The challenges that African Americans confront in society are the issues expressed in Brent Staples’ article “Black Men and Public Space.” Brent Staples offers a first-person perspective of his life as a black person in contemporary culture in this original article. His perspective on racism and inequality captures the life of a black man with an outward appearance that directly influences how others view him as a person (Staples 375-378). The article serves as a trip for readers to take as he learns about the numerous prejudices society has against him only because of his complexion.
The essay starts with Staples, then twenty-two years old, strolling through the late-night streets of Chicago when a woman reacts to his presence with panic. He discovered that because he was a larger black man, people would often stereotype him as a rapist, mugger, or worse. He talks about how he was racially profiled in Chicago, where people might lock their car doors as he walked by. Occasionally, others would cross the street when they saw him, and police officers assumed he was a terrible person. When he eventually relocated to Brooklyn, he saw similar responses, including the fact that young black males are disproportionately more likely to commit street violence against women.
In conclusion, it is of the utmost importance that Staples was able to communicate his viewpoint on racism to the globe so that others can understand the society. He describes the safety procedures he took to lessen his perceived threat, gain acceptance, and ease anxiety. The whites demonstrate their fear of him, and he demonstrates his nonexistence by humming classical piano pieces or giving those who appear uneasy plenty of room. Staples makes the case for eradicating racial stereotypes of black people from society. Therefore, it is unwise to approach strangers with the sole intent of passing judgment on them based on trivial aspects of their race
Work Cited
Staples, Brent. Parallel Time: Growing Up in Black and White. Pantheon, 1994.