In 1961, journalist John Howard Griffin wrote a book entitled, “Black Like Me: A white man learns what it is like to Live the Life of a Negro by becoming one!” The book documented his experiences in the South after having his skin temporarily darkened and shaving his head for an experiment to see what it was like to be a Black man in the segregated deep South. He traveled 6 weeks through several southern states including Georgia, Arkansas, Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi. 

Griffin would later move to Mexico for safety following the publishing of the book and was savagely assaulted by a group of white men and beaten with chains. It took him 5 months to recover from the incident.

His experiences as a Black man provided him with insight most will never receive from the outside looking in. Many may think they know but will never be able to fully appreciate the depths of being on the receiving end of racism/white supremacy. Griffin’s experiment was groundbreaking and brought to life the saying, “Never judge a man until you have walked a mile in his shoes (or moccasins).”

All too often people identified as “white” in our society, will speak in ignorance regarding the Black experience and will seek to tell Black folks their current status; what it has been, and how they should feel, and respond to it. It is not only insulting but a very arrogant position to take.  

All too often we experience a major disconnect. Many are products of miseducation without realizing how misled they have been. They have been given a limited amount of puzzle pieces and many of those are erroneous. The ones they have only allow for a very distorted image of America’s racial reality. 

We live in a culture where we are taught more WHAT to think, than HOW to think. Many have become spoiled in having others think for them and accept being spoon-fed by “teachers” who eat, digest, and regurgitate, often false narratives, into the open minds of their students who then digest them without question or any form of fact-checking.  If left unchecked, this process of indoctrination and disseminating misinformation will then continue from generation to generation.  It dangerously develops bad habits of failing to engage in critical thinking skills, where information is weighed out and goes through the process of logical building blocks; leading to a sound, rational, and intelligent conclusion.

Instead, low-information folks often find themselves merely repeating what they have heard in their small echo chambers.

If one embraces and buys into a tribalistic “us” versus “them” worldview, it makes them easily manipulated as they are then, quick to choose sides, and defend their “team;” no matter how wrong they may be. This must be seen in contrast to seeing oneself as part of the broader family of humanity. It is from this position that one is more apt to objectively judge right from wrong; and what works for the betterment of all, as opposed to just those from one’s own tribe.

The Bible commands us to love our neighbor as ourselves. This involves the practice of empathy. 

Engaging in the exercise of exchanging places with another allows us to see things from another perspective. We ask ourselves; what would I do if I were in their shoes? How would I want to be treated? What would I want them to understand about my condition and position? Not everything is as it appears from the outside looking in. Perspective is everything and the one we hold is not the only one of significance and legitimacy.    

Our outlook on situations can change if we take the time to listen to those on the other side of an issue, or of an unfamiliar experience to that of our own.

We make enemies of those we classify as, “other.” We do it with those of another skin color; those who are emigrants seeking a better way of life; those who grew up with different religious beliefs, and outlooks on life. If we are not careful, we can find ourselves elevating ourselves while devaluing others, even at a sub-conscience level.

As long as we separate ourselves from “others,” we are prone to embrace stereotypes in the void of actual relationships. But putting ourselves in the shoes of the “other,” can take us a long way on our journey toward the better angels of our nature, and embracing empathy as opposed to supremacy.