I have finished reading Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin. This book was a very amazing and inspiring read. Through out the book I was continually amazed by the southern people's discrimination against the black race. I can hardly believe it could get so bad on such a broad scale. A small hate group is one thing but for the whole population to be thinking that way or at least permitting it is very astonishing. As Griffin neared the end of his experiment as a black man he was switching back and forth between races and visiting the same places. I was amazed at how different the receptions he recieved were. He was the same man both times, wore the same clothes, everything was the same except his skin colour but when he was white he could go where he pleased and buy what he wanted but as a black he was treated with hostility and was very restricted. It is very sad really that discrimination like this can happen so openly and be so supported. After Griffin had published his journal and done quite a few interviews he recieved a very interesting mix of responses. He recieves many support letters, a large portion actually rom people living in the southern States. I thought that was interesting since that is where the racism is the worst, but it shows you how powerful peer pressure really is. No one wants to stick out and be the odd ball, people would rather be wrong than to be unpopular. In Griffin's own town though he is recieved with a lot of hostility and he eventually moves to Mexico so he and his family can escape this. I found the book very eye opening and educational. I would reccomend this book to nearly anyone.

I have continued reading Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin. I have been very busy with school and such and have not been able to read that much lately. Hopefully tonight I will be able to go home and finish the book. I have now read to the part where he is hitch-hiking across the state. I found it interesting that he would only be able to get a ride during the night. No one would give him a ride in the light of the day. This shows how big of an impact that peer pressure really has. I wonder how many of those people acting like they did to him would act different if you put them in a non prejudiced country where people didn't care what colour you where. I also find it very sad that even when they did give him a ride they would only do it so they could quiz him about his sexual experiences. Why did they assume that just because he was black he wouldn't mind talking about that kind of stuff? They would be way too embarrassed to ask another white man about a subject like that. Why was the black man considered as more of an animal than a human just because their skin was darker? He tells us about his difficulty in finding a job just because of his skin colour. That was one thing that really puzzled me. Why wouldn't they want to hire a black person. They have continually showed that they were capable of working amazingly hard, way harder than some rich white man would. They would nearly work to death if they could give their families a better life. Why wouldn't people hire them? The only reason I could think of would be because then they would be out mixing and mingling with the whites but there are a lot of jobs that don't involve any public contact. Why were they so discriminated against? That was so wrong. I am very glad that we have came such a long ways in that department and I hope we keep on progressing.