Total Pageviews

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

In the 50s, a white reporter travelled as a black man for 6 weeks. After he published his experiences, he had to move to Mexico!

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception 

Journalist John Howard Griffin published his nonfiction book "Black Like Me" in 1961. The book chronicled his experiences while he was disguised as a black man for six weeks.

During that time, Griffin traveled on Greyhound buses and sometimes hitchhiked across the southern states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia.
With the help of a doctor, Griffin, a white man, artificially darkened his skin. He did not alter his name, occupation or anything else though.
Griffin chronicled his experiences in a 188 page journal in an effort to document the trials of black people in the south during this particular time period and did experience discrimination.
After the book was published, Griffin received both positive and negative reactions. Many people sent him letters of support for his actions, but he also received a number of threats in his Texas hometown.

He was actually forced to move to Mexico for several years for his safety. In 1964, the film version of "Black Like Me" was produced.

No comments: