kmdk reviewed Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin
Review of 'Black Like Me' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
I picked up this book at a flea market years ago as a book I should read, but didn't get around to it until this week. Yes, it is dated, but no, it is not dated. Just think of what happened in Ferguson, Missouri in the second half of 2014. Or any of a number of headline incidents in the past few years in the United States. I read a few reviews before starting my review. Yes, the author is a white man in reality, but at the time, how else were such tales to be told? The daily life of many people as described in this book was a constant clash with racism. The episodes of racism as described are pretty awful even when they are just about "looks of hatred". The question is how many people had their minds changed by this book. Would a racist change his …
I picked up this book at a flea market years ago as a book I should read, but didn't get around to it until this week. Yes, it is dated, but no, it is not dated. Just think of what happened in Ferguson, Missouri in the second half of 2014. Or any of a number of headline incidents in the past few years in the United States. I read a few reviews before starting my review. Yes, the author is a white man in reality, but at the time, how else were such tales to be told? The daily life of many people as described in this book was a constant clash with racism. The episodes of racism as described are pretty awful even when they are just about "looks of hatred". The question is how many people had their minds changed by this book. Would a racist change his or her mind and show remorse for earlier actions? I think not. The book serves as a tool to educate. It is unfortunately still a valid read.
Coincidentally, I read this while in the middle of reading "Americanah". Reading some of that book's discussions about race sort of accentuated the reading about racism in this book. I read an old Signet paperback version. At the back was a list of other similar books of the time (1961) including Ralph Ellison's "Invisible Man", James Baldwin's "Go Tell It on the Mountain", Richard Wright's "Native Son", and Lorraine Hansberry's "A Raisin in the Sun". I have already checked out "Invisible Man" from the library...
