The Role Of Stereotyping In 'Black Men And Public Space'

In “Black Men and Public Space” by Brent Staples shows how being a young black man has affected him. He is perceived as dangerous right away as he arrives in Chicago. This is known as stereotyping. Stereotyping is a fixed idea or image made of a person. Putting a label on someone is something done everyday. This is something that comes automatically. In this novel, it shows how a young black man has to change the way he presents himself to keep himself safe because he feel fears as he walks and crosses streets, as well as enter buildings. Being a young black man in the 1970’s was not a pleasant one, nor is it pleasant today. Being judged and categorized happens everywhere at any time. In this novel, it shows how a black man has to change how he looks from the moment he arrived in Chicago until the end. When he first arrived, he walked down the street of Chicago as any regular person, following behind a woman with no intentions behind it. “She picked up her pace and was soon running in earnest. Within seconds she disappeared into the cross street.” She labeled him dangerous and assumed he was coming for her when all his intentions were, was to walk down the street like

Nothing has changed. Trayvon Martin is a perfect example of how stereotyping can have its effects. Trayvon was labeled as a criminal walking down his neighborhood. As the neighborhood watch began to follow him, he ran and he followed. They got into an altercation and shots were fired. Nobody knows the truth of his death because of the missing details. It is known though, that a 16 year old boy was killed because of the label placed on him. Stereotyping affects people in many ways and usually affects one in a negative way. Nobody should label one but it just a habit we all pick up. Once we meet that person and get to know them, the label either stays or is taken off. If we could all not judge a book by the cover, then maybe less incidents like this would