Brent Staples: The Challenges Of Racial Profiling

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Racial profiling is an expanding issue all through the country. Brent Staples explains in “Black Men and Public Space” people are prejudiced towards others of different races, especially black males. Staples is a dark skin man who has faced racial challenges. He has been noticed by others as being a criminal, various people feared Staples. People would take a look in his direction and see danger just by the way he walked, and dressed around the city. Brent Staples was viewed as the victim during this time. He is an innocent man who gets examined by what people see instead of knowing the kind and intelligent man Staples really is. Individuals in the loftier class society saw him as a dangerous predator, especially, seeing an unfamiliar face wandering the streets at night. America is supposed to be a land of no judgment, where every person is equal. Not everyone in society is accepting of others. Staples isn’t alone in this battle. Brent Staples offers the problem colored skin people face against a prejudice society. Its a struggle just to get seen as an equal to someone of lighter skin.
The mistaken belief society states, African Americans are the ones targeted in causing trouble. Racial profiling has taken place for a long time, and will continue to stay that way. Staples says “My first victim was a woman” (294) he explains, the woman set a criminal labeled because she was vulnerable to violence on the streets. Folks viewed Staples as a tall and a large black man, with facial hair, wearing a bulky jacket hands tucked inside. On the streets, people were alarmed, thinking he was part of a gang by the way he carried himself. Staples states “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” (294) he describes feeling embarrassed by the woman’s actions because her mind jumped to believing he was a killer. Individuals looked at him as a robber, rapist, and a murderer as if he was a felon. His understanding is that pedestrians are fearsome of him and will avoid any kind of contact. Growing up in Chicago Staples witness a lot of crime with African Americans. He observed countless of men being taken away and getting arrested. Having to view crimes happening in Chicago made him look the other way and follow a path leading to success. It wasn’t until he was older when a bias society started to affect his work life. Prejudice remarks effective his career of being a journalist. Staples says “I was mistaken for a burglar” (296) he explains racial profiling
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Over the years he took note that many black journalists were having the same trouble as he did. Staples says “A black journalist went nearby Waukegan, Illinois a couple of summers ago to work on a story about a murderer who was born there” (296-297) he explained that the police mistaken the reporter as a criminal. Police thought the African American reporter was a killer due to skin color and held him at gunpoint. The public targets African American due to the color of their skin when in fact Caucasian can be just as dangerous. People in society make situations worse than it should be. Staples tells his past experiences on how African American does not get the same respect to someone who is

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