He was middle aged and living in Mansfield, Texas at the time of publication in 1960. ... Plot: Black Like Me is the story of a man named John Howard Griffin, who underwent a series of medical treatments to change his skin color temporarily to black; a transformation that was complete when John Howard Griffin shaved off his hair, and looking in the mirror, saw a bald, middle-aged black man. ... From November 6th to December 14th in the early 60's, he hitchhiked, walked, and rode through Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, and Georgia. ... This book relates to American history because it tak...

• Word Count: 888
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

Oprah's experience of hardship throughout her early years and the ability to make the best out of these hardships inspired me. Oprah's birth day was on January 29, 1954 in Kosciusko, Mississippi to Vernita Lee and Vernon Winfrey, aged 18 and 20 respectively. ... She started schooling at the age of five, already knowing how to read and write. ... Oprah chose to stay with her mother and began her fourth grade at Lincoln Middle School. ... At the age of nine, Oprah alongside her siblings, were left under the watch of their cousin who was 19 at the time. ...

• Word Count: 1009
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

Wright's struggle begins at an early age with other blacks. ... Wright's debt to alcohol creates a contrast with the policies of middle class African Americans and shows a positive side of lower black culture. ...

• Word Count: 911
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

The Color Purple, by Alice Walker, is a fictional story that took place in the South during the early to mid 1900's. ... Celie comes from a poor family in Georgia and she was forced to leave school at a young age by her father who had gotten her pregnant. ... At the start of the novel Celie is a young girl of fourteen who is ignorant and naive but by the end, she is a middle-aged woman who has succeeded in achieving independence, self-esteem and an increased knowledge of the world. ...

• Word Count: 931
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

She grew up middle class in a predominantly white community. ... Petry first encountered racial prejudice when she was on a Sunday school outing at the age of seven. ... The story's plot takes place from the late afternoon until the early morning hours. ...

• Word Count: 1164
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

After graduating from middle school, Langston and his mother moved to Cleveland to be with his step-father.Rents for African Americans were very high, so during his high school years, Langston lived in basements and attics. ... By this time a lot of Langston's earlier work had been published in magazines. ... On May 22, 1967, Hughes died in New York City at the age of 65 from prostate cancer. ...

• Word Count: 1086
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School