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alleerose 's review for:
Black Like Me
by John Howard Griffin
To begin with, I'm rather dubious that a white person could believably darken their skin enough to pass for a black person. But apparently it actually happened, so okay. Anyway I was prepared to (a la 'stuff white people like') be offended on behalf of black people. But even reading it and looking for ways to be offended, the book didn't provide many. (That being said - perhaps it is horribly offensive that a white man essentially assumed black face, lived in it for a couple months, and then presumed to speak for the entire race. But as a white person, that's not something I can speak to). The epilogue to the book was particularly enlightening - Griffin seemed to be aware of white privilege before it was ever termed as such. He seemed to know his place within the civil rights movement and understood that it was more important for blacks to take the reins, and was embarrassed when he had to. Perhaps it was faux modesty, but doesn't seem like it. In the end, a hard, unpleasant read, but still an important one that rings true today. In fact, certain passages - particularly about racists using religion to justify their beliefs - are painfully relevant to our own times.