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Analysis Of Black Men And Public Space By Brent Staples

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In the article " Black Men and Public Space," Brent Staples writes about his life as a black man who lives in a prejudice city. Staples is often seen as a threat, which creates fear in the people around him. Many of these people stereotype him because of the color of his skin, the way he dresses, and acts. Even though Staples had a Ph.D. in psychology, he was still seen as an uneducated man whose only intentions were to harm. Staples talks about a situation where a white woman mistaken him as a criminal because off his appearance. Staples states “She cast back a worried glance. To her, the youngish black man... seemed menacingly close.... she picked up her pace and was soon running in earnest." The women saw Staples’ appearance and assumed …show more content…

Mrs. Dorian spoke to all my teachers to take me out of the regular English calsses and put me in ESL classes. Mrs. Dorian's argument was that it "seemed" that I was having trouble with the English language, and I would be comfortable with" my own kind". Mrs. D did the impossible to have me removed from my classes and she even tried to argue that I should be put in the fifth grade again. My parents were sure that I knew how to speak, read and understand English perfectly. I was just a very shy person and just needed to gain trust in my …show more content…

Staples said, “Over the years, I learned to smother the rage I felt at so often being taken for a criminal. Not to do so would surely have led to madness." "Over the years, I learned to smother the rage I felt at so often being taken for a criminal. Not to do so would surely have led to madness." This quote shows the "rage” Staples felt form being stereotyped and discriminated against, and how he had to contain himself and cope with it, which made him irritated. As I was being labeled and at some point, even doubted from parents, I also felt rage towards my parents and Mrs.

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The worst experience Staples’ had was when he was running late

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The message Staples wants to convey in his essay is that almost all people have to carry the burden of the stereotype they have, and he pushes this message through his use of ethos and pathos. Staples pushes his message through ethos by his use of expert testimony. One of the writers he quotes is Norman Podhoretz and his essay “My Negro Problem-And Ours”. Describing the fear he had while growing up, Podhoretz writes about how much

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Staples expresses his argument with real life experiences that have caused him to be stereotyped as a black male. People often think black males are “thugs”, “muggers”, or “rapist”, Staples points out that not all blacks fall under this category, especially him. Staples was first stereotyped when he was out walking at night (because this is what he likes to do) and comes across a white female who perceived him as a mugger or a rapist. This is when he realizes that he was “indistinguishable from the muggers who occasionally seeped into the area”( Pg.301 Para. 2). Staples comes to the conclusion that “being perceived as dangerous is a hazard itself” (Pg. 301 Para.)

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Black Men and Public Space Brent Staples has had several experiences that have made him come to a conclusion that the black male body inspires fear in public spaces. In my opinion he is right to feel that way. Unfortunately, it is something that comes naturally to some people. This is due to the media exposure with black males, the lack of diversity in their upbringing and demographics.

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1103 Words | 5 Pages

He starts to allow the reader to empathize with him by going from identifying the woman as his victim to stating how her response caused him to feel bad about himself. Staples does an excellent job in drawing a guilty sensation from the audience, which is important when gaining an emotion response. "I grew accustomed to but never being comfortable," in my opinion, this is the most influential statement because it makes the readers feel guilt and think about being in the writer 's shoes (614). He accomplishes a rhetorical goal by pulling emotion from his audience. He makes the audience see from his level that racism still exists whether society chooses to believe it or

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His point of view is that of a man who feels that he has done wrong, when in reality, it is society that has done the wrongdoing. Staples knows that the stereotypes that he faces for being black are wrong but also understands that he has to accept them. His opening lines in the essay are “My first victim was a woman” (Staples 542). This simple line initially makes Staples look like a killer. He makes the reader view him this way initially as it is the way that he views himself.

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Summary Of Just Walk On By A Black Man Ponders His Power To Alter Public Space

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That it is reality and not just a concept based off of racism. Within these anecdotes Staples uses hyperbole to create suspense and kind of overstate the real issue at hand in order to show how terrible his position truly is. Such as in the opening sentence, “My first victim was a woman - white, well dressed, probably in her early twenties…(542)”. The woman is not an actual “victim” to any physical harm. Nothing happened to her except she feared for possibly her life.

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In his essay entitled Black Men and Public Space (1987), Brent Staples talks about how people will have a common misconception on the black community by thinking that they are all mugger ,rapist or thugs. Staples supports his claim by telling the reader events/ stories that occured to him and talks about how people will assume that he is a danger to society when in reality he isnt. The authors purpose is to inform the reader that his experiences of being stereotyped is to show the reader his point of view when it comes to these types of situations. Staples writes in a formal tone for an intelligent or free minded person.

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In the reading Just Walk on By by Brent Staples, the topic of racial stereotypes surfaces from the man who gets racially profiled quite often as he explains his personal experiences. The author bluntly tries to pass the message that racially judging people is wrong and explaining how it makes the other party ,african americans, feel. When analyzing Staples’ message his rhetorical strategies play a huge role into how his message is perceived. He uses influential diction allowing each word to give an impact unmatched by any white man who tried to convey a black man’s thought process. Staples also appeals to his credibility with the obvious observation that he is a black man talking about his real life experiences.

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Staples uses imagery, so the reader can picture it when reading his work, and to help create a sort of dark and lonely tone. The character uses several personal experiences which use a large amount of imagery. This is better shown when staples writes “ As a softy who is scarcely able to take a knife to a raw chicken- let alone hold it to a person’s throat……”(542), The character feels as though he is being judged for being a certain color when really he is afraid himself of getting hurt; he is also very humble and shy because he is afraid to even harm something that isn’t alive. When being treated as guilty and wrong, shame will follow; the character feels shameful that the lady is afraid of him when he has done nothing wrong.

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“Black Men and Public Spaces” Diagnostic Essay Brent Staples in “Black Men and Public Spaces,” illustrates the inescapable prejudices and stereotyping that African-American men face in America. He does this by relating to his audience through his personal experiences with stereotyping, and sharing his malcontent on how these events have made him alter his way of living. From “victimizing” woman, watching people lock themselves away, and having to whistle classical music to calm the nerves of people around him; Staples builds a picture to help people better sympathize and understand his frustration. Although Staples describes himself as a college graduate, a journalist, and a softy in the face of violence, he details that the overall public deems him a dangerous criminal.

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Staples moves on to state that he never became comfortable with people who crossed to the other side of the street rather than pass him (183). By providing examples of people desperately trying to distance themselves from him when he didn’t exhibit any malicious intention in his actions, Staples shows that he was misinterpreted as dangerous solely because of his physical

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The women’s racism caused her reaction of “running in earnest,” “worried glances” and her eventual getaway, exemplifying the prejudice of a black male. He further demonstrates his “ability to alter public space” when just crossing “in front of a car stopped at a traffic light.” He hears the “thunk” of the driver locking their car regardless of them being “black, white, male, or female.” Staples understands the world is dangerous and people have the right to fear those around them, however, he continues to endure discrimination. But I am the person making those judgements.

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I was surprised, embarrassed, and dismayed all at once,” he writes to admit that he’s harmless. Staples effectively persuades his readers to believe that not all black men are harmful. He wants to make more people comfortable around him and less of a negative stereotype. By acting the opposite of a thug that many [white] people make up the conclusion to be, Staples changes his behavior in a way to protect himself because he’s percieved as a thug that could potentially made him a target and a danger to those around him and to himself. Staples concludes in his essay that thugs wouldn’t be “whistling a bright, upbeat from Vivaldi’s Four

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Americans Stereotypes: Loosening stereotypes Americans are always scared when they see a black man and think about them trying to harm them. Actually, that isn’t always the case and isn’t the case a lot of the time. Brent Staples in his writing Black Men in Public Spaces shows some of the societies stereotype issues. Americans should stop stereotyping blacks, not purposely go around them at night, and he shouldn’t have to whistle to make people comfortable around him. Americans put stereotypes on different ethnicities.

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