John Howard Griffin, the main character and author of the book Black Like Me, was born in Dallas, Texas. In 1959 Griffin was living in Mansfield, Texas were he found himself frustrated in his inability to understand the black/African American experience. Wanting to experience firsthand the obstacles and hardships of being black in America, Griffin did something no one thought could be done. He decided to go through with a medical treatment to change the color of his skin, temporarily becoming a black man. Once he received his support from his wife and friend George Levitan, the editor of a magazine called Black-Oriented, he immediately packed his bags and headed to New Orleans and began his story through the segregated Deep South. When John’s plane arrived in New …show more content…
While in the strangers’ car he told John who was black at the time, “Do you know what we do with troublemakers down here?” John replied, “No Sir.” The man then explained, “We either ship them off to the pen or kill them. You can kill a Negro and toss him into the swamp and no one will find him” (Griffin 104). After his time spent in this experiment Griffin returned home safely. He than began to put each experience into words for the world to hear. After his book was published he was invited onto several talk shows. Magazine and newspaper articles were written about his book. Griffin was able to draw readers in with his diary style format of writing. He was able to capture the feelings, thoughts, emotions, and sights that many people were already feeling each and every day. By reading his book, readers could more easily relate to one another and understand the struggles African Americans were facing in the south. John was telling the readers his story on walking in the shoes of a black man and first hand what they go through. Perhaps this will get people to open their eyes and work harder on making this world a better place. After John’s book got published he received many Dallas