Pros: Author is sincere, and gives a glimpse of black like in the 1950's
Cons: His religious bias got in the way a little bit.
The Bottom Line: A classic and true story of what it was like to be black in America's past, and how it could be applied to other discriminated groups today.
matthewn's Full Review: John Howard Griffin and Robert (AFT) Bonazzi - Bla...
I read this in Multiculturalism class last fall. It is the true story of a white reporter, John Howard Griffith, who in the 50’s colors his skin and hair black, then ventures down South to see what it is like to be a black man. It almost reminds me of a Twilight Zone: The Movie tale where this racist became the religious and racial people he so hated to know what it was like in their shoes. Some things are still relevant today, as the races tend to stay in their own group, but the situations are peculiar to their times. Then the issue was over integration, while today the issue is affirmative action.
There are many things I liked about this book, but I will go by step by step of what I liked about it:
1. The distinctions he made going from New Orleans to Mississippi to Alabama. Griffin stated that blacks were treated kinder in certain southern areas than in others, just as gays are more welcome in certain areas of the USA than they are in others. In Mississippi, there was an old white man that picked him up and threatened him by saying, “You know, I could kill you, toss your body in that there river, and no one would care.” There were other incidents where some bigots just didn’t want him to sit next to him on the bench, to not wanting to offer him a job.
2. The issue over racial equality and religion was something interesting in that day. Many Christians would not dare advocate racial bigotry today, but back in the Civil Rights era and before, racists used their bibles. For example, there were anti-Civil rights people, not necessarily extremists like the KKK, who used the Bible to justify why blacks should not get equal rights and why the races should not integrate, just as there were Christians on the other spectrum who thought the South was taking the bible out of context. You can see this today with homosexuality-some Christians are against it, while some don’t find it wrong. It is further proof of how people run to their religious books to try to back up biases and prejudices they are already have.
3. As a white guy, Griffin pointed out something that I always found perplexed studying black history in America. From right after WWII up to 1964, whites and blacks have been pushing for equal treatment under the law. After the affirmative action and black racist groups like the Black Panther Party, many whites who selflessly fought for the rights of blacks felt America was taking a step backwards.
4. I also like the fact that Griffin pointed out that there were whites that were personally against the way blacks were treated, but were just too afraid to speak up. Too many of my history professors gave this impression that many whites in the past approved of Jim Crow, when they failed to realize that there are more people against racism and homophobia than one may think. Griffin received nice letters from thoughtful whites down South. I think many of the people that discriminated against blacks, like the Hotels and diners might not have been bigots themselves, but the people that frequented their establishments were. You can see this with politicians like George Wallace or Strom Thurmond who ran on racist platforms, but changed their tune once their voters did when it came to race.
5. I especially liked how the author pointed out that racism is a two way street. For example, when he went into white neighborhoods as a black man, he got hate stares and was even refused service. Once he changed his skin white and went to the same places he was treated better. Likewise, when he was black the black neighborhoods welcomed him with open arms, while when he went there again as a white guy; they gave him the cold shoulder. You can still see this somewhat today. I can chalk up from personal experience. I went down South a couple of summers ago with a black friend. He didn’t get as many smiles as I did when we were in white areas, and likewise, I didn’t get as many smiles as he did, when we went into black areas.
6. I can detect that the author didn’t really have an agenda, because in 1958, trying to show compassion to blacks, could get you lynched, or loss of job. When he finally went to publish his experiences of being a black man, he was faced with death threats.
Even though this book is timeless, there are a couple of flaws and biases the author had. I kind of got tired of his religious arrogance he displayed. Griffin kept giving this notion that Catholics were ‘oh so much nicer’ to blacks than were Protestants. What about the clash between Irish Catholics and Italian Catholics in New York, Boston and Chicago? There were racial conflicts between Catholics and blacks. The draft riots in 1863 were a good example. Many Irish Catholics said 'go back to Africa, Nigger!" Maybe Catholics down South could relate more with blacks when it came to prejudice, as the laws down south favored White Protestants more than blacks, Catholics or Jews. Hey, Hitler was Catholic. Was he the most racially sensitive man of our time?
Other than that minor complaint, this was a really good book. It gives you the sense of what blacks had to endure during the days of 1950's Segregation, even before marches and protests. We have gone forward in relieving tension between blacks and whites in the west, but we still have a long way to go.
The author tells of his experiences after he darkened his skin and traveled through the South in order to find out how it feels to be black.More at HotBookSale
In 1959, Griffin--a white man--headed to New Orleans, darkened his skin, and immersed himself in black society. He then traveled through several state...More at Buy.com
The author tells of his experiences after he darkened his skin and traveled through the South in order to find out how it feels to be black.More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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