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3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
The rating I give here is mainly for the concept and empathy Griffin showed rather than the writing. The writing is slightly inconsistent, as you might expect from a diary style - some pieces seem straight from his diary and others seem purposefully inflated and altered to make the lines more prophetic and profound.
The idea of a white man taking medication to darken his skin and dying it to appear black seemed awfully offensive in this day and age, but I believe Griffin meant it from a truely altruistic position. His writing and his subsequent lectures and efforts seem to come from genuine desire to understand what life was like, and a strong compulsion to combat racism. Aside from this work, he lead a very interesting life, fighting in WWII and suffering from complete blindness for several years, which spontaneously resolved itself.
It is disturbing to read this account of the treatment of African Americans from this time.Yes, this book has dated, but I find that encouraging that we can look back in incredulity at the segregation and injustice that occurred, and an important reminder that we can all be responsible for improving society.
The idea of a white man taking medication to darken his skin and dying it to appear black seemed awfully offensive in this day and age, but I believe Griffin meant it from a truely altruistic position. His writing and his subsequent lectures and efforts seem to come from genuine desire to understand what life was like, and a strong compulsion to combat racism. Aside from this work, he lead a very interesting life, fighting in WWII and suffering from complete blindness for several years, which spontaneously resolved itself.
It is disturbing to read this account of the treatment of African Americans from this time.Yes, this book has dated, but I find that encouraging that we can look back in incredulity at the segregation and injustice that occurred, and an important reminder that we can all be responsible for improving society.
I read this when I was in 6th grade. Because I knew that it was important, and I wanted to learn about all the important things, so I read lots, and lots, of grim, completely age-inappropriate books about social oppression! It wasn't bad to do that; I learned a lot. But it was, I will say, odd.
I had to ask my dad what "castration" meant. In case you're wondering if your little avid reader is old enough for this book, consider if that is a conversation you're in the mood to have!
In all honesty? I think I learned about the book in the first place from an episode of "Mr. Belvedere."
I had to ask my dad what "castration" meant. In case you're wondering if your little avid reader is old enough for this book, consider if that is a conversation you're in the mood to have!
In all honesty? I think I learned about the book in the first place from an episode of "Mr. Belvedere."
In 1959 white man John Howard Griffin, through a combination of medication and pigment, disguises himself as a black man and tours the Deep South to see how differently he is treated. Unsurprisingly, the Deep South is a wretched hive of scum and villainy and he is treated like garbage. Still, it is an extremely interesting read. The biggest downside of this book is that despite his best efforts to be progressive, Griffin was still a 1950s white man and makes the occasional eyebrow-raising comment or generalization. For example, at one point he surmises that part of the reason the Negro is so downtrodden and miserable is that Negro women have to work to support their families and can't be good housewives, and furthermore they often make more than the men do which hurts the men's feelings and makes them bad dads.
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
I’m so amazed at the text shown by Griffin in writing this book. I went in very wary of a White Savior narrative but Griffin really shows how he encounters his own racism in this experience and how it taught him more about Black people and their right to control their own narrative. As sad as it is, this book (written over 50 years ago) is still just as timely today as it was then, especially Griffin’s epilogue.
This is the incredible true story of a white man in the 1950s who changed his skin pigment and lived as a black man in the South. I am shocked this is not a more widely known book as it should be read by all white Americans. It was interesting and at the same time sad to see the complete shift of mindset of John when he was Black. Being a journalist he recorded the differences in treatment he received by both whites and blacks based on his perceived skin color. I had to put this book down a few times as it was difficult to read the constant injustices and slights perpetuated by white people on black people. An invaluable record of society and a reminder that there is still progress to be made.
adventurous
challenging
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
The author was a white man who wanted to know how life was as a black man in the Deep South, so he changed his skin color to become black and traveled the southern states in 1959. He experienced the racism, prejudice, and discrimination first hand.
The fact that this story started (partially at least) because he became totally blind and could only judge people based on their character & qualities rather than their physical appearance is surprising. But even more surprising is he miraculously regained his vision fully.
I did notice throughout the book, Griffin would say things in such a way that provides proof that racism is deeply engrained, even if one is “against” it. For example, when he first looked in the mirror, you can tell he does not see himself on the same level as he saw himself when he was white. He writes it as though he is disgusted by what he sees reflected back at him. Another example is the several times he goes into a black establishment and says something about how clean it was, like he was surprised black people are clean & can take pride in their belongings or spaces.
It was not a shock to see how whites viewed black people at this time, but I definitely was unaware that a lot of their “views” were simply projection. The demonization of black people, accusing them of being violent, and claiming they were hyper-sexual beings, when it was really the whites themselves participating in those acts.
I do wonder what more could have been revealed, especially in Mississippi, if Griffin would’ve stayed longer or been outside even while he was there. Also, it is saddening that he was unable to bare 2 months of being a “black” man.
I also wonder if the black people actually did think he was black, because from what he describes , it sounds as though his disguise was not that convincing. I know the white people wouldn’t look that far into his identity at the time simply because they did not want to be bothered with black people.
The fact that this story started (partially at least) because he became totally blind and could only judge people based on their character & qualities rather than their physical appearance is surprising. But even more surprising is he miraculously regained his vision fully.
I did notice throughout the book, Griffin would say things in such a way that provides proof that racism is deeply engrained, even if one is “against” it. For example, when he first looked in the mirror, you can tell he does not see himself on the same level as he saw himself when he was white. He writes it as though he is disgusted by what he sees reflected back at him. Another example is the several times he goes into a black establishment and says something about how clean it was, like he was surprised black people are clean & can take pride in their belongings or spaces.
It was not a shock to see how whites viewed black people at this time, but I definitely was unaware that a lot of their “views” were simply projection. The demonization of black people, accusing them of being violent, and claiming they were hyper-sexual beings, when it was really the whites themselves participating in those acts.
I do wonder what more could have been revealed, especially in Mississippi, if Griffin would’ve stayed longer or been outside even while he was there. Also, it is saddening that he was unable to bare 2 months of being a “black” man.
I also wonder if the black people actually did think he was black, because from what he describes , it sounds as though his disguise was not that convincing. I know the white people wouldn’t look that far into his identity at the time simply because they did not want to be bothered with black people.
The most powerful part of this book is that after 6 weeks of living aesthetically as a black man John Howard Griffin was overwhelmed and stopped. The idea that life for him was so disruptive, oppressive, and unsafe that he could only handle a little more than a month says a lot. There are a lot of elements that felt really shocking to me relative to the time period. For example, the way Griffin addresses the number of times he is called slurs and violently yelled at as almost an expectation instead of a constant shock. He tends to report more on the less overt racism and more on how he was made violently uncomfortable and made to feel inhuman. It translates really well to the present where we use the "progress" of removing the more overt racism from society in order to then justify the systemic forms of racism that have persisted since the 50s. High mortality rates of mothers from black pregnancies, police violence, oppressive legislation, making it harder to vote, the gentrification of developing neighborhoods, etc etc. The last thing that was striking about this book was the difference race made in how ready people were to listen. Even nowadays in the case of the novel White Fragility many still see calls to action from minorities as insults to their character but calls to action from people who look like themselves to be valid. We have first-hand sources and we should be at a place societally to acknowledge that they know more about their own lives and struggles.
So good! I picked it up for $1 at a thrift store because I thought I recognized the title. It's difficult to put this book (and Griffins 'techniques') in the context of the 1960s after so much time has passed but it shows how we continue to fight the same battles using the same tactics/lies (white saviors, communists, acts of outsiders, etc.) over and over again.
Sadly, this book is still relevant 60 years later. For those who have not experienced segregation and explicit discrimination, the details of the book capture some the horror of its reality. The inhumanity and indignity of not being able to use a bathroom is palpable. The author's experience is rivetingly told in the dirty looks and ill-treatment, the disdain, and reveling of control over another's body and destiny by members of the dominant race. The invisibility and lack of personhood are felt deeply by the reader as experienced by even one month of "trading places" as an educated, savvy, and kind person of sound mind. This book opens a small window into the damage inflicted by segregation and racial discrimination on the mind, body, soul, and safety of the individual and the destructive forces on the social, cultural, and economic resources of a people.