“Just Walk on By: Black Men and Public Space” by Brent Staples
Right off the bat, Brent Staples talks about his first “victim” of fear due to his skin color. She was a white woman who started walking quicker and quicker until she was practically running down the street once she saw him. This was the author’s first encounter with people discriminating and racial profiling in the streets. Brent Staples in trying to make a point that racial profiling is still a big problem that occurs everyday and it is very difficult to walk around as a black man in the streets. I agree with this statement because due to past criminal history and similar cases, people correlate things like : mugging, rape, or gang violence with black males in America. That’s why the lady in the beginning and most of the people today feel and it’s unfortunate. It’s also difficult for people like Staples to be walking at night, especially since he is a night walker as stated in the writing, because your life can be in danger at any moment. He doesn’t feel safe with the security of the police or some homeowners and it’s definitely a problem in the U.S with racism and abuse of power.