worried glance. To her‚ the youngish black man – a broad six feet two inches with a bear and billowing hair‚ both hands shoved into the pockets of a bulky military jacket – seemed menacingly close. After a few more quick glimpses‚ she picked up her pace and was soon running in earnest. Within seconds‚ she disappeared into a cross street. Passage from Black Men and Public Space (1986) by Brent Staples. Brent Staples is the writer and narrator of Black Men and Public Space‚ an essay in which he tells the
Premium Word Sentence Black people
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. While he was working as a journalist
Premium Black people Miscegenation Security guard
relatively affluent neighborhood in an otherwise mean‚ impoverished section of Chicago. As I swung onto the avenue behind her‚ there seemed to be a discreet‚ uninflammatory distance between us. Not so. She cast back a worried glance. To her‚ the youngish black man—a broad six feet two inches with a beard and billowing hair‚ both hands shoved into the pockets of a bulky military jacket—seemed menacingly close. After a few more quick glimpses‚ she picked up her pace and was soon running in earnest. Within seconds
Premium Black people The Streets Negro
Brent Staples wrote an essay about “What Adolescents miss when we let them grow up in Cyberspace.” In the beginning Staples describes the father of his 10th grade heartthrob. He insinuates that he is a fearsome steelworker who struck terror in the hearts of 15-year old boys. Whenever they would talk on the phone‚ her father would cut the conversation short. Now he has to make a choice to give up or show up at the front door. This is the first sustained encounter with an adult outside of his family
Premium Developmental psychology English-language films Psychology
The night world In “Black Men and Public Space‚” Brent Staples makes the most interesting idea that‚ people look – always – to black men as a threat‚ they see every dark skinned youth as an incoming danger‚ and that is what Staples implies in his essay. He also explains when he was young‚ people looked at him as a mugger or‚ a rapist or even worse. So‚ throughout his essay we can see Staples’ realization of the fact that‚ people – rarely - change their prospective about black guys. He is trying to
Premium Victim Form of the Good Irony
Amanda DeLong Professor Badenhopp ENG091-015 9/17/2012 Summary In “Just Walk On By: A Black Man Ponders His Power to Alter Public Space‚” Brent Staples explains how a black man’s appearance after dark can change a person’s actions. Staples’ comes to realize due to his race‚ clothes‚ and hair some people become frightened by him. Since others perceive him as dangerous he realized this could easily place himself in danger also. Eventually‚ he became accustomed to the precautions a lot of onlookers
Premium Black people Race Employment
It is true that in Staples’ “Black Men and Public Space” an environment of fear is built by prejudice so much so that it is compared to a “bear country.” Our choices to be prejudiced to those few who are different in our community negatively affect us all. These choices have their consequences and these consequences will have to be met by the affected. Our inclinations to give into prejudices negatively impact our community because it reinforces bias‚ continues a cycle of ignorance‚ and sets a poor
Premium Racism Fear Sociology
Brent Staples; Fight Against The Destiny Everyday millions of people; young and old‚ rich and poor are getting up with the sunshine glittering in their eyes and start in their days with different concerns‚ in different moods. Each of them is just living out their lives with the destiny that has been set for them. It is interesting how life starts differently for each of us. Some may be born rich‚ handsome or super intelligent‚ while the others may be born poor‚ disabled or as orphans. Some may
Premium English-language films Meaning of life Debut albums
The mere presence of black men contain the power to invoke awe‚ discomfort and intimidation. This power‚ however‚ does not justify the grossly apologetic attitude and extreme behavior modification that Brent Staples exercised for the simple purpose of alleviating the fears and suspicions aroused by the presence of a black man. Brent says he smothered the rage that surely would have turned to madness‚ he kept a wide distance from people on subways who appeared to be nervous especially during the
Premium Black people Race African American
Just Walk On By: A Black Man Ponders His Power to Alter Public Space 1. Why does staples characterize the woman he encounters in a paragraph 1 as a “victim”? One of the author’s purpose of characterizing the woman he encounters‚ is to share the reader a personal life experience in order to engage and catch the reader’s attention with this ironic and sarcastic situation. The author uses this type of language to transmit and inform the magnitude of racism at that time and how can affect an individual
Premium Race Miscegenation White people