Anyone who asks “Is Obama Black enough?” should read John Howard Girffin’s 1961 book -Black Like Me-. Griffin, a white man, describes how he darkened his skin to pass as an African-American while traveling through the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia in 1959. He came to understand first-hand the pain of racism.

His later record on civil rights and commitment to the black community earned him many awards in his lifetime including the Pope John XIII Pacen in Terris Peace and Freedom Award in 1964, and the National Council of Negro Women Award in 1960.
During the 1960s, Griffin also worked in communities throughout the South, trying to open a dialogue between the African-American and white communities.

What person of color in the United States, regardless of place of birth, has not felt the pain of racism? What thoughtful American, regardless of color, cannot empathize? Griffin turned the pain, humiliation and anger he experienced into something constructive. Why therefore is Obama not Black enough? There is a lesson there for all of us.

Fred Jacobsen, Apollo Beach