The existence of racism in the past through the present simply cannot be overstated. Every sphere of activity by all aspects of racism. It is essential to understand what racism is because of the impact it has had and will always continue to have on society. In the late 1950's, America espeacially in the deep South such as Mississippi and Alabama, racism coruppted many minds and poisoned their spirits. In the autobiography Black Like Me, written by John Howard Griffin, as a deeply reliogous man who desperatley tried to build a bridge between blacks and whites. His six week odyssey through the South as a black man was a dark jouney into racism. The most dramatic scene the author experienced was when John Griffin goes into Mongomery, Alabama as white man. As a white man, he is no longer subjected to the "hate stare." As he walks into the black locality he, now a white, gets the same shriveling treatment that he, as a Negro had earlier recieved from the whites. He therefore comes to the realization that the racist poision exists in both races.

As John Griffin returned to being a white man, I was given deep insight into the white man's flase percepti

ons of the Negro, his life and times. He reflectively describes how the whites beneath all their warm smiles and tall talks were in fact totally unaware of the situation of the Negroes who passed them on the street, because the Negro long ago learned he must tell them what they want to hear, not what is. No wonder they assumed and presumed that the Negro is this or that or the other, but did not really and truely know him. Griffin also reveals his surprisingly similar fate as a white and as a Negro. When he walks alone through a Negro quarter as a white, he gets the same shriveling treatment from the Negroes which he had earlier recieved as a Negro from the wites. He is left wonders if either race knows what goes on secretley in the minds and hearts of others.

Racisn corrupts the mind, infects the heart, and poisions the spirit. It is cured one person at a time as we treat each other, as God views us, equal. The same God judges us all of us by the contents of our character, not the colors of our skin. I have always held this belief and have endeavored to live my life as a testament to this faith. As John Griffin showed, the most righteous man will always arise and be on top. The world needs to re

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 816
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)