Notes

Outline

John Howard Griffin “The Man in the Mirror”

“A Genteel Southerner” Born in Dallas 1920 Middle Class Family Segregationist at that time This area has been described as “the place where the south continues…” Came from Irish & Dutch Heritage; his father’s family is Baptist, his mother’s Episcopalian

Education In Junior High he became frustrated by the limited curriculum of public school He spotted a newspaper ad for a boy’s school in France and begged the school master to let him in Six months later he received a letter admitting him Despite the fact that his parents could only send him one way, he went

Racism was part of growing up… As he says: “I had the Black Mammy…and the kind, Southern, slave owner mentality was drilled into me…and we were given the destructive illusion that Negroes were somehow different.  We were horrified in lynching, [and yet], in a way we were practicing slavery everyday.”

Becoming aware… A couple of events triggered Griffin’s awareness of his own racism In France, he once remarked how he was surprised a Black was allowed in the café.  His friend remarked “why?”  he honestly could not answer and suddenly realized his own prejudice. He slowly realized that although benevolent, the attitudes sustained by his family were still racist.

Resistance Movement in France During his time in France, he began working at a Medical Facility when Germany began an assault on the Borders He joined the underground resistance movement with other students trying to hide Jewish refugees to smuggle out of the country He could clearly see the “racism” and evil in the discrimination of the Jews, but could not somehow make the connection to Blacks in the South.

Similarities of Racism Griffin would later recall that “”If he had” at that time “perceived any connection between anti-Semitism and white racism, he would have associated the Nazis with the Ku Klux Klan” Following a failed attempt to smuggle an Austrian family out of the country, he was discovered.  His friend was killed fighting for the Free French Army and Griffin and fled to Ireland to await passage back to America.

Military Life Griffin could not sit idle in Texas while a war raged on He joined the Air Force and because of his linguistic skills was chosen to go to a island to help keep the villagers loyal to the U.S. He considered these “Aboriginal” people to be “un-evolved people”  or “The Other.”

Blindness Descends…. Griffin choose the short straw for a special mission on one of the islands He was to watch for enemy invasion and to destroy all information in his tent if they were attacked. One morning the attack came and he was injured trying to escape the bombing

Shipped Home Again Griffin’s eyesight deteriorated quickly and he became totally blind He returned to France and requested residence at the Abbey of Saint Pierre He wanted to be a Musicologist He also found Spiritualism and began to write His ideas about Racism also became a preoccupation Without eyesight he could only see human beings as human beings

As Life went on…. Miraculously Griffin’s eye sight started coming back in 1957 and he was able to see again Griffin wrote a couple of books that were semi-popular in nature Facing the birth of his third child, and the need for income, he decided to embark on an interesting experiment Still concerned with the issue of race, he decided to conduct an experiment to live life as a Black Man and left for New Orleans with a contract to send Sepia articles

Becoming the Other…. In 1959, with the help of a doctor, Griffin chemically altered his skin color and laid under a sunlamp daily to hasten the color of his skin The first thing he realized was what he failed to perceive –that he “had been taught to think white, rather than to be human, to perceive the stereotypes rather than to see another the human being.”

Passing Griffin didn’t expect to pass as Black, but both Whites and Blacks accepted his identity He ended up staying in the homes of Blacks often and he was always honest. But when he told Blacks he was really White, “the looks of pain and distress in the eyes of my hosts told me clearly…. Who is this Black man who thinks he’s white?”

Man in the Mirror… Griffin’s book describes several encounters looking in the mirror, reflecting different changes in his attitude.  The first time he feels” imprisoned in the flesh of an utter stranger, an unsympathetic one with whom I felt no kinship…” and through his negative reaction, “knows he has come face to face with his own racism” Each time, he becomes more and more angered by the unfair treatment of whites against Blacks of which he is now subject.

Main Points of the Experiment Whites liked to question him about Black sexuality and constantly reminded him of his lower place in society He could only find menial jobs and even when hired over the phone, he would be turned down when they saw his skin color He became accustomed to the “Hate Stare” that he often encountered for no apparent reason other than his skin color

Final Days Griffin did the experiment for about Six Weeks On his final days in New Orleans, he was confronted with a ticket agent who would not sell him a ticket, claming she had no change for a ten dollar bill.  When he didn’t leave, she changed his bill and threw his ticket and money out the booth onto the ground Once on the bus, he was vehemently denied by the bus driver at one stop to go the restroom

Returning Home…. Following the Experiment he feared his wife and children would not see him as the same person anymore, or that through his experiences, he would feel differently But he returned home to his family and open arms After “Black Like Me” was published he faced protests He also gave lectures on his experience He died in 1980 due to complications of Diabetes

Exercise DOT World Welcome to DOT World The Most important thing in DOT World is finding work Find an Employer and convince them to hire you They can be stubborn about hiring, so make a convincing argument

Exercise 2 After watching the Video, discuss similarities in this real life plot to the story the Invisible Man What aspects of this story’s events or characters serve the same function to make the Invisible Man reflect, as in a Mirror?