...“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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...essay, “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...
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...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. That was truly the worst part for him being accused for criminal activities at his own job. Just for being a colored person...
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...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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...mother’s high school students that lived in the 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-...
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..."Just Walk on By” In Brent Staples essay, “Just Walk on By”, he explains how during his lifetime, different people was judging him because he was a tall, African American who pursued his career as a journalist in a substantially Caucasian environment. In his essay, Staples applies a written description to demonstrate the different times where individuals begin to react in another way when they identified him because of his color. For example, as he was rushing to hand in an article for a magazine, he was being accused of being a robber. From reading that statement, it is understandable that Staples was being criticized wrongly. Also, Staples applies cause and effect to demonstrate how he acts in another way, optimistically so individuals can see him as a different person. He compares and contrasts how a few circumstances would change if he were another color. Staples covers various examples all through the essay “Just Walk on By” where he was wrongly treated on behalf of his color. For example, he applies is when he realize individuals began to act another way towards him. “I was a 22 years old, a graduate student newly arrived at the University of Chicago. It was in the echo of a terrified woman’s footfalls that I first began to know that unwieldy inheritance I’d come into – the ability to alter public space in ugly ways. It was clear that she thought herself the quarry of a mugger, a rapists, or worse” (118). Another example, “I was on assignment for a local newspaper and...
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...The first time this happened, he scared a young white women when he turned the corner at night, and she ran off, convinced that he was “a 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...
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...read and write at an early age. The books she read were set in Britain and America, cultures far different from what she was accustomed to. The only information Adichie had about the West sat between two covers of a book. This constrained look gave her a stereotypical perspective of life in America. When she moved to the United States, the perception that the American people had of Nigerians surprised her. As she develops her contention, Adichie walks listeners through her childhood in Nigeria, her move to the United States, and how both offered her a unique perspective on how two vastly different cultures perceived each other....
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...Appearance The way we dress, walk, and talk says a lot about us. Physical appearance has to do with how a person grooms himself or herself. This narrows down the clothing and accessories one wears. Although appearance should not be how we judge a person, most of us get that habit from our family. Unfortunately, the reality is that people judge others by outer appearance. As Brent Staples describes in his story, “Youngish black man-a broad six feet two inches with a beard and billowing hair, both hands shoved into the pockets of a bulky military jacket-seemed menacingly close.” (Staples 241) The woman walking by him was terrified of him. She was judging him by his appearance; by what he was wearing. Among other things, which form an individual’s appearance besides clothing is how one grooms. We have the tendency of assuming a person is a certain way because of their appearance. In comparison, how a person shaves, does their hair gives them a certain personality. Also the way they talk, move, and smile, says a lot about a person. I have worked in the banking industry for five years and have learned a few things about people. As a result, working in the banking industry you get to see and meet different type of people. There was this one older lady that every morning would stop at the bank and have a cup of our complimentary coffee. She was never groomed her outfit was not up to date with todays fashion; It was like she has just gotten out of bed. First thing that came...
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...The essay “Black Men and Public Space” written by Brent Staples and Clinton Smith’s Ted talk: “Black Lives Matter” movement is justified. Black lives do matter and White Americans should not see black people as a threat just because of their color. In Staple’s essay, he states that he was seen as threat to the people around him, in this case a young white woman. He walks one night, on the streets and this white woman “picks up her pace and was soon running” after she saw she was being “followed” by Brent, “ a young black man-a broad six feet two inches, with a beard and billowing hair.” Or he would just enter a building “behind some people and walk by, letting them clear the lobby, so as not to seem to be following them.” White people are...
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...Janelle Lebron Professor Christine Reeves English 101 22 November 2014 Just Walk On By vs. Girl Short stories, novels, and even articles today usually hold a meaning that can be rewritten in many different ways, but still gets the deeper gist of the story. It does not matter if the story is fiction or based on actual events, the message that is meant to get across will almost effortlessly. Just Walk On By and Girl are unlike in minor and immense ways, a couple significant differences are the time period and the narrator’s gender. In spite of the differences, Just Walk On By and Girl show very important similarities which are the longing to fit into social standards and how African American’s are treated by others. Together these short stories can bring out many wonderful meanings, either parallel or diverse, but an overall great lesson to learn from each story. The reading Just Walk On By and Girl both narrators have the longing to fit in among their peers due to social standards. The narrators want to feel a sense of acceptance, even if it means giving up their individuality. In both short stories, it is implied that by following a routine of “how to act” the speakers will stay in their path of acceptance. In Girl, the speaker is inside her own thoughts of how to stay accepted, and towards the end of the story she states “…you are really going to be that kind of woman the baker won’t let near the bread?” (Kincaid) This powerful statement is said for the reader to understand...
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...Sometimes moving to a new place can cause some problems, especially if you’re considered “non- american” or “not a part of an american culture”. This can make you feel overwhelmed and uncomfortable especially when you try to learn to grow accustomed to the american way of life. You try to feel normal like everybody else, but it’s hard to when you’re not treated fairly because all in all, we are all the same. Brent Staples in “Black Men And Public Space” and Firoozeh Dumas “The F Word” both discuss the transitioning of where they came from until they moved to a different place. In “Black Men And Public Space” that first appeared in 1986 in Ms. magazine, Staples explains that even walking down the street, he was given certain looks; worried looks. He explains that he came across a young woman who kept her distance. He states “To her, the youngish black man-a broad six feet two inches with a beard and billowing hair, both hands shoved into the pockets of a bulky military jacket- seemed menacingly close”(Staples 346). The young woman picked up her pace and was soon running. Staples had began to suspect people take him to be as dangerous as a hazard in itself. When he had worked as a journalist in Chicago he was mistaken for a burglar. Firoozeh Dumas who was born in Abadan, Iran and then moving into the United States, discusses the troubles her and her family had faced with their ‘ethnic names’; she had dealt with the prejudice remarks and discusses the difficulties of the transitioning...
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...“Just Walk On By: A Black Man Ponders His Power To Alter Public Space” Stereotypes affect different individuals regardless race, religion, sex, and creed. In “Just Walk On By: A Black Man Ponders His Power to Alter Public Space,” Brent Staples demonstrates how a stereotype on race and sex can intervene with one another. Each point, whether a narrative or remark, can have positive and negative outcomes on the audience Staples is trying to enlighten. His thesis, the ability to alter public space through racial stereotypes, affected him as well as many other persons of his stature and skin color. It not only influenced lives of people like Staples, but infringed onto the “victims” of Staples and others like him. Staples explains his thesis throughout the essay through narratives of incidents in his life. He explains one encounter with a young white women, “on a deserted street, in an impoverished section of Chicago” (556). She glances back at him and disappears off into the dark. In paragraph two, Staples understands her thoughts of him being a mugger, a rapist, or even a murderer; but “her flight” made him feel “like an accomplice tyranny” (556). It also made him feel like he was “indistinguishable from the muggers,” and laid on him and “unnerving gulf between nighttime pedestrians—particularly women” and himself (556). This confrontation not only shows how a stereotype affected the thoughts of a female walking at night, but how it negatively touched a black male...
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...“Just Walk on By: Black Men and Public Space” by Brent Staples, “Serving in America” by Barbara Ehrenreich, and “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan all tackle the issue of one being thought of as something they are not, as a result of his or her unchangeable characteristics. Staples is an African-American man and is often mistaken as a criminal because of his race. When working as a journalist, Staples was running late and “was mistaken for a burglar. The office manager called security and, with an ad hoc posse, pursued [him] through the labyrinthine halls, nearly to [his] editor’s office” (Staples 385). This anecdote highlights the negative thoughts that people have when seeing African American men, like Staples. The office manager assumed that Staples...
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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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