This afternoon the students who have completed their 2 articles (see previous posts) will meet for a workshop/revision session during period 7. Students who have not yet completed their writing should complete their 2 articles in the lab and turn in drafts to me.
During period 8, please return to room 238 for a Socratic Seminar discussion on
1. Griffin became an international celebrity after publication of his article in Sepia magazine and later his book, Black Like Me. However, he also faced open hostility throughout the American South, including being burned in effigy in his hometown. What might today's reaction be if the book had just been published?
2. What motivates Griffin to change the color of his skin and take on the identify of a black man? Would you do something similar to "get the story"?
3. "Black men told me that the only way a white man could hope to understand anything about this reality was to wake up some morning in a black man's skin." Talk about his reaction as Griffin looks in the mirror and first sees a black man peering back at him. He feels he has lost his identity. How would you feel if you changed the color of your skin? How does skin color affect identity? Is skin color a more powerful determinant than gender?
4. What do you consider as the most difficult experience that Griffin faced as a black man? What angered or depressed him—or you—the most?
5. How did you respond to the white men's attitude toward African-American sexuality (88-93)? How does that stance dehumanize black men and women? And what does it say about white men who are so obsessed by the idea of black sexuality?
6. Griffin spends a day with his acquaintance P.D. East, and the two discuss racism and the law in the South. Talk about the ways in which prejudice was incorporated into the South's legal code.
7. How does the treatment Griffin receives at the hands of white people affect him? What does he notice about himself after a couple of weeks? Do you think his experience of racism was harder for Griffin because he was white...or easier because he was white?
8. Talk about Griffin's time in Montgomery, Alabama, and the young Martin Luther King, Jr., back then a still unknown figure outside the South.
9. What were some of the other positive things Griffin experienced? What about those who rose above the cruelty of hatred and intolerence? In what way did they offer hope?
10. The book was published in 1959, (even "before the first Freedom Rides or any other manifestation of national concern about racial injustice"). How far has the nation come in the past 50 years. Beyond the most obvious fact that the country elected an African-American president, to what extent—and how—does racism continue to show itself? What racial injustices, faced by Griffin in 1959, still exist today?
11. Follow-up to Question 10: What would Griffin experience if he were to attempt his project today?
12. Even with his darkened skin, John Howard Griffin was still a white man. Was it possible for him to truly experience life as a black man? Is his book well-meaning but arrogant in its attempt to speak of another race's experiences? Or do you think
Black Like me offers a critical perspective because it is the closest that any white person could ever come to experiencing—and thus understanding—racial intolerance?
13. Re-read the last paragraph on page 92 ("Living in the country...") Taking into consideration that many black folk are deprived of "the pleasures of the spirit" what changes in our society or mindset TODAY can help foster more opportunities for the future generation? [side note: according to
Schott Report: in 2015, black male graduation rates for NY were 57%, compared to 85% for white males. Rochester tends to be about 1/2 that percentage (approx. 27% graduation rate for 2015) and traditionally trails NY state averages in all areas] More information can be found
here online.
14. Journalistic writing has a distinct style. Writers often use strong nouns and active verbs, as opposed to adjectives and adverbs to do the work. There are fewer poetic devices used, although these can be present based on a writer's personal style. Clear and concise are the key words to describe journalistic writing style. How was the style of this book different from
Chew on This? What did you notice or learn about writing from reading this book? What advice about writing rises to the surface for you in reading this book?
15. Other issues/topics to discuss?
