The Ability to Alter Public Spaces Essay

Black Man Ponders His Ability to Alter Public Space,” Staples’s diction, irony, and examples help him to explain that, although he is an innocent man, racial stereotypes make people think differently about who he really is. Staples’s powerful diction helps him to explain how much of an impact his race has on his life. As a “youngish black man” with a “beard and billowing hair,” Staples has the ability to “alter space in ugly ways.” He noticed that he has this ability after having a late night

In “Just Walk on By: Black Men and Public Space,” Brent Staples discusses stereotypes that black men faces in today’s world. Where in his response to oppression he had changed his outside appearance to appear ‘friendly’ to be able to satisfy others. In many other stories, response to oppression was typically covering up instead of being yourself around others. However, I found that the most appropriate response to oppression is to adjust your outside appearance so you appear more friendly to give

of black people. This is a world where the black body has been oppressed and damaged throughout history, but yet maintain a fearful presence implied by Staples piece. In Brent staples “Just Walking by”, a black male’s body is capable of altering public space because the stereotypical projection of their race, causing others to do irrational things damaging he black body. The black men throughout history has always had a negative perceived image of them by those in power. The idea that one’s skin give

later became social rules, giving rise to things such as prejudice. In Brent Staples essay “Black Men and Public Space” this is clearly shown by the authors own experiences of antipathy

In his essay entitled, Just Walk On By: Black Men and Public Space, Journalist, Brent Staples details several events that occurred throughout his life as being of a man of color. Staples’ purpose is to show that there are still lingering prejudices and misconceptions based off of color and appearance. Staples adopts a relaxed, straight forward tone to discuss his past experiences and daily habits he had developed as a man of color. In his first paragraph, Staples writes from the viewpoint of a “hunter”

“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 and the University of Chicago with a Ph.D. in psychology. Staples worked to correct the myth that the American stereotype of black people

their heritage and Asian Americans who want nothing to do with their heritage discriminate one another. In her article, Hsiang tells us about racism within a community, which is something most people aren't aware about. In contrast, Black Men and Public Space by Brent Staples talks about the author’s personal experiences with discrimination as a black male. Unlike Hsiang, Staples talks about being

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

color, Brent Staples realized he had inherited “the ability to alter public space in ugly ways.” Whether it came as a result from walking at night, going into a jewelry store and getting a doberman pinscher pulled out on him, to seeing people, especially women’s facial expressions change once they caught sight of his thuggish appearance. Although having a completely different perspective, internet blogger, JDOWSETT, possessed a similar ability. Not as a result of his skin color, but from riding a

essay “Claiming the Public Space: The Mothers of Plaza de Mayo,” Susana Torre discusses the ability of a small group of women to effectively appropriate an important urban space in Buenos Aires in protest of the government’s practices of political suppression and forced disappearances during the mid-1970s and early 1980s. In doing so, Torre argues, these women were able to shed their marginalized political and social status and alter broader perceptions of symbolic public space, with their very presence