Black Like Me

Content Warning: This section of the study guide contains detailed discussions of racism. The source material includes outdated and offensive racial terms and slurs, which are reproduced in this guide only via quotations.

John Howard Griffin was born in 1920 and died in 1980. During his youth, he served in World War II and was honored for his bravery—a trait he carried through with him to his project in the South. Griffin became blind after being struck by a bomb in the South Pacific and did not regain his sight until 10 years later. He first visited New Orleans while he was blind, and returning to it with the ability to see was an inspiring experience for Griffin: “Every view was magical, whether it was a deserted, lamplit street corner or the neon hubbub of Royal Street” (11). Griffin decided to darken his skin and attempt to live as a Black man in the South after studying sociology and determining that something must be done to create understanding between Black and white people: “The Negro. The South. These are details. The real story is the universal one of men who destroy the souls and bodies of other men (and in the process destroy themselves) for reasons neither really understands” (5).