In the beginning, he decided to talk as little as possible to ease his transition into the social milieu of southern U.S. ĭuring his trip, Griffin abided by the rule that he would not change his name or alter his identity if asked who he was or what he was doing, he would tell the truth. Don Rutledge traveled with him, documenting the experience with photos. Satisfied that he could pass as an African-American, Griffin began a six-week journey in the South. He shaved his head bald to hide his straight brown hair. The darkening of his skin was not perfect, so he touched it up with stain. He was given regular blood tests to ensure that he was not suffering liver damage. Once there, under the care of a dermatologist, Griffin underwent a regimen of large oral doses of the anti- vitiligo drug methoxsalen, and spent up to 15 hours daily under an ultraviolet lamp for about a week. In late 1959, John Howard Griffin went to a friend's house in New Orleans, Louisiana. Griffin, in disguise as a black man, in a Negro café. A generation later, Robert Bonazzi published a biographical book about Griffin, these events, and his life: Man in the Mirror: John Howard Griffin and the Story of Black Like Me (1997). In 1964, a film version of Black Like Me, starring James Whitmore, was produced. The title of the book is taken from the last line of the Langston Hughes poem 'Dream Variations'. When he started his project in 1959, race relations in America were particularly strained. Griffin kept a journal of his experiences the 188-page diary was the genesis of the book. Sepia Magazine financed the project in exchange for the right to print the account first as a series of articles. He traveled for six weeks throughout the racially segregated states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, and Georgia to explore life from the other side of the color line. Griffin was a native of Mansfield, Texas, who had his skin temporarily darkened to pass as a black man.

Black Like Me, first published in 1961, is a nonfiction book by journalist John Howard Griffin recounting his journey in the Deep South of the United States, at a time when African-Americans lived under racial segregation.

John howard griffin's black like me