“Black Men and Public Space” by Brent Staples‚ the characters were often seen changing and reevaluating their current positions in society. In “Black Men and Public Space‚” Staples recalls his past connection with outside opinions and stereotyping. Black men are repeatedly labeled as dangerous and suspicious‚ so in the evening‚ women would avoid him and the policemen would often pull him over solely due to the color of his skin. Because of his constant mistreatment‚ Staples is conned into believing he
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In “Black Men and Public Spaces”‚ Brent Staples is in his early twenties and is faced with the menacing crime of being a black man in the 1970’s. As Staples likes to walk the streets at night due to his insomnia‚ every stranger that comes close enough to realize that he’s a tall black man lets their fear take control of them as they avoid him to the point of fleeing. To the eyes of people (mainly women) at night‚ he was no different from any other thug or criminal who prowls the street. Having moved
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2013 In an essay entitled “A Brother is Murder‚” Brent Staples wondered what he could have done to prevent his brother from going down the path that got him killed. Stables’ and his brother grew up in a poverty stricken city of southwest Philadelphia‚ where crime was an everyday norm. While Staples’ was able to escape to become a successful journalist‚ his brother stayed behind‚ embracing the dangerous life he was accustomed to. Even though Staples’ was not there in time to help his brother escape
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PUBLIC SPACES In “Black Men and Public Spaces” Brent Staples reveals his experiences with different individuos in all kind of public areas. Staples talk about how people stereotype black men as a violent and dangerous individuals because of their appearance and the color of their skin. In the past when black men was associated with the word murderer or thieves or rapist or all kind of bad things people were afraid on being next to them. When Staples started the story saying “My first victim was
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Black Men in Public Spaces In Brent Staples essay‚ “Black Men and Public Space‚” Staples expresses the difficulties African Americans face in society. Through specific diction and detailed description of imagery‚ Staples conveys his experience throughout his life where he was negatively stereotyped as “a mugger‚ a rapist‚ or worse”. His lifelong exposure to this matter taught him to take precaution in the people he encounters and the places he visits. The words Staples choose to describe his incidences
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In his essay‚ “Black Men and Public Space‚ Brent Staples expresses his experiences‚ struggles and discoveries of being a African American man of great stature in America in the 1970’s. His appearance alone—a dark looming figure—sparks a subconscious fear for an ordinary man. Typical citizens only see in black and white thus their eyes cannot distinguish between Staples and a criminal who prowls the streets with the same features. Describing his own character as a courteous and harmless person‚ clashes
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because of this particular stereotype that the essay "Just Walk on By‚" was written by Brent Staples. In his essay‚ Staples gives examples of ways he alters his behavior when he is in public in order to make white people more comfortable around him. He says‚ "…. to be an excellent tension-reducing measure: I whistle melodies from Beethoven and Vivaldi and the more classical composers" (Just Walk on By 212). Staples asserts that doing these things will make white people more comfortable with him walking
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"Black Men and Public Spaces" Brent Staples writes about his experiences with racism and how it changes his life. He also helps people who have not been victims of racism understand the effects of their actions whether intentional or not. Staples starts his story by making the reader feel as though he is a criminal when he states "My first victim was a woman" and making us feel compassion for this woman. Upon reading however‚ we come to understand that it is Staples who falls victim to this woman’s
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where almost no one failed‚ everything was enjoyable‚ and everyone was nice" (Edmundson 153). Other authors‚ such as Brent Staples and John Holt also support this opinion. The belief that college professors are getting soft and students are getting lazy is not a new idea. These thoughts have been progressing towards their current state since the late 1980 ’s. Brent Staples believes that many college departments‚ especially those in the humanities‚ shower students with higher grades in order
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and immediately lock their doors (Staples). Brent also goes into detail how he would lose love ones to crime‚ whether it be they are sent to prison or killed as victim. He goes on to state that because of this‚ he “remained a shadow-timid‚ but a survivor” (Staples). Experiences such as this provide the reader with a perspective that helps them understand his point of view‚ thus making his testimony and account even more powerful. They show that although Staples is a timid and harmless person‚ society
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