John Grisham Photo: AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File
From BZ/dpa
The US bestselling author John Grisham still fights against his own racist thought patterns in some situations.
“If you grew up like me, you have to work hard to get that out of your system,” said the 68-year-old in an interview with “Zeit” magazine. “I fight every day, to this day.” He doesn’t want to badmouth his late parents, “but they were no different than all the other white people on the street,” said Grisham, who hails from southern Mississippi.
“We grew up with the self-image: We live in a white world and it will always remain white.” That’s how he was brought up, “this thinking is deeply rooted in me”.
When his granddaughter was born four years ago, his daughter raved about the young African-American doctor who looked after her in the hospital. “And I was like, ‘Wait a minute, we’re in this famous hospital, I want a white man with gray hair who’s got a ton of experience!'” Grisham said. He was just able to stop himself from saying it, “but it showed me how far the road is that I still have to cover”.