black Like Me stands as one of the most powerful books on race relations, offering insight into what it was like—and to some degree remains like today—to be an African American in a white-dominated society. Griffin's style is simple, following the form of a diary in straightforward narrative. His accounts are powerful, thought-provoking, and at times deeply moving. Among the many accounts in Black Like Me, one profound moment occurred when a bus stopped in Mississippi for a ten-minute rest break. The driver allowed white passengers off but then corralled the Black passengers on the bus. Only one man, Bill, slipped under the driver's arm. As the driver held his arms, ordering the others back, he called out to the "boy" to return. Bill continued walking, ignoring the commands (Griffin, 1962, pp. 60–63). What was so terrible was the blatant racism on display: treating other human beings as little more than animals. The common courtesy of allowing someone to satisfy a natural bodily function was denied out of sheer spite.

Another example of Jim Crow discrimination can be seen in Griffin's account of a conversation about literacy tests. Every conceivable obstacle was placed in the path of Black people attempting to vote; some were even required to read a Chinese newspaper (Griffin, 1962, pp. 80–83). While the context carries a dark humor, the underlying point is nonetheless valid. Many Black people in the South were disenfranchised through the use of poll taxes and literacy tests designed to prevent their political participation. Lastly, as Griffin attempted to slip back into white society by allowing his skin to lighten, an officer on the street nodded to him politely. It was at that moment that Griffin knew he was "white" enough again and had passed back into first-class citizenship (Griffin, 1962, p. 123). Griffin reminds his readers of the stark differences between the worlds of white and Black people and the realities of being a second-class citizen.