Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

Discrimination in Savannah In the novel Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt, it discusses the city of Savannah, Georgia and the people that live there during the nineties. The author encounters several different kinds of people and events throughout the city Savannah that he was not really expecting. Savannah has several underlying issues even though people act as if things are fine. After further analysis, the main issue is even though things in Savannah may appear to be diverse; there is still harsh discrimination against African Americans and homosexuals. The first example of discrimination which causes a huge problem is the discussion of race. Even though the book is written based in the nineties, it was still looked at as frowned upon to be in an interracial relationship. One day while the author was jogging through the park he noticed a very dark black man and a blonde woman jogging with a little terrier. He noticed that when the man turned the corner the first the day he peered behind him at the woman. The next day however he noticed the woman running in front of him and the man, already had passed the turn, again looked back at the woman. He sees these two people everywhere and wonders why they just cannot be together. He discusses it with his friend Joe Odem who tells him, “We don’t do black-on-white in Savannah…especially black male on white female,” (Berendt 55). Joe goes on to tell him that “A lot of things have changed over the past 20 years, but not that”( Berendt 55). However this is not the first time the author faces the harsh discrimination against African Americans in Savannah. Throughout the novel, the author attends these parties where the whole help staff is African American, from the caterer to the waiters and waitresses. There was one woman in particular, Lucille Wright. She was a light-skinned black woman who was known as one of Savannah’s leading hostesses who had catered several events for the rich people of