Topic > Acceptance and Love as a Weapon Against Hate in Black Like Me by John Griffin

Black Like Me is a historical autobiography written by a black man named John Howard Griffin. One of the reasons the book is so profound is because Griffin was not born black. To truly understand the social injustice of the time, Griffin transformed his race with medicine and makeup. Griffin's experience led to many realizations that, although unknown to him, people faced terrible treatment every day. The statement “He who is less than just is less than man”. shows how deeply he believed in equality and respect. Ignorance and rudeness were often encountered by Griffin, even though he was friendly and put up with remarks such as "they're getting cheekier every day." During his travels through the Deep South, including New Orleans, Louisiana, and many other states, Griffin finds acceptance from some and discrimination from many. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Written in a first-person narrative, Griffin uses his journal entries to create his book. This gives the reader first-hand insight into his experience. Griffin's past experiences and knowledge likely gave him a sense of understanding and respect for people. His background in studying the effects of music on the criminally insane shows his innate sense of kindness and helpfulness towards all people. Griffin's purpose in writing his memoirs was to try to offer a sense of enlightenment to a hateful world. Griffin truly did the unthinkable, what no one else at that time would do, just to understand and teach others. Griffin's main topic of his work is the dangerousness of racism. Throughout its history, one obvious and evident factor is discrimination. Even a seemingly kind man found it entirely appropriate to call Griffin who is obviously an adult a "boy." Griffin himself was filled with fear and shock when he saw himself in the mirror: “I expected to see myself in drag, but this was something else. I was imprisoned in the flesh of a stranger... a change so profound it filled me with anguish." Although he showed no hatred for his color, Griffin knew his life would change and knew the fear and resentment he should expect. Griffin he experienced the fight against racism so much that he could barely find a place to use the bathroom, get a drink of water, or spend the night. Hate was so common that Griffin realized “What in a mix of gibberish, the word "nigger" jumps out with electric clarity. This shows how quickly judgment was made based on one aspect. People's ignorance was so profound that he had lived his entire life without experiencing it, when that was all many people knew. Griffin argues that the inequality of life is unfair, no one should have to endure what black people have had to live with. He argues that a person's character is judged rather than their race and that the kindness of blacks are reciprocated by whites. Griffin conveys the urgency of changing social standards. The sheer hatred felt leads Griffin to feel “he's had enough. Suddenly I could no longer bear this degradation, not of myself but of all the men who were black like me” (Griffin 132). Griffin's work is extremely significant to the time period. Conveying his experience provides insight and understanding to an otherwise foreign idea, simply educating the audience with his project. Not only is he able to describe a day in someone else's life, he is able to experience it first hand..