“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. …show more content…
For example, in his essay “Just Walk on By”, Staples describes how he was discriminated against because he is a tall, black man. He realized how much his appearance frightened others, particularly a white woman, when he used to take late night walks as a graduate student. In order to deal with this misconstrued view of himself, Staples explains how he whistles classical music as a way to assure others that he is not a dangerous man. Similarly, Lorde explores her and her family’s trip to Washington D.C. the summer after her eighth grade graduation. In addition to the discrimination she experienced in a ‘whites only’ ice cream parlor, the entire reason her family was on this trip was because the nuns at her school explained to her older sister that the hotel her class would be staying at did not rent rooms to Negros. In both cases Staples’ and Lorde’s actions were controlled by society solely based on their skin color. Therefore, affecting their social success in society, and in Lorde’s case one could also say it affected her educational opportunities because she was not able to go on the trip with her