Black Like Me Research Paper

1006 Words3 Pages

In John Howard Griffin’s autobiography titled Black Like Me, Griffin experiences first-hand what it is like to be an African American. Determined to learn the truth about living a life as a black man, Griffin decides to change his skin color. Through special medication and exposure to ultraviolet rays, Griffin’s life suddenly changed. He is treated with great disrespect and hate. He can only go into certain buildings and use certain restrooms. He is hated only because of his skin color. After the experiment, Griffin changes back to his original white skin color. He tells the world what it is like to live as a black person in America. After sharing this, all of his peers and even some of his good friends turn on him. Griffin and his …show more content…

“The Negro’s only salvation from complete despair lies in his belief, the old belief of his forefathers, that these things are not directed against him personally, but against his race, his pigmentation.” (Griffin 45). This reminds me of the Holocaust. The Nazis did not persecute the Jews because of something they said or done, they persecuted the Jews because they were Jewish. They did not even give the Jews a chance to prove themselves as good people. This was the same exact situation with the white and black men. White men instantly began putting down and discriminating the black men. They didn’t even know their name. Because of their color, race, or religion, people were punished heavily for just being themselves. Griffin goes on to say that racism can damage the whole community. “Where racism is practiced, it damages the whole community, not just the victim group.” (Griffin 165). When Hitler targeted the Jews, it didn’t just affect his Nazis or the Jews. It affected the whole country. It even spread to different countries. Everybody was against the Jews. This was the same exact situation for the black people. When the whites targeted against them, it didn’t just affect a city or state. It affected the whole United States of America. Almost everybody from almost everywhere was against the black people and the Jews, just because of their color or

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