Black Like Me: December 1, 1959 Summary & Analysis

By saying that he is “the same man” whether he presents as white or black, Griffin once again highlights the fact that appearance doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with a person’s true identity, though it does profoundly impact the way one moves through the world. Indeed, Griffin is treated differently depending upon what he looks like, finding camaraderie with whomever looks like him and resentment from whomever does not. In this way, then, he also spotlights the intense division between the black and white communities.

The drunken young man Griffin encounters in this scene has romanticized the idea of himself as someone who stands for equality. Although it’s obviously a good thing to advocate for justice and the destruction of bigotry, this man’s way of expressing these ideas is performative and self-interested, as he never stops to consider that his boisterous words about equality are putting Griffin in an “embarrassing situation.” And though he claims to invest himself in the idea of equal rights—calling black people his “brothers”—it’s clear he mainly wants to satisfy his own ego, as made evident when he says, “It’s people like me that are your only hope.” In this manner, he reveals his desire to be seen as a beneficent savior of sorts—a self-aggrandizing idea that stands in stark contrast to his supposed commitment to equality.

When the drunk man makes “the first dirty suggestion” that comes “to his mind,” it becomes apparent that a person can see him- or herself as empathetic without actually embodying any of the traits normally associated with someone who believes in equality. Indeed, the drunkard has developed an implicit bias against black people, one he doesn’t even recognize, since he’s too busy telling himself that he’s committed to equality and racial justice. All the while, though, he harbors disparaging ideas about African Americans—ideas that inevitably make their way into his actions and thus cause him to behave like a racist despite what he thinks about his own enlightenment.

Rather than interrogating his own implicit biases against black people, the drunk man lashes out at Griffin and the turkey vendor. Indeed, he avoids reckoning with his racist beliefs and then makes gross generalizations about African Americans—unfair generalizations that only contribute to his deeply entrenched bigotry. In turn, readers see how easy it is for unexamined prejudices to perpetuate themselves.

Throughout Black Like Me, Griffin witnesses several everyday acts of heroism. This time, it comes when the young black man says that the white women are “welcome to sit’ next to him despite the fact that the driver has asked him to move. Given the charged atmosphere of the bus, this is an extremely courageous thing to say, since it’s obviously dangerous for a black man to stand up for himself in the South. Nonetheless, Griffin communicates a certain amount of respect for this man, thereby underlining how admirable and important it is to stay strong in the face of fear—otherwise, he intimates, nothing will ever change.

The young black man’s courage in this scene is worth noting, since it leads to a small victory over the racism of the bus’s white passengers. This bravery stands in stark contrast to the white man’s retrospective assertion that he would have stood up for the black man if the redhaired passenger had tried to fight him. Considering the fact that this man said nothing in the actual moment, this is a spineless comment, one he clearly says only to make himself feel better about not having the mettle to do what’s right in the first place. Indeed, this passenger is a racist himself, though he doesn’t recognize this because he sees himself as an enlightened man who believes in equality. However, these kinds of beliefs mean nothing if a person doesn’t act on them in real time.