Black Like Me

by

John Howard Griffin

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A white woman living in Mississippi, and P.D. East’s wife. When Griffin calls the Easts to ask if they can pick him up from the African American section of Hattiesburg, Billie is the one who answers the phone and tells him it won’t be a problem for him to stay with them. However, she does ask him to refrain from working on his project while he’s with them, since their family already suffers enough harassment at the hands of racists.
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Billie East Character Timeline in Black Like Me

The timeline below shows where the character Billie East appears in Black Like Me. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
November 14-15, 1959
Appearance, Identity, and Bigotry Theme Icon
Fear and Violence Theme Icon
...gives up and calls the only person he knows nearby, a journalist named P.D. East. Billie, his wife, answers the phone and tells Griffin that P.D. will pick him up and... (full context)
Appearance, Identity, and Bigotry Theme Icon
Fear and Violence Theme Icon
...his home. It was breaking the ‘Southern rule’ somehow.” When he arrives at P.D.’s house, Billie greets him kindly but makes “gallows humor” jokes about the entire situation, which help ease... (full context)