...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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...Black Men and Public Spaces by Brent Staples (1986) 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. As I swung onto the avenue behind her, there seemed to be a discreet, uninflammatory distance between us. Not so. She cast back a worried glance. 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. After a few more quick glimpses, she picked up her pace and was soon running in earnest. Within seconds she disappeared into a cross street. That was more than a decade ago. I was twenty-two years old, a graduate student newly arrived at the University of Chicago. 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. It was clear that she thought herself the quarry of a mugger, a rapist, or worse. Suffering a bout of insomnia, however, I was stalking sleep, not defenseless wayfarers. As a softy who is scarcely able to take a knife to a raw chicken – let alone hold it to a person's throat – I was surprised, embarrassed, and dismayed all at once. Her flight made me feel like an accomplice in tyranny. It also made it clear that I was indistinguishable...
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...The narrator, in Brent Staples' Black Men and Public Spaces, finds himself bothered by the fear response that he invokes in others. He attributes this response to his being black. He too though shows himself to get caught up in the fear of stereotypes, attributing their response to his skin color and failing to see the natural fear response that is evoked in people when they are in a situation that is unfamiliar to them, and through conditioning, perceive it to be threatening to their fundamental, all encompassing, humanistic need to survive. He overlooks these details in many situations. Because he feels that they are stereotyping him based on the color of his skin he allows himself to get upset over these situations rather than understand them. He speaks of giving other subway goers room to ease their worries about his skin color but it has become natural for subway goers to be weary of other passengers because of the extensive amount of talk or writing that goes around about all of the subway fatalities and incidents that occur by men and women, whites and minorities, young and old and even the ones that appear to be normal and the ones that obviously seem disturbed. Him running into the office of a magazine he works for with a deadline paper in hand and being thought to be a burglar is also something he attributes to his race; "Black men trade tales like this all the time" (para10). He fails to make a paralleling scene in which a white man is running into the office of a...
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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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...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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...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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...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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...the herd makes you not alone in your life and in your dreams. Brent Staples, the author of the essay "Black Men in Public Spaces", suggests that being in your own skin is not so conformable because of unconscious prejudice and stereotyping that still exist. Additionally, an episode from Black-ish, "The Name Game", portrays that society still beholds bias and...
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...the process. Black History Month is a time to celebrate how far African Americans have come, but also a time to realize how much further they need to go. Hindrances, such as racial slurs and acknowledged discrimination, are part of the huge race problem still present in America. The result of this is that black men are more at risk to suffer injustices, specifically regarding police brutality. Black males are physically handled harsher, killed at a much higher rate, and are handcuffed or restrained more than white males. In Staples’ essay, “Just Walk on By: Black Men and Public Space,” he says black men are recognized as threatening public space. Despite race and gender both being present in stereotyping, race is the main variable in establishing whether a man poses a public threat....
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...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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...“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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...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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...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 on the slick sidewalk. In the distance I could hear the crunch of snow under someone’s boots. I looked back-- a tall, slender black man was about 30 feet behind me. The crunching seemed to be getting louder, I looked back again--the young man was gaining speed. I could...
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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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