ellieaugust 's review for:

Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin

3.0

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I don't know how much value this book holds for the modern reader. I believe you could get much more insightful (and current) looks into racism in the US than Black Like Me, books that were written by people who've had to live with racism their whole lives rather just taking a tourist's glimpse at the realties of being black in America. It's funny really, at the beginning of the book Griffin defends his work, saying that one cannot dismiss it for being written by a white man, insisting he is giving the full picture. Then he continuously reveals how very much this book isn't written by someone who truly knows the black experience. For instance, he repeatedly tries to give white people excuses even when they say the most monstrous things like when a man admits to rapping his black female employees and Griffen tries to imagine the man with his grandchildren rather than allowing himself to realize the full horror of the man's actions.

The only thing that was truly useful about this book today is the stark demonstration of how little has changed when it comes to t institutional racism built into our systems. Sure, people no longer have to worry about finding a fountain or restroom that is assigned to their race but the economic and social pressures designed to prevent equality are very much alive and well.