Black Like Me Themes

In the words of some dead old Danish windbag, "to thine own self be true." But that's just the problem. Who is John Howard Griffin? Well, we know he's a nice enough guy and a dedicated family man....

Family: those people that you kind of have to be around, even though you didn't choose them. Based on the number of times families come up in Black Like Me, we'd guess that Griffin's favorite hobby...

If you thought that this is where the good stuff is, you're mistaken. This is where the gross stuff is. In Black Like Me, lust is not about consenting adults having flings. It's about dehumanizing...

Angels and priests are supposed to be the good guys, right? Nearly all religions are down with peacefully loving one another. But that's not always the case for religious people in Black Like Me. R...

As we uncover in Black Like Me, racism doesn't always come wrapped in the same package. Sometimes it's a smiling face saying that you can't use the white bathroom. Sometimes it's an angry face thre...

Hypocrisy runs rampant in Black Like Me. Seriously, it's all over the place. It's the way that "well-meaning" white racists excuse their prejudice and their double standards for the different races...

Community is supposed to be all warm and fuzzy, isn't it? Well, that's not the only thing community is for in Black Like Me. Sure, people within the black community treat each other very nicely thr...

You know, normally contrasting regions are different places. Well, obviously Griffin doesn't like doing things normally. In Black Like Me, the contrasting regions are all in your mind. They are the...