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Brent Staples Walk On By: Prejudices Of Society

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Recommended: Negative african american stereotypes

Adil Geilani
Scott Gregg
ENGL 1022
13 February 2023
Interpretive Essay
Prejudices of Society “Walk On By” by Brent Staples is an essay that was published in 1986. It addresses the racial prejudices that were and still are present within society. Staples was born and raised in Pennsylvania, then later moved to Chicago to get his college education. Staples was a psychology professor at multiple colleges in Chicago, but later, in 1983, went on to pursue journalism. It is shown through his firsthand experiences that a black man is typically perceived as dangerous and threatening solely because of their race. Staples has demonstrated this perspective in multiple of his writings. His perspective comes from the many experiences he, and the people …show more content…

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.” This starts it off by making the reader think that he is a bad guy that is on the prowl for his next victim by the way he is describing the setting and atmosphere. Then, he uses that attention-getter as a way to divert the essay into the reality of his life, which was the scenario from his perspective, he shows just how irrational and prejudiced the original story was all because of the preconceived notions that are held by society. Staples does say though, "women are particularly vulnerable to street violence, and young Black males are drastically overrepresented among the perpetrators of that violence," The main intention that the narrator had in mind was to set the focus on the racial prejudices present in society and their effects of it on black people. Staples believes that these prejudices are not simply the result of individual biases, but rather, they are deeply ingrained in American …show more content…

Another way to put it is that there is a basket of apples that represents black men, and a couple of those are bad apples. But society thinks that because there are some bad apples, then the rest must be bad as well. This thought process is harmful to the progression of society as a whole. Staples explains how even with the negative stigmas attributed to him, he tries his best to go against the stereotypes by comforting and reassuring others that he is not what he is made out to be, by doing subtle things that are more attributed to a white man’s actions rather than a black

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Brent Staples’ essay, “Just Walk on By: A Black Man and Public Space”, is about the “ability” that a black man holds; which as Staples puts it, is the “ability to alter public space in ugly ways.” African American men, or people for that matter, have stated (even in present day) that they feel the same way. This, among other factors has contributed to the fact that this essay has become very popular among different communities. As the writing prompt states, the essay has been anthologized, and obviously placed in One Hundred Great Essays. For reasons unknown, this particular essay has caught the eye of many.

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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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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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