In the novel Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin, Griffin is a white man who underwent surgery to change his skin color to black to look first hand into the life of a Negro. This novel is set in the 1950s and Griffin travels to various southern states and experiences the true power of racism against blacks. During this period of travel Griffin stops in Mississippi where he truly realizes what it means to be a Negro. Griffin had difficulty understanding the degree of tension when it came to racial prejudice in Mississippi because the tension was so great. He was also able to realize the deep bond that blacks had together as a race, because most blacks had the same or similar experiences when it came to racial prejudice. His novel was driven by his experiences in Mississippi and was written in detail to give the reader a true sense of the racial tensions experienced in the Southern states. Griffin's first encounter with racism occurred at a bus stop in Mississippi. The driver was stopping to give the bus passengers a ten minute break. The whites got up and got off the bus first, and as Griffin and his partner Bill tried to get the blacks off, the driver got in their way. Bill ignores the driver and slides under him because he had to use the bathroom. The driver stops Bill and does not allow him to get off the bus. In an instant the blacks return to their seats knowing that it would be useless to try to leave for the break. The driver was mean and rude and asked Bill to get back on the bus. The driver was denying them their human rights. The driver then goes further in his assault by making the black men in the bus urinate and poop. Not just about...... half of the paper ......d. Supporting each other and creating friendships with other Black people seemed to ease the pain. They found balance in their hostile world through words of kindness and compassion. Griffin realized the mental strength that black people must have to be so calm and collective while the rest of the world spits in their face for being half human. At the end of Griffin's journey through the South, he is amazed and incredulous about how blacks were treated. He went out of his way to undertake a dangerous task in order to open the eyes of his readers to topics such as racial prejudice and civil rights. The racial tension and ignorance he faced made him truly understand the horrors that black people faced every day. Through his novel he exposes the South and its unjust ways, as well as educates the public unaware of the real life situations faced by Black people every day..