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Black Men In Public Spaces Analysis

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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. Americans stereotype blacks to be murderers, rapists, or robbers. Brent Staples was conceived to be a robber. He was taken out of his own office because he was mistaken for a burglar (Staples 1). When Americans see black men …show more content…

He gave the example of when he was walking, a girl saw him and watched him closely. She ended up running away from him (Staples 1). He had to walk past an entrance of a building to let skittish people in so that they wouldn’t think that he was following them, “If I happen to be entering a building behind some people who appear skittish, I may walk by, letting them clear the lobby before I return, so as not to seem to be following them.” (Staples 3). When Brent was on the subway or walking late at night he would hum or whistle a common classical song. He whistled a common or recognizable tune to make people feel comfortable around him. Brent stated, “I whistle melodies from Beethoven and Vivaldi and the more popular classical composers” (Staples 3). When he whistled some people even would join along in the melody. Black men shouldn’t feel they have to be careful when walking not to scare anyone. They are not all bad most of them are just walking or trying to get somewhere. Americans shouldn’t stereotype different ethnicities. People should not try to go around them because they look scary, and he shouldn’t have to whistle to make people around him conformable. What makes us think this way; well it’s because of what media says. What we see is what we think we believe from one news story on a black guy, and so we think that they all are like that when they

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In the article, “Black Men in Public Places,” Brent Staples first grabs the reader by telling them about his first victim. This, “victim,” was not harmed by Staples at all, he only walked passed her at night, which made her incredibly uncomfortable and she was not the only person that had felt this way. Staples describes how people would lock their car doors when he would walk by, just because of his appearance, to them he looked the same as a mugger or rapist. Staples moved to New York, and faced the same racial profiling he did back in his hometown. Staples describes himself as shy and timid, while the people where he grew up were gang affiliated and were dying at young ages.

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Brent Staples in his article “Black men and Public Space” used an effective amount of rhetorical devices and strategies to develop his claim. The message of the article is to vocialize how Black men are overrepresented as thugs and gangsters and when they’re in public spaces they are treated as such. In the article, Staples pulled from his own experiences and give examples of other peoples instances with this issue. However he did it in such a way using rhetorical devices that strengthen his point and gave the reader something to think about. At some points of the article the reader may have even gotten offended or maybe felt guilty about doing some of the things that he brings up.

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In Brent Staple’s essay, Just Walk on By: Black Men and Public Space, he discusses how the black are stereotyped and not in a nice way. The whites’ believe black people are dangerous to their community, that the blacks commit wrong doings and create violence everywhere they go. The author goes through many struggles in his lifetime, for example, people thinking he is a mugger or even worse. Staples writes about his “first victim” to begin his essay, the victim is a white women who is so scared that he is behind her that she sprints off as far as she can. When people see Staples, they immediately assume that he is a bad man, when in reality he is a hardworking man earning everything he has.

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Staples explains that the woman's quick getaway when she saw him on a street at night following him, made him feel like "an accomplice in tyranny" that was "indistinguishable from the muggers. " Although he said a person who doesn't even know how to use a knife how can he harm anyone? How he is thrown out of his own office just because guard assumes him as a burglar. He later explains how he portraits himself less threatening by taking measure precautions like the whistles around the people just to show positive ethos and to make people comfortable around

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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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Just Walk on By: Black Men and Public Space by Brent Staples discusses the relevant issues of racial bias and how prejudice against people of color has embedded minds, as it demonstrates the importance of being aware of how we conceive others. Staples uses a contrasting element of race by introducing a white female and a black male. He uses his experiences and other people of colour to display the struggles of racism they face everyday. Staples reveals how people are prejudice against appearance, despite the importance of individuality of people and being impartial regardless of someone 's skin or looks. The story begins with Staples describing his first experience frightening a white women due to the colour of his skin.

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