John Howard Griffin

John Howard Griffin (June 16, 1920 - September 9, 1980) was a noted 20th century American writer best known for his critically acclaimed Black Like Me, an account of his journeys through the Deep South while disguised as an African-American. For many years he was under consideration for the Nobel Prize in Literature, but he was not awarded it.

Related Topics:
June 16 - 1920 - September 9 - 1980 - 20th century - American - Black Like Me - Deep South - African-American - Nobel Prize in Literature

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Griffin was born in Dallas, Texas on June 16 1920, and died in 1980. He studied French and literature at the University of Poitiers and then went on to study medicine at the École de Médecine. At the age of 19, he worked as a medic in the French Resistance army. He also served 39 months stationed in the South Sea in the United States Army Air Corps. He was decorated for bravery and disabled during the fighting in World War II.

Related Topics:
June 16 - 1920 - 1980 - French - Literature - University of Poitiers - École de Médecine - South Sea - World War II

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Griffin's two major novels, The Devil Rides Outside and Nuni, were written during a period of blindness between 1947 and 1957. This ten-year blindness was the result of the injuries sustained during service in World War II.

Related Topics:
The Devil Rides Outside - Nuni - Blindness

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In the autumn of 1959, Griffin checked into the Monteleone Hotel (214 Royal Street) in New Orleans, where he used dyes, medication and ultraviolet light to dramatically darken his skin. He then went to Mississippi and spent a little over a month traveling across the Deep South and immersing himself in Southern black society, writing of his experiences along the way. His despairing tale of his treatment by whites as a "tenth class citizen" was first published as a series of articles by Sepia magazine; in 1961, it was published in book form as Black Like Me.

Related Topics:
1959 - New Orleans - Ultraviolet - Whites - Sepia - 1961 - Black Like Me

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Throughout his life, Griffin lectured and wrote on race relations and social justice.

Related Topics:
Race relations - Social justice

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His works include:

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• The Devil Rides Outside (1952)
• Nuni (1956)
• Land of the High Sky (1959)
• Black Like Me (1961)
• The Church and the Black Man (1969)
• A Time to be Human (1977)
 
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