To Langston, My Multiracial Brother

I knoooooow. Two posts in one day is one post too much, but I realized I haven't given credit where credit is due.

The title, Gray Like Me, comes from two places (well really one, you'll understand in a moment). In the late 1950s, white journalist John Howard Griffin used chemical treatments to dye his skin darker and then traveled for 6 weeks as a black man in the racially segregated south. Griffin raised awareness about the violent discrimination and civil rights violations against black American in Black Like Me, the book he wrote about his brief life as a black man.

(PHOTO Right Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin)
If I was Oprah and I had a bookclub, I'd put it on the list (for a month other than February though). Since I'm not, I still suggest you read it or read about it. (I won't tell anyone you just read the spark notes)

Now to the second (primary) influence. Although his title fits perfectly, Griffin didn't come up with it all on his own. (yes, there was a bit of plagiarism involved) The title comes from Langston Hughes' poem, Dream Variations. (the poem is short, if you read the spark notes and not the text below, I will make fun of you... publicly)

Dream Variations

"To fling my arms wide
In some place of the sun,
To whirl and to dance
Till the white day is done.
Then rest at cool evening
Beneath a tall tree
While night comes on gently,
Dark like me--
That is my dream!

To fling my arms wide
In the face of the sun,
Dance! Whirl! Whirl!
Till the quick day is done.
Rest at pale evening . . .
A tall, slim tree . . .
Night coming tenderly
Black like me."
- Langston Hughes-

(PHOTO Left Langston Hughes Black Heritage Stamp)

Yes, Yes, I know the question still remains how did it go from Black to Gray. In textbooks, Langston Hughes is referred to as the great black poet. He lived his life as a black man and probably took on that identity. But a fun fact for mixed people like me, is that Hughes was really one of us. During the era of the Harlem Renaissance, there was only black and white- no in between. Today, in our multiracial world, Hughes may have racially identified a little differently. I do. Between the worlds of black and white, there are clear shades of gray.