John Howard Griffin
Encyclopedia
John Howard Griffin was an American journalist and author much of whose writing was about racial equality
. He is best known for darkening his skin and journeying through Louisiana
, Mississippi
, Alabama
, and Georgia
to experience segregation
in the Deep South
in 1959. He wrote about this experience in his 1961 book Black Like Me
.
to John Walter Griffin and Lena May (Young) Griffin. His mother was a classical pianist, and Griffin acquired his love of music from her. Awarded a musical scholarship, he studied French
and literature at the University of Poitiers
and medicine at the École de Médecine. At 19, he worked as a medic in the French Resistance
army, where he was in charge of a psychiatric hospital. He also helped smuggle Austrian Jews to safety and freedom.
Griffin then served 39 months in the United States Army Air Corps
, stationed in the South Pacific
. He spent 1943-44 as the only Caucasian on Nuni, one of the Solomon Islands
, where he was assigned to study the local culture; he even married an islander. His 1956 novel Nuni is a semi-autobiographical work that draws heavily on his year "marooned" on the island, and shows an interest in ethnography
he followed more fully in Black Like Me. He was decorated for bravery.
Left blind by a 1946 accident in the United States Air Force
, he began to write. He came home to Texas and taught piano, marrying one of his students. In 1957 he regained his eyesight and became an accomplished photographic artist. Griffin's experiences in blindness were posthumously published as Scattered Shadows: A Memoir of Blindness and Vision.
In 1952 Griffin converted to Catholicism
and became a Third Order
Carmelite. He was also a lifelong Democrat
.
, became a best seller in 1961. The book described in detail the problems an African American encountered in the Deep South meeting such simple needs as finding food, shelter, and toilet facilities. Griffin also described the hatred he often felt from white Southerners he encountered in his daily life — shop clerks, ticket sellers, bus drivers, and others. He was particularly shocked by the curiosity white men displayed about his sexual life. His account was tempered with some anecdotes about white Southerners who were friendly and helpful.
Black Like Me made Griffin a national celebrity for a time. In a 1975 essay included in later editions of the book, Griffin described the hostility and threats to himself and his family which emerged in his own hometown. He eventually was forced to leave America and moved to Mexico.
Throughout his life, Griffin lectured and wrote on race relations and social justice
. In 1964, he received the Pacem in Terris Award
, named after a 1963 encyclical
letter by Pope John XXIII
that calls upon all people of good will to secure peace among all nations. Pacem in Terris
is Latin
for "Peace on Earth."
In his later years, Griffin focused on researching his friend Thomas Merton
, an American Trappist
monk and spiritual writer he first met in 1962. Griffin was chosen by Merton's estate to write the authorized biography of Merton. His health prevented him from completing this project, Griffin's nearly finished portion of the biography - on Merton's later years - was posthumously published in 1983 as Follow the Ecstasy: Thomas Merton, the Hermitage Years, 1965-1968.
It has been erroneously claimed that the large doses of Oxsoralen Griffin used in 1959 eventually led to his death from skin cancer. However, Griffin did not have skin cancer; the only negative symptoms he suffered because of the drug were temporary and minor. The worst, arguably, were fatigue and nausea
.
Racial segregation
Racial segregation is the separation of humans into racial groups in daily life. It may apply to activities such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a public toilet, attending school, going to the movies, or in the rental or purchase of a home...
. He is best known for darkening his skin and journeying through Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
, Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
, and Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
to experience segregation
Racial segregation in the United States
Racial segregation in the United States, as a general term, included the racial segregation or hypersegregation of facilities, services, and opportunities such as housing, medical care, education, employment, and transportation along racial lines...
in the Deep South
Deep South
The Deep South is a descriptive category of the cultural and geographic subregions in the American South. Historically, it is differentiated from the "Upper South" as being the states which were most dependent on plantation type agriculture during the pre-Civil War period...
in 1959. He wrote about this experience in his 1961 book Black Like Me
Black Like Me
Black Like Me is a non-fiction book by journalist John Howard Griffin first published in 1961. Griffin was a white native of Mansfield, Texas and the book describes his six-week experience travelling on Greyhound buses throughout the racially segregated states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama...
.
Early life
Griffin was born in Dallas, TexasDallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
to John Walter Griffin and Lena May (Young) Griffin. His mother was a classical pianist, and Griffin acquired his love of music from her. Awarded a musical scholarship, he studied French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
and literature at the University of Poitiers
University of Poitiers
The University of Poitiers is a university in Poitiers, France. It is a member of the Coimbra Group.-History:Founded in 1431 by Pope Eugene IV and chartered by King Charles VII, the University of Poitiers was originally composed of five faculties: theology, canon law, civil law, medicine, and...
and medicine at the École de Médecine. At 19, he worked as a medic in the French Resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
army, where he was in charge of a psychiatric hospital. He also helped smuggle Austrian Jews to safety and freedom.
Griffin then served 39 months in the United States Army Air Corps
United States Army Air Corps
The United States Army Air Corps was a forerunner of the United States Air Force. Renamed from the Air Service on 2 July 1926, it was part of the United States Army and the predecessor of the United States Army Air Forces , established in 1941...
, stationed in the South Pacific
Oceania
Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago...
. He spent 1943-44 as the only Caucasian on Nuni, one of the Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
, where he was assigned to study the local culture; he even married an islander. His 1956 novel Nuni is a semi-autobiographical work that draws heavily on his year "marooned" on the island, and shows an interest in ethnography
Ethnography
Ethnography is a qualitative method aimed to learn and understand cultural phenomena which reflect the knowledge and system of meanings guiding the life of a cultural group...
he followed more fully in Black Like Me. He was decorated for bravery.
Left blind by a 1946 accident in the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
, he began to write. He came home to Texas and taught piano, marrying one of his students. In 1957 he regained his eyesight and became an accomplished photographic artist. Griffin's experiences in blindness were posthumously published as Scattered Shadows: A Memoir of Blindness and Vision.
In 1952 Griffin converted to Catholicism
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
and became a Third Order
Lay Carmelites
The Third Order of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is a branch of the religious Carmelite Order of the Ancient Observance and was established in 1476 by a bull of Pope Sixtus IV...
Carmelite. He was also a lifelong Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
.
Black Like Me and later
In the fall of 1959, Griffin determined to investigate the plight of African-Americans in the South first hand. He consulted a New Orleans dermatologist, who prescribed a course of drugs, sunlamp treatments, and skin creams. Griffin also shaved his head so as not to reveal his straight hair. He spent weeks travelling as a black man in New Orleans and parts of Mississippi (with side trips to Alabama and Georgia), getting around mainly by bus and hitch-hiking. His memoir, Black Like MeBlack Like Me
Black Like Me is a non-fiction book by journalist John Howard Griffin first published in 1961. Griffin was a white native of Mansfield, Texas and the book describes his six-week experience travelling on Greyhound buses throughout the racially segregated states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama...
, became a best seller in 1961. The book described in detail the problems an African American encountered in the Deep South meeting such simple needs as finding food, shelter, and toilet facilities. Griffin also described the hatred he often felt from white Southerners he encountered in his daily life — shop clerks, ticket sellers, bus drivers, and others. He was particularly shocked by the curiosity white men displayed about his sexual life. His account was tempered with some anecdotes about white Southerners who were friendly and helpful.
Black Like Me made Griffin a national celebrity for a time. In a 1975 essay included in later editions of the book, Griffin described the hostility and threats to himself and his family which emerged in his own hometown. He eventually was forced to leave America and moved to Mexico.
Throughout his life, Griffin lectured and wrote on race relations and social justice
Social justice
Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...
. In 1964, he received the Pacem in Terris Award
Pacem in Terris Award
The Pacem in Terris Peace and Freedom Award is a Catholic peace award which has been given annually since 1964, in commemoration of the 1963 encyclical letter "Pacem in Terris" of Pope John XXIII...
, named after a 1963 encyclical
Encyclical
An encyclical was originally a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient Catholic Church. At that time, the word could be used for a letter sent out by any bishop...
letter by Pope John XXIII
Pope John XXIII
-Papal election:Following the death of Pope Pius XII in 1958, Roncalli was elected Pope, to his great surprise. He had even arrived in the Vatican with a return train ticket to Venice. Many had considered Giovanni Battista Montini, Archbishop of Milan, a possible candidate, but, although archbishop...
that calls upon all people of good will to secure peace among all nations. Pacem in Terris
Pacem in Terris
Pacem in Terris was a papal encyclical issued by Pope John XXIII on 11 April 1963. It was the last encyclical drafted by John XXIII, who died from cancer two months after its completion ....
is Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
for "Peace on Earth."
In his later years, Griffin focused on researching his friend Thomas Merton
Thomas Merton
Thomas Merton, O.C.S.O. was a 20th century Anglo-American Catholic writer and mystic. A Trappist monk of the Abbey of Gethsemani, Kentucky, he was a poet, social activist, and student of comparative religion...
, an American Trappist
Trappists
The Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance , or Trappists, is a Roman Catholic religious order of cloistered contemplative monks who follow the Rule of St. Benedict...
monk and spiritual writer he first met in 1962. Griffin was chosen by Merton's estate to write the authorized biography of Merton. His health prevented him from completing this project, Griffin's nearly finished portion of the biography - on Merton's later years - was posthumously published in 1983 as Follow the Ecstasy: Thomas Merton, the Hermitage Years, 1965-1968.
Death and rumored effects of Oxsoralen
John Howard Griffin died in Fort Worth in 1980 at age 60 from complications due to diabetes. He was survived by his wife and four children.It has been erroneously claimed that the large doses of Oxsoralen Griffin used in 1959 eventually led to his death from skin cancer. However, Griffin did not have skin cancer; the only negative symptoms he suffered because of the drug were temporary and minor. The worst, arguably, were fatigue and nausea
Nausea
Nausea , is a sensation of unease and discomfort in the upper stomach with an involuntary urge to vomit. It often, but not always, precedes vomiting...
.
Works
- The Devil Rides Outside (1952)
- Nuni (1956)
- Land of the High Sky (1959)
- Black Like MeBlack Like MeBlack Like Me is a non-fiction book by journalist John Howard Griffin first published in 1961. Griffin was a white native of Mansfield, Texas and the book describes his six-week experience travelling on Greyhound buses throughout the racially segregated states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama...
(1961) - The Church and the Black Man (1969)
- A Hidden Wholeness: The Visual World of Thomas Merton (1970)
- Twelve Photographic Portraits (1973)
- Jacques Maritain: Homage in Words and Pictures (1974)
- A Time to be Human (1977)
- The Hermitage Journals: A Diary Kept While Working on the Biography of Thomas Merton (1981)
- Follow the Ecstasy: Thomas Merton, the Hermitage Years, 1965-1968 (1983), slightly revised as Follow the Ecstasy: The Hermitage Years of Thomas Merton (1993).
- Scattered Shadows: A Memoir of Blindness and Vision (2004)
- Available Light: Exile in Mexico (2008)
Further reading
- Crossing the Line: Racial Passing in Twentieth-century U.S. Literature and Culture by Gayle Wald. Duke University Press, 2000, ISBN 0-8223-2515-2.
External links
- "A Revolutionary Writer", John H. Griffin
- Full-view books about John H. Griffin at Google Book Search
- John Howard Griffin Collection at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at AustinUniversity of Texas at AustinThe University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...