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Black Like Me

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Black Like Me

By: John Howard Griffin
Narrated by: Ray Childs
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About this listen

Writer John Howard Griffin (1920-1980) decided to perform an experiment in order to learn from the inside out how one race could withstand the second class citizenship imposed on it by another race. Through medication, he dyed his skin dark and left his family and home in Texas to find out.

The setting is the Deep South in 1959. What began as scientific research ended up changing his life in every way imaginable. When he decided the real story was in his journals, he published them, and the storm that followed is now part of American history.

As performed by Ray Childs, this first-ever recording of Black Like Me will leave each listener deeply affected. John Howard Griffin did the impossible to help bring the full effect of racism to the forefront of America's conscience.

©1989 Elizabeth Griffin-Bonazzi, Susan Griffin-Campbell, John H. Griffin, Jr., Gregory P. Griffin, and Amanda Griffin-Sanderson; 1960, 1961, 1977 John Howard Griffin (P)2004 Audio Bookshelf Americas Anthropology Black & African American Cultural & Regional Social Sciences United States

Critic reviews

"No one can read it without suffering." ( Dallas Morning News)
"Only the coldest of hearts could be unaffected by this story, told with dignity and warmth, conviction and steadfast honesty. Audiobooks like this can help heal wounds and open minds about racism, an issue our nation still struggles with." ( AudioFile)
All stars
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Everyone should read this unique perspective, and make sincere attempts to learn from it and be inspired by it.

A must read.

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An amazing book which is the most eye-opening account I’ve read which truly shows what black people had to go through during this tragic period, based on a white person’s point of view. There’s still some dreadful oppression now no doubt but what American white people made black people go through mainly in the south, just because of their skin pigmentation, during this book is hugely upsetting. I’d love someone to do the same now and see how much progress there has been of attitudes in the south.

An eye-opening account

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This book amazed me, I couldn’t believe the lengths this man went to in the 50’s. I didn’t know you could chemically change the colour of your skin to that degree now never mind then!
This book gives you strength and reaffirms your faith in most of the human race at what was then, and for different reasons is also now, a very difficult time for loving some people!!
Just goes to show for every hitler, trump, farge, hopkins there is someone more than equal quietly but effectively fighting, not having to shout, tweet (seriously?!!!) and wave banners

Amazing! I had to check out if this was real

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Really insightful storytelling, Griffin was a sincere man, his sincerity much appreciated. Great job by the narrator too.

Quite an eye opening read

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If you could sum up Black Like Me in three words, what would they be?

Don't miss it.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Black Like Me?

There is plenty of bleak humour in this book. One of the most grimly funny exchanges was when Griffin was discussing visiting a church and then in the same conversation asked where he could find the closest of the very few "black" toilets. The other man asked him if he wanted "to pray or to piss" and then observed that since there were so few such facilities available for the use of black people in town, he would spend most of his time "praying for a place to piss".

What about Ray Childs’s performance did you like?

He read the narrative well.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

It's a short book but couldn't be read properly in one sitting because there was too much to think about.

Any additional comments?

An important historical document, absorbingly well told.

Important

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I read this book when I was a teenager living in America - to go back to it now many decades later and find it just as shocking and fascinating goes to show what an extraordinary tale it is. It should be compulsory for all! Perfectly narrated too.

Still an extraordinary tale

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Read this at school in the lates 70's. As a black pupil in a mainly black class I was really fascinated by the unusual storyline and was really anxious to get through to the end.I wasn't disappointed at all.Since rediscovering it, have recommended to others, black and white!

Excellent listening - great narration!

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This was one of those books one finds hard to pause. The content was very interesting - and often infinitely sad and anguishing - and the diary like proceeding was a good choice. In the beginning I wondered some of the choice of words of the author, but this all took place and was written a in a different time. All in all, I think this is still a very important book to read for people who have no real knowledge of how it was in times of official segregation and even afterwards.

The reader has a really pleasant soft, low voice. At first I thought that the his reading was a little too dramatic, but after a while I got used to his style and started to appreciate how he made all the different persons sound different. It really made a difference while listening.

An eye opening book of how it was

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A really interesting insight for me, as a white reader. However, I wonder how critical race theorists of today, as well as BAME readers, would evaluate it. I guess it has its limitations, but for me it helped contextualise some of what I have learned from non-fiction texts with experiential evidence. I would love to know what Ibram X. Kendi thinks of it... ?

Fascinating!

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This is a timeless account of extreme bravery in the face of extreme injustice. I thought I knew about the racism that went on until I listened to this remarkable book that has left me incredulous. As the daughter of a white mother and a Jamaican father born in 1969 I have a much better understanding of society at the time of my birth which, judging by the epilogue, was not much better than 20 years earlier. This is an astonishing example of how one man’s determination can indeed change the direction of society, albeit much more slowly than we would all want. Thank you.

Vital reading in todays turbulent times

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