...has being increasing over the years. Brent Staples, author and editorial writer that wrote about black men and how they are viewed differently in our society because of their skin color. In his essay “ Black Men and Public Space, ” his main focus was black people being blamed for everything that happen in our society because of their skin color which created racial inequality in America. Black people are being judged because of the action that have happened the in past and their skin color which created racial inequality. Black people are portrayed differently in our society because of their action in history. Staples himself writes “ I was scarcely noticeable against a backdrop of gang warfare, street knifings, and murders” (Staples, 116). In other words, Staples believes that the causes of black people being portrayed differently in our society is because of their action in history. Most people were against racism before and now. Black people were angry about them being judged easily when they tried to have their voice out there, it resulted in them being judged more by our society. This shows how society doesn’t give voice to the subgroups and judge them easily for what has happened in the past. Black people would rather stay hidden in...
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...“Just Walk on By: Black Men and Public Space” is an article by Brent Staples that exemplifies the hardships black men face when occupying public areas through his personal encounters. He begins by sharing his experience of woman (who he refers to in a play on words as his “first victim”) running away from him in fear that he was a criminal of some sort. Although he was from a decent background and had no intentions of harming her, he claims this was the first time he was aware of the effects and feelings black men evoke in public, especially at night. Staple deduced that the mere fact that he was black made him indistinguishable from other criminals, and this serious hazard possessed the potential to cost him his life. The author continues...
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...Fernando Mercado English 101 August 20,2013 Black Men and Public Spaces In Black Men and Public Spaces,” Brent Staples is a black man who whenever in public is met with fear from “others because of his race's stereotype. Staples has the ability to alter public space by his physical behavior, his dress and his verbal reaction. Black men have a reputation of being rapist, murders and gang members how to change his perception or level of threat to others. He accomplishes this by his physical behavior. In his essay “Black Men and Public Space”, Brent Staples attempts to introduce people to something most all are guilty of, but pay little attention to. Using accounts from his own and others’ experiences, Staples essay portrays the racist tendency of people to assume black men are potentially violent and dangerous. Therefore many people get worried when a young black man is around. He’s since realized how people view him when he’s on the streets. If he happened to be entering a building behind some people who appear skittish, he’ll walk by letting them clear the lobby before he returns so as not to seem to be following them. He’s even had to change the way he walks just so people wouldn’t suspect him of doing anything. For example one of his most frightening confusions occurred in late 1970’s when he worked as a journalist in Chicago. One day he was rushing in the office with a magazine deadline in hand. He was then mistaken for a burglar...
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...projects of the Bronx who is a black male towering at a height of 6’6” and three hundred and sixty-five pounds just fresh out of jail charged on a gun possession. My mom and I wanted a better life for him so we took him out to breakfast one morning at the Ihop nearby our house. After we ordered our food, he went to the restroom as everyone moved out of his way with his purple bandanas showing to represent his gang. An older lady came up to my mom and I and asked if we were ok and if he was with us with a startled face. Right then and there I realized society makes bold stereotypes off of appearance and race. In the two articles “Hip Hop Planet” and “Black Men and Public Space” society stereotypes identity by appearance and race. The authors in both articles explain their thoughts on appearance and race. Brent Staples in “Black Men and Public Space” feels appearance is a strong way for society to judge people. Also he states that more black males cause fear in people than any other race. James McBride actually states his fear is his daughter marrying a rapper with gold teeth and a do-rag. He also says hip-hop in New York started from black males in Harlem and the Bronx. Brent displays his experiences on the streets to show that society stereotypes race and appearance. Staples states, “At dark shadowy intersections, I could cross in front of a car stopped at a traffic light and elicit the thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk, of the driver- black, white, male, or female- hammering...
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...Rhetorical Précis “The Death of the Moth” By Annie Dillard Annie Dillard in her essay, “The Death of the Moth” (1945), asserts that in order for her life to have meaning, she would have to do something that outlasted her life as a human being. Dillard supports her assertion by comparing her purpose in life to the one moth that did not turn to ash in the midst of the fire but flourished in spite of its last moments. The author’s purpose is to share an anecdote as to explain why she is the way she is in order to inspire another generation of writers. The author writes in an awestruck tone for the class she is speaking to so they may realize just how poetic life as a writer can be. “Black Men and Public Space” By Brent Staples Brent...
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...“Just Walk on By: Black Men and Public Space,” by Brent Staples is about a black man who faced racial challenges. Brent Staples has been accused as a criminal many times and people feared him when he would walk down the streets. Brent Staples went to college in Chicago and then moved to New York. Wherever Staples would go, people would fear him due to his dark skin and the stereotype that would go around. Living in the city was not easy for him and ran into many problems. Brent Staples’s first problem he ran into was in Chicago, He was walking on the streets when he knew something wasn’t right. He was walking behind a woman and he was able to feel the tension. The woman was getting nervous thinking that he may rob or hurt her. Staples knew he just had a label put on him. The woman feared him because he was black and thought he may do something violent to her. Out of fear the woman started to run and suddenly disappeared. Later in his life, Staples moved to New York and still runs into the problem of racism and stereotypes. Staples noticed that all of the women are more vulnerable on the streets; they are not as strong and unable to protect themselves unlike men. Women made sure their handbags were strapped around their chest with a firm grip and a neutral expressions. He had realized what the stereotypes and racism has done to the citizen on the streets and thought that it was not right and fair to him and many other similar to him. As a boy, Brent Staples has seen many friends...
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...“You’re black!” “You’re yellow!” People will always be identified as their skin color, I do not know how whites developed a superiority complex. “FOBs vs. Twinkies” by Grace Hsiang and “Black Men and Public Space” by Brent Staples are two articles highlighting racial discrimination. Hsiang’s article focuses on intraracial discrimination while Staples’ articles focuses on racial stereotyping outside of his race. In ‘“FOBs” vs. “Twinkies”’ the author is surprised to hear about intraracial discrimination because she expected to hear about whites vs. the minority. Students took turns telling their stories of personal experiences with racial conflict. “Black Men in Public Space” is a little different because the author uses personal experiences...
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...mugger, a rapist, or worse.” Brent shares instances of people locking their car doors or crossing the street when he walked by, but he says he can’t blame them, as “young black males are drastically overrepresented among the perpetrators of… violence.” Ultimately, the reader empathizes with Brent Staples and others in his position. The reader comes to consider a city sidewalk or a deserted street from a different perspective. In his essay, “Black Men and Public Space,” Brent Staples expresses his shock and dismay upon discovering that, as a black man of large stature, his mere physical presence inspires fear in strangers. Obviously a gentle, harmless person, Staples’ view of himself is inconsistent with stereotypes, and he convinces the reader that he is anything but stereotypical. Brent Staples acknowledges that stereotypes are often deserved, but he relates personal stories and shares his emotions, allowing readers to put themselves in his place. Additionally, Staples points out the fact that being feared by others is often dangerous. Staples’s purpose is to reduce the stereotype for the group of blacks which is that not all the black men are dangerous. Staples is conveying a message to the public to not to jump to conclusions about people’s skin colors, appearance, and by their behavior. I think the authors purpose of the story is to inform his readers about how he never felt that feeling of not being satisfactory in the eyes of the public. Even thou the author does...
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...Staples compounds one example after the next as evidence of this discrimination. He argues that the perception other people have of him is premised on a negative view society has of young black men in general. In this case, people are using an incomplete story, what limited knowledge they have about a certain ethnicity, to actively judge people of that ethnicity. Applying Adichie’s idea of a “single story” to Staples’ essay helps the reader understand that the way in which we view others is predicated on the information we have about them; when that information is incomplete, uninformed opinions lead to inexact...
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... Like Pete Hamill in “Zip USA: New York City, NY; After the Fall,” James McBride in “Hip-Hop Planet,” Brent Staples in “Black Men and Public Space,” and myself, life experiences have made us rethink who we are. A person’s identity often can be shaped by major life experiences. First, in the article “After the Fall,” Hamill’s identity was changed because of the attack on the twin towers in New York City. After witnessing the fall of Tower two, he celebrated to even be alive. According to Hamill, “We all learned, that terrible morning, that we could die while reaching for a piece of toast at breakfast” (7). After the attack, Hamill’s perspective on life changed. He no longer took his life for granted the way he had before. Secondly, in the article “Hip-Hop Planet,” McBride’s identity was changed once he chose to accept Hip-Hop music. After research, he realized Hip-Hop is all over the world and constantly changing. According to McBride, “That is why after twenty-six years, I have come to embrace this music I tried so hard to ignore”(16). He changed his opinion about Hip-Hop music so he could keep a relationship with his daughter. Lastly, in the article “Black Men and Public Space,” Brent Staples’ identity changed when he realized how people in Chicago viewed his skin color. Being an African-American male, he was automatically judged. According to Staples, “It also made it clear that I was indistinguishable from the muggers who occasionally seeped into the...
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...“There are more African-American men in prison, jail, on probation or parole than were enslaved in 1850” (Alexander). Racism in present day America is harder to see than previous periods because the most apparent and obvious forms of racial discrimination, such as slavery or segregation, have been eliminated. Nonetheless, racism effects the political, economic, and sociocultural structures of America in ways that cause separation between people of color and whites. Race constantly affects the way we are seen in society and controls our actions. Racism leads to ostracizing, bullying, and even violence. “Just Walk on By: Black Men and Public Space” by Brent Staples and “The Fourth of July” by Audre Lorde both exhibit these struggles of racism....
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...helping out a poor desolate child. How could this helpless child be a victim of an organized crime of self-made beggars? To answer this question would be an essay in itself, however, I describe this, as one of many etched incidences in my life to illustrate that I misrecognized the beggar and was influenced by someone else’s preconceived stereotype image of “other, a stranger described as a beggar” that was different then us. The notion of “other and misrecognition” is described in Toni Morrison’s essay “Strangers” (1998) when she explores this concept by depicting a stranger as an image of a bizarre fisherwomen dressed in men’s clothing; while Brent Staples portrays his own image as a stranger and depicts how he is perceived as a threat to others in his essay “Black Men and Public Space” (1986). Although both Morrison and Staples offer differing accounts of their experiences and feelings, they both share the same vision, the correlation between “how we see strangers” versus “how we are seen as strangers.” The notion of difference and misrecognition of strangers creates, fear, anger, frustrations and curiosity in both these authors, but they make concerted efforts to recognize and deal with their behavior, which begs the question: How do we learn to accept each other in a diverse society? Some factors that...
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...We live in a society where stereotypes plays a big role in how people are treated, whether it’s reglion, race, age , sexualty, gender and where you may live. A stereotype is an unfair and untrue belief that a group of people have the same characteristics. In Black Men and Public Space by Brent Staples, we see how Brent was tested. He was tested a few times because of the color of his skin and the time of hour it was with the location playing a role in how the White women treated him; being a Black man in the streets of an impoverished section in Chicago affected how he was viewed. Being from Brooklyn I get stereotype all day when taking public transportation. One would think that being from one of the most largest and diverse city in the world...
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...Relying on examples from your own experience and from Staples’ essay, write an essay discussing what parts you think race plays in people's reactions to Staples. Do you think his perceptions are accurate? Make sure that you document Staples’ words and ideas and that you include a works cited page. (See Chapter 18 of the Patterns text for information on MLA documentation.) A White Man’s Privilege Alters Public Spaces “My first victim was a woman – white, well dressed, probably in her early twenties, I came upon her late one evening on a deserted street in Hyde Park, a relatively affluent neighborhood in an otherwise mean, impoverished section of Chicago.” Staples begins his essay very powerfully. Upon reading the first paragraph, one would think they were about to read about a thrilling crime. Unfortunately, Staples was recounting a time he was judged by the color of his skin, as he walked through the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago. “I was indistinguishable from the muggers who occasionally seeped into the area from the surrounding ghetto.” Staples’s naivety is sadly endearing, as he has clearly hadn't experienced any deep form of racism until he was almost twenty two years old. Why does Staples evoke this reaction? My story begins in Chicago as well, the year is 2008 and I was walking down Belmont; heading east from Sheffield. It was 4:30am and the streets were dark and distant. I was still getting to know the city and was walking extra cautiously, as not to slip...
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...Society and Our Stereotypical Views Everything we do and say could have an everlasting effect on the people around us. Stereotypes are one of the easiest ways to make someone feel uncomfortable and out of place. The essays “Black Men and Public Space” by Brent Staples and “Celebrating Nerdiness” by Tom Rogers both show us how the stereotypes we label each other with can affect the people around us. Stereotypes can be very hurtful and misleading. In the essay written by Brent Staples, the author shows us how difficult it is to be a black man in New York City at night. The preconceived notions associated with black men lead people, predominately women, to mistake the main character for a thief, a rapist, and even a murderer. Similarly, the essay written by Tom Rogers sheds light on the conventionalized ideas associated with nerds, or smart kids in school. Rogers explains his enthusiasm to answer questions in class, and his son's ability to name all of the elements...
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