Henry Gusick

Leonora Kivuva

English Composition

18 January 2023

Black Men and Public Spaces Analysis

Brent Staples is a journalist who examines the notoriety of black men in relation to crime

and violence. Brent himself is a victim of racial profiling, he describes his personal experiences

on his walks throughout city streets at night. Brent believes he is a part of a people who have

inherited, “the ability to alter public space in ugly ways”.(Staples, 1). Brent wants to reform the

racial stereotypes of black men while sequentially improving the quality of public spaces.

In Brent Staples's opening sentence he begins by saying, ”My first victim was a white

woman, well dressed, probably in her early twenties.”(Staples, 1). Brent is not a criminal and he

doesn’t victimize any young women. This woman cast some worried looks back at Brent, a

graduate with a Ph.D., and then later proceeded to run off and vanish into a cross street. This

woman thought Brent to be a mugger, rapist, or even a murderer when in fact Brent was

“suffering a bout of insomnia” and “was stalking sleep, not defenseless wayfarers”. (Staples, 1).

As a black man, it is normal to see people cross the street rather than pass them. It is

normal for a black man to hear the sound of car doors locking as they pass by. It is normal for a

black man to see women clench their purses and brace themselves as if they are about to be

under attack. These things happen every day and endanger the lives of these racially profiled

men. “Fear and weapons meet – and they often do in urban America – there is always the

possibility of death.”(Staples, 2). Brent Staples speaks on how being “perceived as dangerous is

a hazard within itself. I only needed to turn a corner into a dicey situation, crowd some
frightened, armed person in a foyer somewhere, or make an errant move after being pulled over

by a policeman.” (Staples, 2). These situations may very well end a good man's life and the fear

of these situations creates an even greater divide within society.

Brent had experienced a few other encounters, even one that happened inside the place he

worked. He had a deadline story he rushed into the office of a magazine and the office manager

called security on him. They thought he was a burglar. “I had no way of proving who I was. I

could only move briskly toward the company of someone who knew me.” (Staples, 3). Brent

could have been arrested that day or even worse. Another encounter he had was at a jewelry store

at which upon entering he was greeted by a large dog and was pushed out the door.

Brent is an honest hard working man who grew up as a good boy in his Pennsylvania

hometown. Brent would often become upset about people falsely identifying him. Brent then

went into the things he had to adapt to survive in the city as a black man. “Over the years, I

learned to smother the rage I felt at so often being taken for a criminal.” (Staples, 3). Brent

would whistle classical tunes and chose to wear business clothes instead of his jeans. Brent

would often let people clear their way ahead of him to make them feel more comfortable in his

presence. No one should have to do anything like this to comfort the feelings of random

strangers whom they do not even know. Unfortunately, these are the truths of our society and

they affect the lives of innocent men.

One innocent man Brent had spoken of was a black journalist who was reporting the

crimes of a murderer who was born in Illinois. During his time there the police had falsely

identified him. “Mistaking the reporter for the killer, police officers hauled him from his car at

gunpoint and but for his press credentials, would probably have tried to book him.” (Staples, 3).

It is absolutely absurd that the reporter of a black murderer could be mistaken as the murderer
just because of the color of his skin. These disturbances happen every day and it is up to all of us

to realize why these episodes are occurring and to open our minds and hearts to each other

despite the stereotypes we may have engrained into our minds.