Ethics in Black Like Me by John Griffin

Black Like Me is the incredibly interesting story of John Griffin, a Caucasian man who decided to try being African American in the south during the 60s. In this analysis paper I will be addressing the ethics of this project, his potential self-deception, his ability to pass unnoticed as an imposter, along with his courage for attempting such a dangerous project in the Deep South. His project was a success and a remarkable accomplishment for such an individual.

Racism violates universal rights, and therefore is ethically wrong says Asking Ethical Questions. John Griffin when disguised as an African American experienced a great deal of racism. Undeniable what he experienced was ethically wrong, but was his experiment also ethically wrong? Asking Ethical Questions goes on to mention how deceiving someone is ethically wrong. Of course the whole story of Black Like Me revolves around Griffin’s deception of individuals both black and white. However did his deceit directly harm anyone? No, but it easily could have. All of the remarkable individuals who helped him along his study could have been seriously harmed if it was found out what he was doing. After he went public with what he had done the backlash forced him to move his family to Mexico for their own safety. Luckily his family was not harmed, but imagine if they had been harmed by a radical individual. Ethically I believe that would have been hugely wrong if his actions resulted directly in personal injury of death.

I struggle to understand how his transformation from black to white could have been so easy and flawless. How by simply dyeing his skin, taking medication, and shaving his head he was perfectly transformed. I find it hard to believe that no one would notice his disti...

... middle of paper ...

.... I would hope that if he were with us today he would see how far we have come, and think that everything he did and all that he suffered was for the benefit of all.

All in all Griffin’s project was groundbreaking and nothing like it had ever been attempted before or since. He kept his personal bias to a bare minimum which is an admirable accomplishment in itself. He gave up his own peace and quiet, made his life heavily scrutinized by the media and changed his future forever. I greatly respect the amount of courage it took for him to carry on through it all until the end. While he may not have gotten a full picture of what was happening during his time as an African American, he selflessly shared all that he had learned and tried to help race relations as best he could. What he did will show what a single person with a little help can do to combat national issues.