Discrimination By John Howard Griffin Summary
The story begins with John Howard Griffin, a white male from Texas, who explains his concern of not being able to understand the prejudice and struggles that blacks face. He wonders what it would be like to face discrimination based on a factor that he can’t control, the color of his skin, and comes up with an idea to experience discrimination firsthand. He leaves his white family in order to undergo a skin darkening process, which will allow him to disguise himself and be able to fit in with the black community. On this journey he encounters others of his new race accepting, while the whites tend to be rude and unaccepting of his new appearance. He experiences the racial segregation on buses and trains such as not being able to get off for a bathroom break.
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Other struggles he faces include not being able to find restaurants or places to eat for his race, so he must walk miles to get to a black café.
When he interacts with Whites he is faced with the conflicts of not being able to speak his mind in fear of offending. Along the way he receives a ride in which the white male questions his race being a black person?. Griffin explains that race doesn’t determine the differences, they are the same “ These are human matters, and the Negro is the same human as the white man”(Griffin, 91). He also discovers the distasteful thoughts White males felt as though they were helping by offering sexual exploits for black females to earn money. Griffin soon becomes drained by with the experience of being black so he switches back to his race and realizes it’s not the same, now knowing the racism given from his race. In hopes of resolving the issues and misunderstanding between the races Griffin wanted to share his experiences through a
novel.
Throughout the course of the story, Griffin reveals that there is a racial structure in society that he was unable to understand or relate to at the beginning of the book. In the functionalist theory, it is believed that when part of the social structure is not achieving stability, there will be issues and unrest that will eventually lead to social change. In the book, Griffin writes about the social dysfunction that is occurring which is not only the discrimination against those of colored skin but also the increasing suicide that he reads about at the beginning of the novel. “What do you see as our biggest problem, Mr. Griffin...? Lack of Unity…Until we as a race can learn to rise together, we’ll never get anywhere. That’s our trouble. We worked against one another instead of together” (Griffin, 32). The social change that is occurring can also be seen through Griffin himself who, by the end of the book, tries to encourage others to change their perspective towards minority races by writing about the racial experiences he encountered.
From the conflict theory perspective, Griffin also reveals that there is a social structure where the black and white races currently have tension due to unequal conditions between the two. During his experience while disguised as a black man, Griffin sees firsthand how the conflict is not limited to the refusal of jobs or services to blacks but also physical racial acts. Under this perspective, since there is a limited amount of available jobs and items that store owners are able to sell, the white community is using their power so that the resources will remain in their community rather than the blacks. Griffin shows that there is also violence targeted towards blacks such as the lynching of one man, as well as violence and threats towards those who are against the racist acts. “A heavyset muscular fellow in khaki pants and a white sweat shirt, whistled at me. I ignored him and continued walking. From the corner of my eye, I saw him get slowly to his feet and angle across under the streetlight to my side of the street...”Hey Mr. No Hair” he called. I realized he was following about seventy-five feet behind me” “ I’m gonna get you Mr. No- Hair. I’m after you”(Griffin, 34). Under the perspective, the violent acts such as this are caused by the white community trying to use any means to maintain their status and wealth above the minority, the black community.
In the novel, the author temporarily goes into the lifestyle of a minority and experiences firsthand what challenges are faced as a minority. Almost immediately after undergoing the process to appear black, the author faces discrimination and is treated as less than he was when he appeared white. “All the courtesies in the world do not cover up the one vital and massive discourtesy- That the Negro is treated not even as a second class citizen, but as a tenth-class one. His day to day living is a reminder of his inferior status” (Griffin, 45). This references that not at minorities are treated the same some are treated better in society than others. One aspect of minorities is being denied access to power, which first occurs to Griffin on a bus when the driver refuses to stop for him until a white person gets off, forcing Griffin to walk blocks back to his destination. In a similar way, Griffin’s access to power is taken away from him when trying to search for a job and upon searching at a factory, is told that by the owner that the reason he is refused work is due to his race. The novel shows that being a minority involves not only being denied rights that the dominant group has but also being denied the ability to earn these rights. In the novel, denying the black community the ability to work ensures that they cannot achieve a higher economic status and therefore cannot escape remaining a minority group. The novel also shows that as a minority, the initial perspective that others have of you are affected. When checking into a high class hotel as a white man, Griffin experiences hospitality from the employees however at the same hotel when Griffin’s complexion darkens, the employees act suspicious of him while he stays there. Throughout the novel, this shows that minorities face constant prejudice based on what other believe about their race as a whole, and that the actions a minority takes widely affects the stereotype about their race.
During the time that the story takes place the black race faced many difficulties including a major lack of rights. One difficulty being that in 1959 interracial marriage was illegal and couples were sent to jail for not abiding. Another incident that occurred in Mississippi where Charles Parker was lynched and the jury refused to indict was widely accepted during this time period, where whites with little or no punishment could lynch black people. Regardless of a black students level of intelligence, they weren’t accepted into certain colleges because of their race. In 1960, students at Alabama State College had organized a “sit in” without segregation and were condemned and then threatened with expulsion. There were also Jim Crow segregation laws in place, which separated bathrooms, water fountains, schools and other public spaces into those for blacks then those for whites. Martin Luther King Junior and other anti-segregation activists were arrested for refusal to leave their seats and other segregation laws. When trying to end segregation, blacks and even whites were often threatened or killed for trying to integrate the two races. When applying for jobs our race is still required, although race does not have as large of an influence as the past, people can still be deny according to their image. There are still stereotypes against different races, which play a factor when a person searches for employment and those who are associated with crimes. People still experience abuse from police and when given trial are assumed to be the suspect, with their race determining part of their innocence.
Other struggles he faces include not being able to find restaurants or places to eat for his race, so he must walk miles to get to a black café.
When he interacts with Whites he is faced with the conflicts of not being able to speak his mind in fear of offending. Along the way he receives a ride in which the white male questions his race being a black person?. Griffin explains that race doesn’t determine the differences, they are the same “ These are human matters, and the Negro is the same human as the white man”(Griffin, 91). He also discovers the distasteful thoughts White males felt as though they were helping by offering sexual exploits for black females to earn money. Griffin soon becomes drained by with the experience of being black so he switches back to his race and realizes it’s not the same, now knowing the racism given from his race. In hopes of resolving the issues and misunderstanding between the races Griffin wanted to share his experiences through a
novel.
Throughout the course of the story, Griffin reveals that there is a racial structure in society that he was unable to understand or relate to at the beginning of the book. In the functionalist theory, it is believed that when part of the social structure is not achieving stability, there will be issues and unrest that will eventually lead to social change. In the book, Griffin writes about the social dysfunction that is occurring which is not only the discrimination against those of colored skin but also the increasing suicide that he reads about at the beginning of the novel. “What do you see as our biggest problem, Mr. Griffin...? Lack of Unity…Until we as a race can learn to rise together, we’ll never get anywhere. That’s our trouble. We worked against one another instead of together” (Griffin, 32). The social change that is occurring can also be seen through Griffin himself who, by the end of the book, tries to encourage others to change their perspective towards minority races by writing about the racial experiences he encountered.
From the conflict theory perspective, Griffin also reveals that there is a social structure where the black and white races currently have tension due to unequal conditions between the two. During his experience while disguised as a black man, Griffin sees firsthand how the conflict is not limited to the refusal of jobs or services to blacks but also physical racial acts. Under this perspective, since there is a limited amount of available jobs and items that store owners are able to sell, the white community is using their power so that the resources will remain in their community rather than the blacks. Griffin shows that there is also violence targeted towards blacks such as the lynching of one man, as well as violence and threats towards those who are against the racist acts. “A heavyset muscular fellow in khaki pants and a white sweat shirt, whistled at me. I ignored him and continued walking. From the corner of my eye, I saw him get slowly to his feet and angle across under the streetlight to my side of the street...”Hey Mr. No Hair” he called. I realized he was following about seventy-five feet behind me” “ I’m gonna get you Mr. No- Hair. I’m after you”(Griffin, 34). Under the perspective, the violent acts such as this are caused by the white community trying to use any means to maintain their status and wealth above the minority, the black community.
In the novel, the author temporarily goes into the lifestyle of a minority and experiences firsthand what challenges are faced as a minority. Almost immediately after undergoing the process to appear black, the author faces discrimination and is treated as less than he was when he appeared white. “All the courtesies in the world do not cover up the one vital and massive discourtesy- That the Negro is treated not even as a second class citizen, but as a tenth-class one. His day to day living is a reminder of his inferior status” (Griffin, 45). This references that not at minorities are treated the same some are treated better in society than others. One aspect of minorities is being denied access to power, which first occurs to Griffin on a bus when the driver refuses to stop for him until a white person gets off, forcing Griffin to walk blocks back to his destination. In a similar way, Griffin’s access to power is taken away from him when trying to search for a job and upon searching at a factory, is told that by the owner that the reason he is refused work is due to his race. The novel shows that being a minority involves not only being denied rights that the dominant group has but also being denied the ability to earn these rights. In the novel, denying the black community the ability to work ensures that they cannot achieve a higher economic status and therefore cannot escape remaining a minority group. The novel also shows that as a minority, the initial perspective that others have of you are affected. When checking into a high class hotel as a white man, Griffin experiences hospitality from the employees however at the same hotel when Griffin’s complexion darkens, the employees act suspicious of him while he stays there. Throughout the novel, this shows that minorities face constant prejudice based on what other believe about their race as a whole, and that the actions a minority takes widely affects the stereotype about their race.
During the time that the story takes place the black race faced many difficulties including a major lack of rights. One difficulty being that in 1959 interracial marriage was illegal and couples were sent to jail for not abiding. Another incident that occurred in Mississippi where Charles Parker was lynched and the jury refused to indict was widely accepted during this time period, where whites with little or no punishment could lynch black people. Regardless of a black students level of intelligence, they weren’t accepted into certain colleges because of their race. In 1960, students at Alabama State College had organized a “sit in” without segregation and were condemned and then threatened with expulsion. There were also Jim Crow segregation laws in place, which separated bathrooms, water fountains, schools and other public spaces into those for blacks then those for whites. Martin Luther King Junior and other anti-segregation activists were arrested for refusal to leave their seats and other segregation laws. When trying to end segregation, blacks and even whites were often threatened or killed for trying to integrate the two races. When applying for jobs our race is still required, although race does not have as large of an influence as the past, people can still be deny according to their image. There are still stereotypes against different races, which play a factor when a person searches for employment and those who are associated with crimes. People still experience abuse from police and when given trial are assumed to be the suspect, with their race determining part of their innocence.