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January 2, 1960
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Black Like Me, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Appearance, Identity, and Bigotry
Unity, Division, and Communication
Implicit Bias and Systemic Racism
Fear and Violence
Summary
Analysis
As Griffin’s story nears publication, people begin to find out about what he’s done. He even begins to receive interview requests, and he decides to go on a television show to talk about his experience as a dark-skinned man in the South. After his first interview airs, he and his family wait for phone calls to start pouring in, and though they do receive several, they’re surprised that no threats arrive—yet.
Now that he has revealed to the public that he disguised himself as a black man, Griffin braces himself for the white community’s harsh reaction. After all, he has gone against the “currents” that Adelle Jackson pointed out to him before he began the experiment—“currents that make the idea of a white man’s assuming nonwhite identity a somewhat repulsive step down.”
Themes
