Black Men Stereotypes

Over the years, our generations’ stereotypical views over the issue on young black males being viewed as dangerous has grown significantly. There are different reasons why these stereotypes occur in our society. People feel on edge when running into them in dark passageways, whenever it’s late at night. Also, while they’re sitting at red lights and notice someone walking towards their cars, they instantly initiate down the door locks. People think stereotyping black men this way keeps them safer because they assume the worst. However; other people disagree with instantly judging who they see around them, it hurts more people as well as themselves by viewing black men this way. Brent Staples, the author of “Black Men and Public Spaces,” claims that he’s considered a stereotypical black criminal. In his essay, Staples succeeds because he successfully appeals to people’s emotions, is an expert on human behavior, creates common ground and offers a logical solution.

Brent Staples “Black Men and Public Space” is a look at how people perceive black people in the 1960s. Staples explains how people would treat him on a day to day basis. Even when he was a child he would be looked at differently because of his color. He quickly establishes ethos, logos and pathos credibility tough the many examples. This article shows the injustices done to him while living in New York. Brent Staples Black Men and Public Space uses pathos, ethos, and logos effectively throughout the essay.

In his essay, “Black Men and Public Space” Brent Staples a journalist explains that unconscious prejudice and racism exists against black men in our society. Unfortunately, these preconceived notions alter the way people respond to black males, making black men feel alienated. As an African American male, Staples supports this theory, providing people with insight into his own personal experiences. Brent discusses his childhood growing up in Chester, Pennsylvania, a city ridden with gang violence watching friends and family go to prison or end up murdered. His first encounter with racial stereotyping was a decade ago when he turned the corner one evening, keeping a distinct distance from a white female because she was cautiously watching

The stereotypical misrepresentations of African-American women and men in popular culture have influenced societal views of Blacks for centuries. The typical stereotypes about Black women range from the smiling, asexual and often obese Mammy to the promiscuous Jezebel who lures men with her sexual charms. However, the loud, smart mouthed, neck-rolling Black welfare mother is the popular image on reality television. The typical stereotype about Black men is the violent, misogynistic thug, and the ever-enduring pimp. These images portrayed in media and popular culture createpowerful ideology about race and gender, which affects daily experiences of Black women in America. With few healthy relationships portrayed in the media, Black women

“It was in the echo of that terrified woman’s footfalls that I first began to know the unwieldy inheritance I’d come into – the ability to alter public space in ugly ways.” Just Walk On By: A Black Man Ponders His Power to Alter Public Space, was written by Brent Staples. Staples was born in 1951 in Chester, Pennsylvania. He graduated Widener University with a B.A degree in behavioral science and the University of Chicago with a Ph.D. in psychology (History). To white people, specifically white women, any person of color is seen as a threat to them. Staples wrote this narrative argument to show that people of color, specifically black people, are always going to be subjected to their stereotype. They would always be feared because of the

In Staples essay “Black Men and Public Space”, big issues are explored and described in a way that we can relate to without getting

He refers to himself as being “one of the good boys” and having “perhaps a half-dozen fist fights”, yet he was still feared (240). To help battle against the fear he unintentionally caused, he began moving around cautiously. “I move around with care, particularly late in the evening. I give a wide berth to nervous people on subway platforms during the wee hours, particularly when I have exchanged business clothes for jeans. If I happen to be entering a building behind some people who appear skittish, I may walk by, letting them clear the lobby before I return, so as not to seem to be following them” (241).

In Brent Staples "Black Men and Public Spaces," Staples perceives today's racial stereotypes by sharing the experiences he has faced in the past. When Staples encounters his "first victim," a white woman, he realizes he is being stereotyped as a mugger, a rapist, or worse just because of his appearance and race (346). Staples becomes "familiar with the language of fear" by elaborating on other encounters he has had in public; the most frightening encounter perhaps was being mistaken for a burglar while working as a journalist in Chicago (346-347). Before the age of 22, Staples did not realize how serious the stereotypes were for being a black man. He attributes his ignorance to growing up in Chester, Pennsylvania where he remained a shadow

People like to believe their thoughts are their own, not subject to outside bias or prejudice, but this is rarely true. In the essay “Just Walk On By,” Brent Staples explores this topic of people unjustly applying broad stereotypes to individual people; he incorporates pathos and ethos in his writing to convey the message that labels culturally prescribed specifically to black men change others’ perception of them, therefore, affecting the way they must carry themselves.

The essay "Black Men and Public Space" written by Brent Staples displays racism and stereotyping toward black men by the way people perceive them and how they are treated in public. Staples writes how people, especially women, are scared and threatened by him by the way the act while he is around them. This essay shows how judgmental society can be and how race can affect how people treat others. I think that Staples uses his own experiences so that people can see what he goes through and to try to make people understand that everyone should be treated equally.

In the essay “Black Men and Public Space”, writer Brent Staples provides insight into a social occurrence that has developed due to racism and violence in today’s society. He was born in Chester, Pennsylvania and has received a B.A. in behavioral science from Widener University along with a P.H.D. in psychology from University of Chicago (2). Staples writes on culture and politics currently for the New York Times. In the past, he has also written articles for magazines such as the Chicago and the Down Beat. In the essay, Staples reflects back to numerous occasions he had first hand experience with racism relating to violence.

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.

The black male has often been depicted as a thug, hoodlum, a gangster, and as a man with an itchy trigger finger. This is obviously why many young people have grown to be subtly racist their toward fellow Americans, while others have grown such hatred that they form radical organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan, Neo Nazis, and skinheads. Hate crimes are still evident and not as uncommon as many people

But I knew better, I wasn’t an enemy, in fact or in feeling, I was an ally” (550). He makes a point that they are prejudiced to him because of his sex. If they had known he’s an ally to them because he wants the same power as them, then it would have been a different story than accusing him to be an enemy. We should not perceive all men are identical. The women from his college, stereotyped him and discriminated against him without knowledge of his working-class background.

In Brent Staples’ personal essay “Black Men and Public Space”, he tells the readers what happen to a young black man in an urban setting. He pinpointed that people often stereotype you because of color, race, gender, culture or appearance. In addition, the author expresses to us that he notices the space between him and other people, such as women on the street. Some people may disagree that women set a certain amount of space when walking by a black man on the street. This statement is not true and public space is not about race, gender, color, culture, or appearance.