Black Men in Public Spaces Essay

In Brent Staples’ "Just Walk on By: Black Men and Public Space," Staples describes the issues, 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 labelled stereotypes of being rapists, gangsters and muggers. Staples continues to unfold the audience from a 20 year old experience

In Brent Staples’ “Just Walk On By: Black Men and Public Space” he forces women to recognize the feeling of estrangement from the surrounding public that he has endured. He first took notice at the age of twenty two, when his own self-judgement resulted from scaring a woman when solely walking at night near his college, the University of Chicago. He maintained his dejected attitude when he wrote that a few years later, his own work mistook him for a thief instead of a journalist. Brent Staples heightened

identification or religious preference instead of their self-perception. African Americans are judged more for their race than for their self-perception. Brent Staples is an African American male who is treated unjustly for being black. In his story entitled “Black Men and Public Space”, he describes himself as “a softy who is scarcely able to take a knife to a raw chicken”, yet he is “often being taken for a criminal”. In his mind, he is a harmless man who could never cause harm to anyone. This is not how

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

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

Walk on By: Black Men and Public Space,” by Brent Staples, there is a discussion of race all throughout their writing but there is a subtle difference in the way they approach this topic. Through their different uses of diction and syntax, Baldwin’s establishes an indignant and bittersweet tone that highlights the way he feels towards the racial injustice he has experienced; whereas Staples’ establishes an ironic and poised tone highlights his annoyance towards the stereotypes black men face on a day-to-day

Brent Staples, in the essay, “Black Men and Public Space”, published in Ms. Magazine in 1986, writes, “Where fear and weapons meet--and they often do in urban America--there is always the possibility of death”. The essay was written by Staples to raise awareness of the issues of race, gender, and class in society. Staples’s earlier statement, referenced above, reveals a controversial topic which is still relevant today. The author states that in a situation involving a weapon and fear (of a person

In the 1970’s people were prejudice towards African Americans believing that they were all muggers and thugs. In Brent Staples’ article, “Just Walk on By: Black Men and Public Space,” he writes about how people at the time were accusing African Americans like him of being thugs. He wrote this down after his appearance was enough to scare a woman late one night. He uses this article to share his feelings about the stereotype of African Americans being thugs and how he feels about people believing

In his short essay, “Black Men in Public Space”, Brent Staples captures his own experiences working as a tall black journalist in a predominantly White neighborhood. Staple’s experiences highlight how he is stereotyped and intimidated in the public due to his skin color even though he is a bright young man and a graduate student at the University of Chicago (Staples). Staples further shows that even though he is well versed and academically accomplished, the predominant and affluent White community

Does the Color of the Skin Matter? What makes a person valuable, the color of the skin or the way someone acts in public? In the essay “Black Men and Public Space” Brent Staples discusses how he was treated in public. and what people felt when they saw him. To let people know that he was a good guy, he had to do something special that a normal person would not do constantly. According to Aristotle, a speaker uses three methods to discuss his argument. These methods are ethos, pathos, and logos