John Howard Griffin Wonders What I Would Be Like If He Was A Black Man

October 28, 1959: John Howard Griffin wonders what it would be like if he was a black man. There has been an increase in suicides committed by southern black people. Realizing the only way to truly experience the discrimination that African Americans face in the South is to become a black person, he decides he must do this.
October 29, 1959: John Howard Griffin goes to converses with the owner (George Levitan) and editorial director (Adelle Jackson) of Sepia, a magazine whose audience consists predominately of black people. Both Mr. Levitan and Mrs. Jackson think this idea is very dangerous, but they are willing to help. Griffin tells his wife his plan when he gets back home. She will operate as a single mother while he is away.
October 30,

The dermatologist recommends using UV rays to do this. Griffin is worried about the possible repercussions so he chooses not to get his friend involved. John Howard Griffin visits a section of New Orleans that is mostly made up of black people to see if he can find connections so it will be easier for him to join their community.
November 6: Griffin continues to go through treatment to darken his skin color. The dermatologist begins to question if this is a good idea or not. According to the dermatologist, black people with a lighter pigmentation are treated better than those of a darker complexion. While walking through the streets of New Orleans, Griffin meets Sterling Williams, an African American WW1 veteran. Sterling could be a potential contact to help him get into the African-American community of New Orleans.
November 7: He visited the doctor for the last time. Griffin shaves his head. When John Howard Griffin looked in the mirror, he freaked out because he didn’t recognize his own reflection. This made him very self-conscious and feel like he was a completely different person. As Griffin walked through New Orleans, he was treated completely different, almost as if he was invisible. He walks to the hotel. Inside the hotel, Griffin goes to the bathroom. There is another man waiting to take a shower. They talk, John goes back to his room, and then he goes to

Griffin is walking from Biloxi to Mobile, Alabama, and he hitchhikes whenever the opportunity is provided to him. Griffin learns that black people are not allowed to go on beaches, however; they have to pay the gasoline tax, which is used to pay for the upkeep of the beaches. A man from Massachusetts gives Griffin a ride to Mobile. John notices that he gets rides after dark, but not any during the daylight. They were curious about the sexual life of African Americans. Griffin lectures one of the men who picks him up about the unjust treatment of black people and how black men sometimes use sex prove their manhood. John Howard Griffin believes equal education is the key to fixing the racial injustice in the South. Another man picks him up and treats Griffin as if he was any other man. He stays with an old African American man.
November 21: Griffin unsuccessfully searches for a job in Mobile. A white guy told John that the don’t want African-Americans in their state. He perceived that black people were treated like “beast of burden” in Alabama.
November 24: Griffin stays with a black family. The kids are really nice to him. This made him miss his family. John Howard Griffin was ready to end this