In the literary work "Just Walk on By: Black Men and Public Space" seeks to have the conversation of what is the perception of a black male in today’s society, and what strategies can be used to curve the judgmental gaze of people that are of the mind that blacks are dangerous, and are prone to attack at night. Brent Staples credibility to speak on this issue comes from his African American background along with his Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Chicago. This paper seeks to analyze what was the purpose of Staples writing Just Walking on by, and his credibility as an author. During the opening sentences of Staple’s writing sets the stage of viewing the issue of racial profiling through a lense of both the African American
…show more content…
in psychology from the University of Chicago. The topic of his essay is on the controversy surrounding the treatment of African American citizens as a result of social stereotypes. As Staples says in the second paragraph, “It was clear she thought herself the quarry of a mugger, or a rapist, or worse. Suffering a bout of insomnia, however, I was stalking sleep, not defenseless wayfarers.” When Brent Staples presents these two sentences he is using an emotional appeal, by relating the how he saw that the women felt and relating it to his experience as a black male. The experience of how in this instance he altered a public space because of the stereotype of how African American men are viewed as dangerous thugs through the lens of there Caucasian counterparts. Later on in the essay, Staples has another sentence that tells about his experience changing a public space because of the color of his skin. The quote “In my first year, my first away from my hometown, I was to become thoroughly familiar with the language of fear. ” in this sentence the language of fear that Staples is stating is that of being judged for his Race because of the stereotypes that are prevalent in city spaces. He recounts that because of his insomnia he enjoys taking walks at night. While on these walks he has experienced acts of fear towards himself being stereotyped as a criminal. These stereotypes take the form of citizens locking their car doors when he passes as a result of the fear of being mugged or assaulted. And the same fear was on display for himself when walking down the street with other pedestrians preferring to walk on the opposite side of the street rather than pass him, and how he observes as he says “standard unpleasantries with police, doorman, bouncers, cab drivers, and others whose business is to screen out troublesome individuals before there is any nastiness. Here once again Staples is recounting his
in psychology from the University of Chicago. The topic of his essay is on the controversy surrounding the treatment of African American citizens as a result of social stereotypes. As Staples says in the second paragraph, “It was clear she thought herself the quarry of a mugger, or a rapist, or worse. Suffering a bout of insomnia, however, I was stalking sleep, not defenseless wayfarers.” When Brent Staples presents these two sentences he is using an emotional appeal, by relating the how he saw that the women felt and relating it to his experience as a black male. The experience of how in this instance he altered a public space because of the stereotype of how African American men are viewed as dangerous thugs through the lens of there Caucasian counterparts. Later on in the essay, Staples has another sentence that tells about his experience changing a public space because of the color of his skin. The quote “In my first year, my first away from my hometown, I was to become thoroughly familiar with the language of fear. ” in this sentence the language of fear that Staples is stating is that of being judged for his Race because of the stereotypes that are prevalent in city spaces. He recounts that because of his insomnia he enjoys taking walks at night. While on these walks he has experienced acts of fear towards himself being stereotyped as a criminal. These stereotypes take the form of citizens locking their car doors when he passes as a result of the fear of being mugged or assaulted. And the same fear was on display for himself when walking down the street with other pedestrians preferring to walk on the opposite side of the street rather than pass him, and how he observes as he says “standard unpleasantries with police, doorman, bouncers, cab drivers, and others whose business is to screen out troublesome individuals before there is any nastiness. Here once again Staples is recounting his