KQED 9: Tue, Feb 12, 2013 -- 11:00 PM

John Howard Griffin is best known as the white man who in 1959 disguised himself as a black man and then traveled anonymously through the heart of Dixie. From his experiences, he wrote Black Like Me, a groundbreaking best seller published in 1960 that today stands as a testament to Griffin's moral commitment and is a document of one of the more extraordinary events of the Civil Rights era. The book revealed the author's first-hand exposure to the harsh realities that were faced by black citizens each day in the Jim Crow South. Following the publication of the book, Griffin was the target of death threats and was hanged in effigy in his hometown in Texas. Through dramatic re-enactments, evocative readings from the book, strong archival materials, and interviews with those who knew John Howard Griffin, this revealing biography looks at the life of this remarkable social activist. It also examines how Griffin's deep spiritual commitment carried him through an uncanny life - segregated childhood in Fort Worth, a medic with the French Underground in WWII, blinded by war injuries, and a prolific writer and photographer.