Black Men And Public Space Essay

“We ain’t thugs for the sake of just bein’ thugs. Nobody do that where we grew at N___, duh! The poverty line we not above. So I come in the mask and gloves ‘cause we ain’t feelin’ the love. We ain’t doin’ crime for the sake of doin’ crimes. We movin’ dimes ‘cause we ain’t doin’ fine. One out of three of us is locked up doin’ time. You know what this could do to a N___ mind? My mind on my money, money on my mind. If you owe me ten dollars you ain’t givin’ me nine! Ya’ll ain’t give me 40 acres and a mule. So I got my glock 40 now I’m cool.” –Jay-Z

The trend of African American males between the ages of 25 and 29 has seen a dramatic increase of incarceration. Attention has been focusing on areas of housing, education, and healthcare but the most prominent problem for African American males is the increase in the incarceration rate. African American males between the ages of 25 and 29 incarceration rate has been thought, by many, to be caused by economic factors such as under employment or unemployment, poor housing, lack of education, and lack of healthcare. Yet, others believe it is due to the imbalance of minorities within the criminal justice system, such as judges, lawyers, and lawmakers.

While white women seek visibility as a means of being recognized by white men, white men seek visibility to further their political goals. What both have in common is the use of black men to amplify their visibility and expedite their success. The Brotherhood is an organization led by Brother Jack that entices the Invisible Man, recruits him, and takes advantage of his invisibility to spark a riot in the streets of Harlem. The Brotherhood takes advantage of his invisibility in multiple ways: the organization advises the Invisible Man during his speeches, the organization sends him across New York as it see fit, the organization gives him money, and the organization fuels his rise to fame and notoriety. These acts seem benevolent, but the intentions behind them were destructive and manipulative. The Brotherhood has a doctrine and all members are expected to abide by it. Individual action is frowned upon. The Invisible Man is thus, reduced to a token and through his invisibility, the Brotherhood amplifies its prevalence in Harlem and generally as an organization. Again, the black man is used and those who use him aren’t invested in him. The Invisible Man realizes this amidst the riots in Harlem: “And now I looked around a corner of my mind and saw Jack and Norton and Emerson merge into one single white figure. They were very much the same, each attempting to force his picture of reality upon me and neither giving a hoot in hell for how things looked to me” (508) and “It was

"We ain’t thugs for the sake of just bein’ thugs. Nobody do that where we grew at N___, duh! The poverty line we not above. So I come in the mask and gloves ‘cause we ain’t feelin’ the love. We ain’t doin’ crime for the sake of doin’ crimes. We movin’ dimes ‘cause we ain’t doin’ fine. One out of three of us is locked up doin’ time. You know what this could do to a N___ mind? My mind on my money, money on my mind. If you owe me ten dollars you ain’t givin’ me nine! Ya’ll ain’t give me 40 acres and a mule. So I got my glock 40 now I’m cool." Jay-Z

Black Lives Matter is a rather recent movement that has developed in the United States as a result of the African American community claiming that police officers target and shoot African Americans due to their race. Their aim is to raise awareness of claimed police brutality against African Americans and hopefully increase restrictions on the police forces by taking away the right to defend themselves if they, the policemen, feel endangered.

In the news we hear stories about how another black male have been sent to prison. The big question that most people ask is “why?” He was selling drugs. A petty crime like that gets a black male at least 10 years in prison. Whereas, a white male selling drug gets probation. African American are portrayed as thugs who either sell drugs or are always in the streets terrorizing people. For instance, in the article, THE FIGHT FOR BLACK MEN, by Joshua Dubois. A man named Joe, who lived in a typical african american life style was fatherless. At a young age, he started to use narcotics. Later on, he was caught by the police and was sent to jail. Where he met someone that taught him the knowledge on how to sell drugs in the streets. This lifestyle is the stereotypical lifestyle of Black males or Black people in general. People assume that ‘ALL’ African Americans are the same. In another article, Black Men and Public Space, by Brent Staples; the character describes his first encounter with racism when he was behind a white woman, who thought he was going to rob her. So, she started to run. He mentions that just because he was wearing baggy clothes and black, she automatically thought the worst of him. Another stereotype for Black males is that they are not educated. In Black Boys in Crisis: The School-To-Prison Pipeline, it states that dropouts (mostly black kids) are going to be incarcerated at one point in their life. In this article, it states the statistic percentage of how

Brent Staples wrote “Black Men in Public Spaces” to educate readers on racial profiling and how it may affect innocent people. The message Staples created in his story involves prejudice towards African American men. He recalls many experiences as an adult which involved how people perceived him. As he talks about his experiences Staples discusses his mental development as an African American male living in Chicago. In the past decades many issues have arised due to racial profiling and many innocent people are no longer afraid to stand up to these unjust situations.

Staples talks about the irrational fear he saw from others towards him. He states that "On the less traveled streets after dark, I grew accustomed to but never comfortable with people crossing to the other side of the street rather than pass me." Staples gives countless examples of the discrimination he faced just by merely having a different color of skin. The first thought in the back of many white Americans minds when they see a black man is a fear that they are going to get raped, mugged, or robbed. In reality, this man is on his way home from a long day at work. I sometimes think the world will never change. Willingly, we exist through

The job of police officers around the world is to serve and protect the community; therefore, community members should feel safe and free under their protection. More often today in the United Sates, that is not the case. Several members of the black community do not feel safe under police protection; in fact, they feel like they are being harassed and threatened by the police. The accounts of people who feel this way has been growing ever since stories like Trayvon Martin, Sandra Bland, Michael Brown and many more. In the book Twelve Angry Men: True Stories of Being a Black Man in America Today edited by Gregory Parks and Matthew Hughey, Solomon Moore, Richard F., and Kent H. all share stories and personal experiences with the police.

Racism is a huge part of the world today. I believe that the essay was written to show that just because the appearance of somebody, doesn’t define who he or she is. In my opinion, the way black men or women are perceived to be is wrong. I also believe that Staples wrote this essay to show how he was perceived to be wasn’t correct and that most people assumptions about black men or even women are wrong. Not everyone can be trusted, but not everyone should be judged so harshly by appearance.

The Absence of Black Men in Their Children's’ Lives In today’s society it is becoming more frequent that black men are absent from their children's lives. The major cause of the absence of these black men are due to mass incarceration from crimes such as drugs, felonies, murder, and police brutality. Each day around the world, there’s an abundance of black men entering the jails and prisons resulting in mass incarceration. Mass incarceration is a controversial issue that is being talked about daily nationwide and how it affects communities and the people around the world.

To many people lack the vision of opportunity if a paycheck isn't attached to it.

Both the stories relate to discrimination and segregation amongst African Americans. In the story “Black Men in Public”

A similar thing about the two stories is that the black man had injustice done to him. In one case the black man was wrongly convicted for something a white man made up. And the other was beaten and murdered then his killers were never charged. Even though the layout of what happened was so different at the same time it was not. The lighter skin always wins. People thought so wrongly and hateful to colored skin in the 1900s and even some now.

Discrimination is a big problem in even modern times. An example of racial discrimination is in Desiree's Baby. Her husband leaves her and her child because he believes she is biracial, but in reality he is the one that is biracial. You never know someones background so you shouldn't judge by what things seem to be. Another example would be in the Good Samaritan. In the story, the man was looked down upon because he was a Samaritan, but he ended up having a kind heart. No one else would help the little orphan girl, but him. This shows that you shouldn't discriminate against someone because they most likely will not be like you think they are. In today's community, we can combat discrimination by joining different groups together, and accepting