Black Boy Capítulo nueve

Griggs and Richard were having a conversation about Griggs getting Richard a job. Griggs said that he knew of a job, but that he didn't know if Richard could handle it because of the way he acted towards white people. Griggs said that Richard needed to learn how to live in the South. I think that what Griggs is saying is that Richard needed to learn to subdue himself to whites. He couldn't go around thinking that they were equals. He wanted Richard to realize that being black in the South was very very dangerous and that if he didn't straighten up his act then he would get himself killed. To live in the South meant that Richard had to get out of white people's way, to always say yes sir/no sir or yes ma'am/ no ma'am, and to act like he was always conscious that he was and would always be more inferior to them. Griggs said that living in the south meant that you had to think before you said, or committed any action in the presence of white people.