logo
episode-header-image
Oct 2013
9 m

John Howard Griffin: Black Like Me

Bbc World Service
About this episode

John Howard Griffin, a white journalist, dyed his skin black to experience segregation in America's Deep South. John Howard Griffin wrote a book about his seven week experience.

*** Listeners should be aware that some of the language in this programme reflects the historical context of the time. ***

Photo: Griffin as a black man in 1959 (left). Courtesy of John Howard Griffin Estate.

Up next
Oct 2013
The Death of Steve Biko
The anti-Apartheid activist Steve Biko, leader of the Black Consciousness Movement in South Africa, died in a police cell in 1977. The South African police claimed he'd gone on hunger strike and had starved himself to death, but he had only been in prison a matter of days. Helen ... Show More
8m 59s
Oct 2013
The Los Angeles Riots
In May 1992 the people of South Central Los Angeles took to the streets in fury at police brutality.They were angry that Los Angeles police department officers accused of beating a motorist called Rodney King, had been acquitted.Hear Rodney King's take on the beating, and the unr ... Show More
9m 1s
Oct 2013
The Stolen Generation
Debra Hocking was taken from her indigenous Australian family as a baby and was placed with a foster family. It was part of a government policy to try to assimilate Aboriginal children into white families. Photo: PM Kevin Rudd prepares to apologise to the Stolen Generation in Par ... Show More
8m 57s
Recommended Episodes
Nov 2024
201. The Raj at War
For many years, commemorations of the two World Wars excluded the memorialisation of soldiers from the British Empire. But campaigners have gradually turned the spotlight on their experiences. In the First and Second World War, approximately 3.8 million soldiers from the Indian ... Show More
38m 8s
Nov 2024
How Stalin won WW2
In June 1944 Allied armies landed in force in northern France, and the liberation of western Europe began. But, the battle that really sealed Hitler's fate was taking place in the east, as the Red Army prepared an almighty assault against the war-weary Wehrmacht. Speaking to Rob ... Show More
38m 7s
Jun 2024
America at D-Day
<p>On June 6, 1944, the Allied forces combined their land, air and sea forces into the largest amphibious invasion in history - D-Day.</p><br><p>Under Supreme Commander General Dwight D Eisenhower, this attack turned the tide on the second world war, pushing enemy forces out of F ... Show More
54m 18s
Jan 2014
Lord Haw Haw - Britain's Most Hated WW2 Traitor
On the 3rd of January 1946 Britain's most famous wartime traitor was hanged. His name was William Joyce but he was better known as Lord Haw Haw. Throughout WW2 he broadcast Nazi propaganda from Germany to Britain. At the end of the war he was hated by much of Britain, but we hear ... Show More
9m 3s
Feb 2025
CLASSIC: The Korean Soldier Who Fought for 3 Armies During WWII
Born in what is now North Korea, Yang Kyoungjong didn't set out to become a soldier -- but fate had other plans. In today's classic episode, Ben and Noel trace one man's journey through prisons, battlefields and multiple armies in a desperate bid to survive World War II.See omnys ... Show More
23m 57s
Mar 2020
From Dunkirk to D-Day: The Story of Major Leslie Young
Today, I'm proud to be joined by Sir Nicholas Young. Nick is the son of British Major, Leslie Young and the former executive of the British Red Cross. In this episode, we discuss the remarkable war story of his father.Support the show and visit our sponsor www.legacy-collectibles ... Show More
39m 53s
Mar 2023
Churchill's Darkest Hour
Winston Churchill's ascension to Prime Minister in 1940 was a key turning point in world history, ultimately being one of the first steps to help the Allies secure victory in the Second World War. The legacies of Churchill’s decisions still shape our world today, but a lesser kno ... Show More
42m 22s
Sep 2025
The Chindits
During World War Two, an unconventional special force was formed. Known as the Chindits, they fought behind enemy lines in Burma, now Myanmar during 1943 and 1944 in the war against Japan.Their leader was the charismatic Orde Wingate, a British Army officer. This programme is mad ... Show More
10m 19s
Mar 16
Rediffusion - Une histoire oubliée (Forgotten story)
tail spinning
2m 46s