Racism in America: America's 'untouchables': the silent power of the caste system

[madaboutharry]

2. I recommend the book Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin.

I recently read Black Like Me. In 1959, Griffin embarked on a journey through the Deep South after having turned his skin black through a process that included medications, sun lamps, and skin dyes. He gave himself the appearance of a Black man that was so convincing that other Black people had no idea he was actually a White man. He travelled first to New Orleans and then to Mississippi. His book, is an indictment of the Jim Crow south. His experience is documented in his book published the following year in 1960.

His book will break your heart. It should be required reading in every school. The fact that it is not serves as evidence of our collective denial of America’s racist history. It is also evidence that it is easier to change laws than it is to change the way people think. That takes more work.