Time and place in “Black Like Me” are essential to the story because the story itself was meant to provide insight into what life as an African American would be like who lived in the South during the “Separate But Equal” period of Jim Crow in America. Without the story being set in this specific time frame, “Black Like Me” wouldn't have the same impact that it does, so it has to be made as is. The author, John Howard Griffin, experiences many hardships and enlightenment during his experiment not only because he was black, but because of his interactions with people during the experiment. We say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay On pages 14 through 16 of “Black Like Me,” Griffin stays at a hotel in New Orleans. He enters the bathroom with two other black men, one in the shower and the other waiting. Griffin has a casual conversation with the men for the night just asking about New Orleans. The novel is written in a diary style with diary entries, so everything written in the novel is done by Griffin only with the reason that he adds certain information. She adds this detail with men because it was a new experience. He was welcomed with open arms by the men despite having only just met them. It was significant because it challenges the idea that black people in this time period “were different” because they were not white. This same detail would not be able to reproduce in the same way in a current environment due to how times have changed, thus further enhancing why time and place are so significant. The details also show how race did not impact identity if you interact with your own race. Although Griffin is white, he is technically black and that is how the other men treated him as one of their own. On pages 45 to 48, Griffin is talking to Sterling about the lynching of a black man in Mississippi after the black man was denied a fair trial by the "Pearl River County Grand Jury." Sterling indignantly observes, "What hope is there when a white jury won't even look at the evidence against lynching?" On the previous pages, Griffin talks about his first week in New Orleans. He talks about the treatment of black people he sees. Griffin says that “the Negro is treated not even as a second-class citizen, but as a tenth-class citizen.” The detail of the lynching is included to provide reason for Griffin's claim that blacks are treated with injustice. During this time, lynching was common in the South for blacks. Black people could be lynched for voting for the wrong people, for trying to achieve equality, or simply for sports. The Grand Jury denying the right to a fair trial is a clear act of racism. The identity of the man who was lynched was overlooked due to his race, by which he was ultimately judged. The fact that the jury did not even attempt to look at the evidence of lynching demonstrates the idea that when dealing with different races, it will not be looked at identity, only color, which was what it was all about during this time. During his time in Mississippi, Griffin wandered the highway, often being picked up and given rides. The ride of a young white man gave insight and contradiction to white society's opinion of blacks. The passage runs from page 88 to page 94. Griffin is quick to point out to the reader that the young man's questions "had a spurious elevation over a scholar seeking information, but the information he sought was entirely sexual in nature and assumed that in the ghetto nigga life is a sex marathon with.