Black Men and Public Space

Brett Staple’s discusses the racial fears attributed to the general black male population through personal anecdotes of himself being a victim of racial prejudice in his article, “Black Men and Public Space” (1986), which are a common incident when “young black males are drastically overrepresented among the perpetrators of violence.” In his first of many anecdotes, he tells of an experience of a woman frightened by his menacing appearance in a deserted street in Hyde, after giving many worried backward glances assumed she would get mugged, quickly walked away leaving him surprised and embarrassed for having been mistaken for a criminal. Yet incidents such as there are common and “black men trade tales like this all the time” being misrepresented by a small majority of black males that commit crimes, this fear has been integrated into our society where even “softies” like Staples himself is confused for a criminal. Having grown up as one of the good boys, he shies away from conflict and has seen “countless of tough guys locked away” as well as buried several. Being repeatedly mistaken for a criminal can drive a person into madness, yet Staples has had to accommodate to make himself look less threatening as well as ease their anxiety by whistling melodies from Beethoven and Vivaldi, and sometimes they even join along. Ending his article with the statement that people don’t expect muggers to be particularly bright, singing classical tunes Staples calls it his “equivalent of a cowbell that higher wear when they know they are in bear country.”
Vocabulary
Impoverished - Reduced to poverty, poverty-stricken.
Retrospect- to contemplate the past.
Tone
Neutral
Rhetorical Terms:
Anecdote – “My first victim was a woman_ white, well dressed, probably in her late twenties. I came upon her late one evening on a deserted street in Hyde Park…That was more than a decade ago.”
Imagery – “…the youngish 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.”
Simile – “They seem to have their faces on neutral, and with their purse straps string across their chests bandolier-style, they forge ahead as tough bracing themselves against being tackled.”
Generalization –“Women are particularly vulnerable to street violence, and young black males are drastically overrepresented of that violence.”
Allusion –“I whistle melodies from Beethoven and Vivaldi and the more popular classical composers.”
Discussion Questions:
Clarification: How did this stereotype develop?
Application: In the case that a black male is often thought to be a criminal beforehand, in what other situations can this type of social behavior be applied to?
Style: Does the use of anecdotes Staples provide make the reader feel sympathy for him?