“Black Men and Public Space” (1986) and essay written by Brent Staples, describes the unfair accusations declared about black men. Staples develops his thesis using examples of how black men are treated and how was personally treated. Staples explained how he felt about being labeled and accused in order to make his readers think about racism. He forms a very personal relationship with his audience.
When reading the essay, I began to think of the times where I had been afraid of someone on the street, and they happened to be a black man. I assumed they were up to no good, and walked away. Staples opened my mind up and made me think about the other person. I never thought that someone in the streets that late could be minding their own business. I might think differently next time there is a similar situation.
Staples really opened up his reader’s minds to see the other side of things. A black man’s point of view is entirely different than a white man’s. “I could cross in front of a car stopped at a traffic light and elicit the thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk of the driver-black, white, male or female-hammering down the door locks.” He was an innocent man, walking the streets, constantly being accused of being someone he was not. People feared him without knowing anything about him.
By: Rachel Nabors
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