Black Like Me Themes

“If a white man became a Negro in the Deep South, what adjustments would that Negro have to make? What is it like to experience racism and discrimination based on the color of your skin, something a human being has zero control over”(1)? This statement the author of this book gives, John Howard Griffin, essentially gives the reader a taste of what to expect in this book. Black Like Me is a nonfiction book by John Howard Griffin telling his adventure that he made in the deep south of the United States. He made this adventure during the time African-Americans faced discrimination and racism. Griffin goes through a procedure to have his skin temporarily darken to blend in the black community. He embarked this journey as a transformed black man for six weeks throughout the southern states which included Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Arkansas. Griffin is being funded to do this project by Sepia Magazine. In exchange, Sepia will be given rights by Griffin to print his experiences as a series of articles. This book has received the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award. Griffin, being the narrator and author of this book, took a personal approach in writing this book. He traveled to France as a teen and came
“For a few weeks I must be this aging, bald Negro; I must walk through a land hostile to my color, hostile to my skin”(11). In stating this Griffin is essentially saying that his identity has been ripped from him and turned into this African-American. He knows that this transformation is going to lead to a tougher life. “Look at all of them-bunch of dirty punks-don’t know how to dress. You don’t deserve anything better. Mein kampf”(53)! The theme of race is present in this book through different ways, sometimes it's a smiling face telling an African-American they can not use the white restroom. Other times it is a White man threatening to kill an