One World. Many Colors. Brent Staples is an African American man who points out that due to his skin color and presentation people convey him as a thief or rapist. He argues about several situations in which he was stereotypically distinguished a

The first 200 words of this essay...

Bedrejo 1

Jared Bedrejo

Professor Bachmann

English 1A-3316

12 March 2012

One World. Many Colors.

Brent Staples is an African American man who points out that due to his skin

color and presentation people convey him as a thief or rapist. He argues about

several situations in which he was stereotypically distinguished as a thug. He also

talks about how he had to change his lifestyle in order to be accepted into his

community. In his essay. "Black Men and Public Space", he effectively argues that

African American people are often stereotyped as gang members and dangerous

threats.

Staples begins by precisely showing that black people are stereotyped as a

dangerous threat. He explains how people react to his presence within his

community. "At dark, shadowy intersections in Chicago, I could cross in front of a

car at a traffic light and elicit the thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk of the driver-black,

white, male, or female- hammering down the door locks... I often witness that

"hunch posture," from