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Summary Of Black Men And Public Space By Staples

1806 Words8 Pages

Jacob Spigelman APEL III 21 September 2016 Black Men and Public Spaces Questions on Meaning 1. The purpose of the essay by Staples is to illustrate the hardships experienced by black men when they are in society. Staples explains this article by describing the events that he encounters countless times. Although he seems to be innocent, he is always accused of crimes due to his skin color. For example, Staples talks about how living in Brooklyn, women fear him. They cling on to their purses like their lives depend on it. (6) Another main purpose of the essay is to inform the readers about how black males are treated. This essay gives a whole new perspective on how black males are portrayed in society. Staples expresses his opinions and experiences. In Paragraph 4, Staples talks about how he became “thoroughly familiar with the language of fear”. He got used to people avoiding him or even officials pulling him over just because of his skin color. By writing this essay, not only is Staples informing us on the hardships and misconceptions of black males in public areas but he is also sharing his personal experiences …show more content…

The author sets the purpose of the passage by using victim in the essay’s first paragraph. The word victim means that they are the ones being attacked. By Staples using the word to describe the woman, he is showing that he is the one attacking her. The word victim also helps portray an innocent image of the woman. Victims are helpless and vulnerable and by Staples describing her as a victim, he shows that she is the prey under attack. Staples uses the word to get the reader’s attention about racial discrimination. The article describes how the black man is walking behind a white woman. Due to his skin color, the white woman walks at a faster pace due to previous assumptions of black men. Black men are perceived to be of danger to others, known as racial profiling. African Americans are the suspects for many events solely based on the color of their

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