Young Black Male

Brent Staples’ “Black Men and Public Space” was interesting in that the author did a great job trying to illustrate the issues of stereotypes, and criticisms he faces being a black man in public surroundings. Staples initiates his perspective by introducing the audience into thinking he is committing a crime, but eventually reveals how the actions taken towards him are because of the fear linked to his labeled stereotypes of being rapists, gangsters, and muggers. Brent Staples opened a door for discussion, why do we hate those we don 't understand? It doesn 't help the leader of the free world tweets leisurely while there 's more pressing matters to attend to like immigration, DACA, or the senseless kills of innocence with no basis other

In Brent Staples “Just Walk On: Black Men and Public Space”, he argues that the racial stereotypes he faced when he was younger actually happen to black men all the time. Staples gives examples of several situations in which he was seen as a criminal because of the color of his skin, one of them being a time when he was “mistaken for a burglar”(Staples 396). Throughout the essay, he lets readers know how his experiences have affected him, including how he views himself, and how he deals with it. He argues that the experiences he went through actually happen frequently among men of color; that in fact “black men trade tales like this all the time” (Staples 397). He supports his argument by describing situations in which he was treated like

In the year 2014, 12.4% of the United States population was African American. Despite being such a large portion of all the people in America, blacks are considered a minority due to the constant racial discrimination and social injustices they are exposed to day after day. Brent Staples wrote an essay titled, “Just Walk on By: Black Men and Public Spaces,” and brought light to the issue of black men, ironically, being endangered and victimized due to society’s treatment towards them. Although written back in the 1980’s, the experiences Staples endured and wrote about back in the day as a 20 year-old college student at the University of Chicago are still problems that plague society today. Sadly, prejudice against minorities and African Americans

The essay “Just Walk on By: Black Men and Public Space” by Brent Staples opens readers eyes on how humans tend to naturally judge people when exposed to different concepts. These concepts range from appearances, opinions, or any anomalies that are considered against the norm. This essay explores the stereotypes that are carried by black men, focusing specifically on how they are perceived as “a mugger, a rapist, or worse” while walking in the streets.

Individuals should not feel compelled to remain a fixture in their respective culture or community because one has to cope with societal criticism based on the fictitious perceptions by fanatic individuals of society. In “Black Men and Public Space,” author Brent Staples demonstrates this by arguing that because of his

Aleksandr S Melnik 28 March 2017 English 102 Annotated Work Cited Work Cited Staples, Brent. “Just Walk on By: Black Men and Public Space.” 50 Essays: A Portable Anthology, Third Edition, edited by Samuel Cohen, Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2011, 383-386.

Black Males vs. Equality In the essay, “Black Men and Public Space,” Brent Staples discusses how black men are perceived. This essay first made an appearance in 1986 in Harper’s Magazine. Staples graduated from Widener University with honors. He also earned an MA and PhD from the University of Chicago in psychology. Brent Staples had many more accomplishments in his life. He was a reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times, assistant metropolitan editor for New York Times, editor of New York Times Book Review, and now writer on education, race and culture (179).

Throughout the story, Staples references the ideas that the world he lives in is unsafe for a young, but large black man. “They were babies, really—a teenage cousin, a brother of twenty-two, a childhood friend in his mid-twenties—all gone down in episodes of bravado played out in the streets.”, stated by Staples points towards the idea that he grew up in a rather unsafe environment, filled with violence and crime. Specifically, Brent Staples, an educated black man, clued the reader in that he was not a typical black man of the 1970's or 1980's and he worked hard to stay hidden or in the shadows so he could survive. Surviving societies misguided ideas that because of the way he looked or appeared took Staples time to learn during his life. In

Brent Staples explains in his essay that the presence of black people in public places caused incommodity to lots of people because of the violence, and bad habits that people thought they had. A twenty-two year old black-man describes that around in the 1970’s, the United States suffered many issues about racism, and he was one of the victims from that situation where he was judged by his appearance. Even though he grew up on a violent neighborhood, he represents “one of the good boys” and he does not harm anyone; people staring at him because they thought that he was a “mugger, rapist, or worse”. Also, he gives different examples of racism that he suffered just for being black; and how he had to whistle melodies for precaution just for not

In society, many are assumed to be a criminal because of their appearance . The story of “Black Men and Public Space” by Brent Staples is a prime example of how people discriminate against others because of their looks . In the essay , Brent Staples as an African American man is mistaken for being a criminal because of his race. In his essay, he describes countless times how he is accused of been a criminal . For example , when he scared young white women when he turns the corner at night , and she runs off , convinced that he is a murderer , rapist or worse . He also describes how people lock their car door at night when he passes by. This is because he is black and young . They thought he was a criminal . He also described how he overcome those judgments by not walking at night , wear a suit , and whistling

In today’s world, the majority of society still get uneasy and nervous around colored people at vacant locations, mostly due to the overrepresentation of black citizens being connected with violence. Written by Brent Staples, “Black Men and Public Space” explains life from a colored man’s perspective on how he is

This encounter causes him to distance himself fully from his race and his final decision to pass. The narrator gives up his dream of making music for the sake of African Americans because he does not want to be “identified with people that could with impunity be treated worse than animals.” Although, throughout the narrative, the narrator does not fully reject his African American roots he states “I finally made up my mind that I would neither disclaim the black race nor claim the white race; but I would change my name, rise a moustache, and let the world take me for what it would; that it was not necessary to go about with a label of inferiority pasted across my forehead” (Johnson 139). As the narrator life goes on, he begins to feel regretful for holding himself back from his African American roots. If he decided to not pass as a white man, he could have embraced the African American societies in which could have potentially made a difference. This racial identity crisis, of not knowing what could happen with being either or race, prevented the narrator from pursuing his dream of becoming a musician, just to be a mediocre white businessman. The narrator had given up his talent just for safety and advantageous white men had during this

“Black Men And Public Space” is a story that not only shares the author's experiences with racial discrimination but also allows the reader to emerge into his reality. Staples reflection of his experiences led him to conform to unfair circumstances. Regardless,

Unit One Forum Two Keep On Walking Your Way Through Life Brent Staples, a man who was in his thirties, pondered the retrospect of his life experiences during the many encounters that he had in the streets. The first of these encounters happen when he was 22 years old with a white

According to Brent Staple, most Black man are usually considered as muggers, and are treated differently compare to those who are white. The author said that in one instance he didn’t do anything, he was just walking on the street at night and had his hands in his pockets, and that scared the white woman who was walking along the same street. It’s obvious to say she categorized the black man as a dangerous person. Because she considered him as a scary and finicky person. That explain why she decided to run away from him. This story showed me how