1. BLACK LIKE ME
John Howard Griffin

2. John Howard Griffin
Born in Dallas, Texas, “strictly segregationist and racist in the intractable mold of the deep South” (Bonazzi)
Attended high school in France, joined the French resistance, helping to smuggle Jewish children out of France (name was rumored to be on a Nazi death list at one time)
Joined the Air Force and injuries paired with his diabetes caused him to lose his sight (1947)
Miraculously regained his sight (1957)
Died due to a myriad of health problems at the age of 60 (1980). Urban legends erroneously claim that the medication he used to darken his skin were the cause of his death.

3. BLACK LIKE ME Written 1959 Published 1961
Journal format describes his six weeks traveling through racially segregated states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia

4. BLACK LIKE ME
Title of the novel taken from the last line of Langston Hughes’ poem “Dream Variation”

5. Black like me. Rest at pale evening... A tall slim tree...
Night coming tenderly
Black like me.

6. BLACK LIKE ME—THEMES
Griffin’s conclusion was that mistreatment/ deprivation of rights often led to bad decisions and/or crime.
In turn, those who already hold a prejudice continue to judge them more harshly based on their bad behavior, thus allowing the racism to continue even to this day.
The theme of falsely judging people is also explored throughout the novel.

7. BLACK LIKE ME—BACKLASH
Griffin was vilified
Hanged in effigy in his Texas hometown
Received death threats
Later, he became a leading advocate for civil rights and gained respect as a Human Rights Activist

8. John Howard Griffin…
“I do not represent myself as a spokesman for black people or for anyone else…[Black like me] was a personal nightmare…I have had a life that I loathe these past five years…but I have had to go in conscience and also because I am under spiritual direction and because we’ve had one racial crisis after another.”

9. The Civil Rights Movement
1959—race relations very strained in North America, particularly in the South.
The Civil Rights Movement began in 1954 and continued until 1965.

10. Major events in the timeline of the Civil Rights Movement
1954—Brown
vs. Board of
Education
1957—
Desegregation At
Little Rock
1955—
Montgomery
Bus Boycott
1963—
March On
Washington

11. Famous Civil Rights Activists
Rosa Parks
--refused to move to the back of the bus

12. Famous Civil Rights Activists
Malcolm X
--dubbed the “angriest black man in America”

13. Famous Civil Rights Activists
W.E.B.
Du Bois
( )
--educator and writer
--coined the term “double
Conscious-ness”

14. Famous Civil Rights Activists
Martin Luther King Jr.
( )
-considered one of the must pivotal figures in the Civil Rights Movement

15. Social and Political Climate
New Orleans most progressive
Mississippi most oppressive
Tactics used to keep black vote down:
--intimidation
--threats
--poll taxes
Young reformists (more radical) vs. old reformists (more conservative)
Early 1960’s, Mississippi poorest state in nation.
86% of non-white families lived below the national poverty line.
1950s, Miss. 45% black, but only 5% of voting age blacks were registered to vote.
White registrars asked black applicants to read or interpret sections of the constitution. Most blacks “failed”.

16. Fighting Discrimination—Different approaches

17. MUSIC OF THE TIMES
“Strange Fruit” by Billie Holiday (1939) condemned American racism, particularly the lynching of African Americans
“This little light of mine”—civil rights spiritual during 50s and 60s
“We shall overcome”—powerful slogan and spiritual during 50s and 60s (used by President Johnson in 1965 during a speech to congress)

18. WE SHALL OVERCOME

19. MAKING THE CONNECTION In your own words, what is racism?
Does racism still exist today?
What do you expect to learn/observe in this novel?