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Brent staples essay summary
The relevance of black people in literature
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In his reflection essay, Black Men and Public Spaces, Brent Staples describes how being a black man simply in public can trigger unease in others, and in extreme cases even be deadly. It was very interesting to read the different ways he would diffuse uneasy encounters and how people would respond to those methods. He tells the tales of several interactions, starting in his early 20’s, with people who, consciously or sub-consciously, make the point to avoid his glare and presence. Originally published in 1986 for Ms. magazine, it was titled “Just Walk on By” but was changed to its current title for re-publication in Harper’s Magazine later that same year. Staples first relates an encounter with a white woman in her early 20’s in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago. He was 22 at the time and just moved to the area to attend graduate school at the University of Chicago. In an attempt to ward off insomnia, Staples decided to take a late night walk. As he slides onto the sidewalk behind the young woman, she gives him a cursory glance and quickens her pace. Soon she was nearly running and darts onto a side street and out of sight. Staples was born in 1951, so I would guess the date of this first of many instances to be in the early 1970’s. More than 50 …show more content…
I appreciate the whistling of classic tunes to put others at ease. His point is very well taken that, “…everybody seems to sense that a mugger wouldn’t be warbling bright, sunny selections.” I lament it, though, because why should he be forced to make others around him feel comfortable? He’s just another man waiting for the bus or walking to work. I understand he uses them as preventive measures as it’s much easier to make someone relaxed from the beginning than to backtrack after they’ve become frightened. But the simple fact that he feels the need to do so is
The story “A Multitude of Black People…Chained Together” written by Olaudah Equiano, is a primary source, because he is telling a story that actually happened and the main character is him. This document was written in 1789. At the young age of 11, Olaudah Equiano was captured and sold off. In 1776 he eventually bought freedom in London, and he was a big supporter to end slavery. He was the youngest son of a village leader of the Ibo people of the kingdom of Benin, which was alongside the Niger River. Slavery was an integral part of the Ibo culture, and the Ibo people never thought about being taken away to be made someone else’s slave. One day, two men and two women captured the children of the chief and sold them off to be slaves. Around
Brent Staples, who was a journalist for the New York Times, and studied mental philosophy at the University of the Chicago, shows the different subject positions in his published version of the “Just Walk on By: A Black Man Ponders His Power to Alter Public Space”, and his draft version of the “Just Walk on By”. Brent Staples wrote two different versions of the essay, but the essay’s subject position is pretty different to the reader. Also, each subject position describes the same situation quite differently by illustrating each way of looking based on dissimilar perspectives. In his published version, he describes himself as “I was twenty-two years old, a graduate student newly arrived at the University of Chicago”(Staples 240). Also, the published version says, “To her, the young 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”(Staples 240).
The article “Black Men and Public Space” by Brent Staples, originally published in Ms. Magazine in 1986, under the title “Just Walk on by,” depicts the existence of racism within the unconscious prejudice of people. The main idea of this article is the fact that blacks are perceived as a violent and disastrous people, and this, in turn, puts them in danger. Staples uses a detailed imagery to illustrate the stereotype of individuals based on black people. In the article, the author portrays the poignant events that black people face and uses pathos to describe his melancholy of people judging him by his skin color. He attracts the focus of audience towards the main idea of this article by using onomatopoeia as well as diction. The usage of such rhetorical strategy has successfully clarified the main idea of the article and widened the approach of this article towards public.
In this essay, Dr. Brent Staples recounts his first time unintentionally scaring a young white women located in Hyde Park, Chicago. He recounts her worried posture, her hurried steps, and her repeated glances before she took off down the road. Dr. Staples, being a person of color, took slight offense to this. Before he had never really thought much about his skin color being a factor of intimidation, but rather just a piece of “normal” discrimination. It was the mid 1970’s after all, and it was no secret to anybody
America have a long history of black’s relationship with their fellow white citizens, there’s two authors that dedicated their whole life, fighting for equality for blacks in America. – Audre Lorde and Brent Staples. They both devoted their professional careers outlying their opinions, on how to reduce the hatred towards blacks and other colored. From their contributions they left a huge impression on many academic studies and Americans about the lack of awareness, on race issues that are towards African-American. There’s been countless, of critical evidence that these two prolific writers will always be synonymous to writing great academic papers, after reading and learning about their life experience, from their memoirs.
In his collection of essays in Nobody Knows My Name, James Baldwin uses “Fifth Avenue, Uptown” to establish the focus that African Americans no matter where they are positioned would be judged just by the color of their skin. Through his effective use of descriptive word choice, writing style and tone, Baldwin helps the reader visualize his position on the subject. He argues that “Negroes want to be treated like men” (Baldwin, 67).
It is impossible for anyone to survive a horrible event in their life without a relationship to have to keep them alive. The connection and emotional bond between the person suffering and the other is sometimes all they need to survive. On the other hand, not having anyone to believe in can make death appear easier than life allowing the person to give up instead of fighting for survival. In The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill, Aminata Diallo survives her course through slavery by remembering her family and the friends that she makes. Aminata is taught by her mother, Sira to deliver babies in the villages of her homeland. This skill proves to be very valuable to Aminata as it helps her deliver her friends babies and create a source of income. Aminata’s father taught Aminata to write small words in the dirt when she was small. Throughout the rest of the novel, Aminata carries this love for learning new things to the places that she travels and it inspires her to accept the opportunities given to her to learn how to write, read maps, and perform accounting duties. Early in the novel Aminata meets Chekura and they establish a strong relationship. Eventually they get married but they are separated numerous times after. Aminata continuously remembers and holds onto her times with Chekura amidst all of her troubles. CHILDREN. The only reason why Aminata Diallo does not die during her journey into and out of slavery is because she believes strongly in her parents, husband and children; therefore proving that people survive hardships only when they have relationships in which to believe.
Ethnic group is a settled mannerism for many people during their lives. Both Zora Neale Hurston, author of “How It Feels to Be Colored Me; and Brent Staples, author of “Just Walk On By: A Black Man Ponders His Power to Alter Public Space,” realize that their life will be influenced when they are black; however, they take it in pace and don’t reside on it. They grew up in different places which make their form differently; however, in the end, It does not matter to them as they both find ways to match the different sexes and still have productivity in their lives.. Hurston was raised in Eatonville, Florida, a quiet black town with only white passer-by from time-to-time, while Staples grew up in Chester, Pennsylvania, surrounded by gang activity from the beginning. Both Hurston and Staples share similar and contrasting views about the effect of the color of their
Richardson, Riche. Black Masculinity and the U.S. South: From Uncle Tom to Gangsta. University of Georgia Press, 2010. Print.
Staples, Brent. "Just Walk On By: A Black Man Ponders His Power to Alter Public Space." MS Magazine
My favorite person in the world—well, besides my mother and my grandmother—has to be Michael Jackson. I wrote this piece, Michael, They Disturbed The Peace, partially as an ode to some of his most profound works. I was also inspired by For Assata from Audre Lorde’s The Black Unicorn, and wrote this as a decidedly less personal take on the status of the black plight in America. Recently, a meetup was held in Washington D.C. to discuss black missing persons cases. Unfortunately, the only people who turned up to this meeting were other black people. This sick irony in so many nonblack “allies” not showing up for our issues, but black people showing up—in droves—for events organized by white people seeped its way into Black Twitter. At its core,
In the short essay, “Black Men in Public Space” written by Brent Staples, discusses his own experiences on how he is stereotyped because he is an African American and looks intimidated in “public places” (Staples 225). Staples, an intelligent man that is a graduate student at University of Chicago. Due to his skin complexity, he is not treated fairly and always being discriminated against. On one of his usual nightly walks he encountered a white woman. She took a couple glances at him and soon began to walk faster and avoided him that night. He decided to change his appearance so others would not be frightened by his skin color. He changed the way he looked and walked. Staples dressed sophisticated to look more professional so no one would expect him to be a mugger. Whistling classical music was referred to the “cowbell that hikers wear when they know they are in bear country”(Staples 226). The cowbell is used to protect hikers from bears. But in Staples case, it was to not be stereotyped and show that he is harmless. The general purpose of Staples essay was to inform the readers that stereotypes could affect African Americans and any other races.
Fear is an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or to intimidate. For Staples fear is the constant emotion rattling in his head every time he simply passes by someone. “Just Walk on By” — by Brent Staples, discusses the on going problem of being considered a possible threat to those around him. Although Staples arouses fear everywhere he steps foot, Mr. Staples also is fearful himself because of the reaction he causes due to his ethnic inheritance. He lives in a world where any black man or person of color is perceived as a imitate danger. Staples has a reason to be fearful as he is in a never ending nightmare filled with hate. The sense of fear he experiences
The narrator of “Black Men and Public Space” takes a similar approach of exemplifying his helplessness. This narrator explained how he understood the stigma associated with his appearance and did his best to circumvent it, but unfortunately some situations rendered him helpless. In the opening paragraph, he describes a woman’s extremely cautious actions when she became aware of his presence one the dark and desolate street. He later explains how the encounter
While reading Brent Staples textual analysis “Black Men and Public Space”, I thought the theme was simply displayed: white people are still racist. However, when I reread the analysis a few more times it became very clear and more composite than how I interpreted it the first time. Staples implies that there is a fine distinction between the two races. The author notices the habits or cultural appropriation. Staples concentrates on how black men were being taken a gander at by the way they conveyed themselves or by the way they were wearing open spots.