Black Men and Public Space Brent Staples’ “Black Men and Public Spaces” is based on his personal experiences dealing with racism and discrimination. He explains how his past incidents involving racism shaped who he is‚ today. Staples’ experiences made him attempt to conform in a way he hoped he would be perceived as less dangerous. By acting and doing certain things‚ that seemed less “black”‚ he believed people saw him differently. In some ways I don’t agree with Staples’ approach with trying to
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"Danger Verses Judgement" "It was in the echo of that terrified woman’s foots.." (Staples 336) that shows the foreshadowing of the unknown. In the short story‚ "Black Men and Public Space‚" by Brent Staples‚ is a tragic story of fear and embarrassment. From the first person point of view‚ we are able to observe what the main character; a young black man‚ faces on a daily basis. Being treated and viewed as a prisoner‚ ironically‚ was not how he ended up. While experiencing constant judgement;
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one’s surroundings and to avoid burglary or kidnappings. At first glance Brent Staples is someone a female would put on their radar to look out for. Even though he recognizes that he does seem to have that appearance he knows who he is and feels it to be unjust because passing judgments are made about him on a day to day basis. In his essay “Black Men and Public Spaces”‚ he writes about society’s perception of a black man. Staples used another example where it strengthened an impacted his writing.
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The article‚ Mr. Bellow’s Planet by Brent Staples centers how Staples lived in Chicago as well as his inspiration to become a journalist. The article had a lot of attention grasping moments‚ however‚ I was confused about the structure and the message of the profile. For example‚ in the beginning of the article from pages 179 to 184‚ the article describes the neighborhood in which the narrator lived in as well as how many people feared him. The rest of the article‚ illustrates different characters
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dangerous‚ likely to cause pain‚ or a threat ”. However‚ the delusion of endangerment can cause racism of misunderstanding. Particularly‚ Most people identify fear based on their stereotyping‚ prejudice and bias. In “Black Men in Public Spaces”‚ Brent Staples describes how skin color could cause bias in people and how he‚ a black man ‚ had to moderate his behavior to accommodate them. He uses vivid illustration about the prejudices and unfair judgement
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Antoinette Johnson English 100 Prof. Horna October 3‚ 2012 In the essay “The second shift”‚ by Arlie Hochschild‚ he explains how the wives of two-job families with small children typically work an extra 24-hour day in a year‚ between the pages 145(bottom) and 148(top). I agree with Hochschild’s determination because once women come home from first shift‚ they go straight into second shift. Whereas men come home from first shift‚
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“Black Men and Public Spaces” by Brent Staples In the informative essay “Black Men and Public Spaces”‚ Brent Staples describes his own experience growing up black in a racist society and discusses the interaction that take place with people. “The ability to alter public space in an ugly way”(302)‚ through racial stereotypes affected him and many others. Stereotypes affect individuals regardless of race‚ sex‚ or religion. Author Brent Staples states he has been racially profiled on
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In 1986‚ in Brent Staples memoir Parallel Time: Growing Up Black and White‚ he wrote a selection called Black Men and Public Space. Throughout the essay Staples talks about the injustice and racial profiling that he receives as a black man in society. This causes him to change certain aspects that he does on a daily basis to make the people around him feel less threatened. Unconsciously‚ Staples presents ways on how he and society systematizes him and other black males. The very first paragraph
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race. Being under discrimination‚ there were many writers who struggled for the racial movement and gained many valuable results such as Martin Luther King Jr. (Letter from Birmingham Jail)‚ James Balwin (Stranger in the village) and so forth. Brent Staples was one of them with Growing up in Black and White which won the Anisfield-Wolff Book Award in 1995. Beside that‚ "Black Men and Public Space" was also his interesting work with numerous rhetorical uses adding more effects in describing his experience
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2012 Black Men and Public Space In Brent Staples’s “Black Men and Public Space‚” he describes his ability to alter space. Being a broad‚ tall African American‚ Staples is often feared by others and confused with danger. Staples says‚ “As a softy who is scarcely able to take a knife to a raw chicken - let alone hold one to a person’s throat - I was surprised‚ embarrassed‚ and dismayed all at once. Her flight made me feel like an accomplice in tyranny” (226). Staples is a friendly guy‚ and he struggles
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