John Howard Griffin

"Black Like Me" written by John Howard Griffin. Based on a white man who becomes black. Griffin wanted to know how life was for African American in the south. However, he was white and so that he would not be accepted by the Negroes. For that reason, Griffin darkened his skin and live as a Negro in the southern states in the 1950s.

Nearly three centuries ago, black men and women from Africa were brought to America and put into slavery. They were treated more cruelly in the United States than in any other country that had practiced slavery. African Americans didn’t gain their freedom until after the Civil War, nearly one-hundred years later. Even though African Americans were freed and the constitution was amended to guarantee racial equality, they were still not treated the same as whites and were thought of as second class citizens. One man had the right idea on how to change America, Martin Luther King Jr. had the best philosophy for advancing civil rights, he preached nonviolence to express the need for change in America and he united both African Americans and whites together to fight for economic and social equality.

He became hungry for knowledge. The hunger of knowledge helped Richard understand racism, he states “I knew that southern whites hated the idea of Negroes leaving to live in places where the racial atmosphere was different” (Wright 255). The hardship Richard was facing before was trying to understand why his people were any different from anyone else. Towards the end he has got a better understanding of it. In conclusion, in the novels Black Boy by Richard Wright and Bloods by Wallace Terry both share the common theme of having to deal with racism throughout the day and finding a way to get by.

He wanted to know what stood between the white man and black man, why they could not communicate. Griffin writes in his book that, “the only way I could see to bridge the gap between us was to become a Negro” (Griffin 1). His journey then began and he lived the life of a black man. It is with such bravery that he went and risked becoming a Negro. He knew that adverse consequences would occur once people knew the truth.

In the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Written by Himself, Frederick Douglass establishes for us the many factors that lead to the continual enslavement of the black race by connecting his own plight to that of other slaves as a plea for the abolition of slavery. The evil of slavery infected every master to pervert the truth to his own satisfaction and Douglass explains how slavery corrupts the humanity of both slave and master. The legal system was also not an option for slaves to turn to for help because they had no legal rights. The fear of losing friends and never being able to trust anyone again was enough to keep many back in bondage. And the lack of education left their minds dulled to any thoughts beyond what they already knew which was just their own miserable condition.

The author states, “I am the darker brother” (2.2) Here Hughes is clearly speaking on behalf of the African American race because during the early and mid 1900’s African American were oppressed because of their darker skin color. No where in the writing does Hughes mention the word racism, segregation, discrimination. No where in the poem are words like Civil Rights Movement or Harlem Renaissance read. Yet, the reader knows exactly what Langston Hughes is referring to. This is because the writing talks about a darker brother being told to eat somewhere else.

In the story, Ellison uses blindfold as a symbol of oppression. Before the fight commenced, the blacks were obligated to wear the blindfold. Even though it was against their will, they did it anyway... ... middle of paper ... .... In his life the restriction by the whites didn’t stop or discourage him from following his dream, which made him unique and outstanding. He was capable of thinking for himself, even though the whites had tried to “guide” him like the other blacks.

In 1895, 30 years after the Civil War ended, African Americans still were not granted the rights they ever so desired. The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) has just died down after oppressing blacks for the first time causing African Americans as a whole to be fearful of the power whites held over our society. Confused and frightened on how to handle the state blacks were in, civil rights activist leaders Booker T. Washington and WEB Dubois began getting recognition from all US citizens due to their drastically different and distinctive ideologies. We as a nation were determined to combat the situation blacks were swirled in. With the nation being scared as to where black equality will lead the nation, Booker T. Washington and WEB Dubois create clashing

The first lasting and long term effect racism towards Richard had on him was that it caused him to think differently of people. Racism caused Richard to think differently of people because he did not understand how, or why the white people that he lived with hated him, and his race with such a great passion. He never comprehended how people could have so much hatred inside of them to act, and treat another race so poorly. Richard reads in an advertisement from the newspaper he was selling, “The only dream of a is to be President and to sleep with white women…” (Wright 131). This quote is depicting an African-American.

Now that they were freed they had no way to make money because they had no skills, and this caused many freed slaves to starve to death.There were also many laws that were put into effect that made it so that they could not live as the constitution said that they should be able to. Many slaves were also killed for no reason except for the color of their skin. Segregation would later become one of the major problems between African Americans and whites. Even a century after they had been freed African Americans were experiencing a lot of strug... ... middle of paper ... ... no more rights many African Americans longed for freedom even more than they had before. Works Cited Harlan, Louis.