John, a white man, became and lived as a black man for six weeks. In the ’60s. In the Deep South of the USA. Why? To write a book about living as a black man.And when we say he became black, we mean that he really went for it: he took pills, cut his hair, and tanned beneath an ultraviolet light for upwards of a dozen hours a day until his skin took on the dark, smokey hue he knew would earn him the disapproving stare of every white man he came across. During his time, John was routinely subjected to the host of inequalities black people of the time had become used to: he was denied seating and the right to go to a bathroom, was ejected from cafes, and was told point-blank that the white man was doing him a favor by “putting white blood in his kids” when he was quizzed about whether his wife had slept with a white man (which she obviously had done). After his ordeal, John collected his experiences into a book, aptly titled Black Like Me.(listverse)
Posted on: Sat, 10 Aug 2013 17:58:42 +0000