There was a famous book called Black Like Me. The author, John Howard Griffin, posed as a black man and documented the indignities to which he was subjected.
But who knows the rest of the story? A new documentary, discussed here, says that “Griffin was drawn to the Catholic faith while studying Gregorian chant at the Abbey of Saint Pierre in Solesmes, France. It was there that he began taking his first steps from agnosticism to conversion to Christianity. He entered the church in 1951.”
Griffin died in 1980 from complications of diabetes. He was just 60 years old. At the time, he had only $50 in his bank account. But as Atkinson’s documentary reveals, Griffin left an incredibly rich legacy of social activism, spiritual wisdom, and artistic achievement.
Yes ,Griffin is fascinating. I read his first book – a novel called "The Devil Rides Outside" (1951) – when I was editing the Loyola Classics series and looking for forgotten mid-century Catholic-y fiction. It's very feverishy and intense reflection on that time in Solesmes – long and sprawling.