Racism In Brent Staples's 'Just Walk On By'

During the mid-1970's, people perceived African-Americans as physically more dangerous, despite the white and black men being equal in size. One black male, in particular, author Brent Staples, wrote "Just Walk On By", published in Ms. Magazine in the year of 1986, and argues that he has held "the ability to alter public space in ugly ways" because the color of his skin falls within the bases of the African-American race(1). The purpose behind this excerpt is to notify the audience of how struggles

States have either experienced or witnessed some form of discrimination in their lifetimes, and one person, in particular, was Brent Staples, an African-American man who lived in New York during the mid-1970’s, which was not too long after the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s. Racial tensions in the United States were still considerably high back then, and this led to racism and discrimination towards others based on their social statuses such as race, class, and gender, and Staples himself has dealt

As a target of racism and prejudice, Brent Staple wrote Just Walk on By: Black Men and Public Space. Throughout this essay he explains his personal experience in public spaces and the stereotypes he has faced. Since society has deeply embedded their views of “blacks,” just their presence induces fear and causes unnecessary feelings and emotions to arise. Staples presents no anger in his decision to alter his actions and his appearance to ease those around him despite his skin tone. Societal views