ownselfish needs.Towards the end of John Howard Griffinsjourney, he ended up in the city of Atlanta. InAtlanta, he found a different sort of spirit amongthe black community. It was a spirit of socialchange. Griffin had arrived in Atlanta feelingthat the black condition in America was one withouthope. It was in Atlanta that he found a glimmer ofhope within the black community. (7)While in Atlanta, John Howard Griffin met withseveral black community leaders. Civic leaders,men of the cloth, and various black business ownersthroughout the city were among his audience. Through these conversations, Griffin discoveredthat Atlanta had found a way to deal with the whitepersons suppression of the black person.Griffin found that three main ingredients wereresponsible for the improved racial conditions inAtlanta. First, blacks in the community wereunited in their purpose. Secondly, Atlanta had atthe time a fair and just mayor. And finally, thecity newspaper was known for taking a stand onracial injustices. (7)These findings helped Griffin to understandanother facet of human nature: the survivalinstincts of the oppressed. Griffin found thatalthough the Southern African-American wassuppressed in society, the SouthernAfrican-Americans came together as a people as ameans of survival. The black civic leaders that John HowardGriffin had encountered in Atlanta organized theblack community in such a was as to give the blackpeople a better chance at education, health care,and employment. This in turn changed the blackpersons outlook on life in the city. This is whatgave the black person in Atlanta hope, which isnecessary for survival, which in turn is a basicelement of human nature.During this entire event, John Howard Griffinhad been keeping a journal of his experiences. Hewas a reporter of sorts, and this was his story. He enlisted the help of other affluent white peoplefrom the North, as well as an internationallydistributed black magazine....
