One way that the whites of the South insured that the black man would remain a second class citizen was an economic one. The whites would get the black man into debt and make sure he stayed there. Griffin found it close to impossible to find work as a black man. Even the black man who had worked his way through college would find securing a well paying job in the South nearly impossible. A well-educated black man in the South would be reduced to menial labor a majority of the time for no other reason than the tone of his skin. This discouraged even blacks that could afford a college education to be less motivated to pursue one. The problem of few colleges and universities that accepted black students was also a problem. One black man explained to Griffin that this economic trap set up by the whites of the South led many young black men to simply give up. If they had nothing to lose what difference would it make if they were to die in a car accident or a knife fight (p. 43)?

The word oblivion is defined as the state of being utterly forgotten. Oblivion is a suiting word for the white view of the black man of the South in the late 1950's. From reading Griffins experiences as a black man is quite obvious that many Southern whites were oblivious to the fact that a darker shade of skin does not lessen a person's humanity in anyway.

Griffin explained that a large amount of his time as a black man was spent trying to meet basic needs. One especially vital need always proved to be a problem, where could he find a restroom he would be allowed to enter? One establishment, a small food stand, was more than happy to take Griffin's money, but when he asked about a restroom their willingness to help him quickly vanished. Griffin had noticed a very rundown outhouse behind the food

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1202
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)