An Analysis Of Brent Staples's 'Just Walk On By'

According to West’s Encyclopedia of American Law, a study in Maryland revealed that “70 percent of those stopped and searched on a stretch of I-95 were African American- despite the the fact that they represented only 17 percent of drivers on the road.” In light of this confounding statistic, it can be seen that racism and racial profiling was, and still is, an issue in society. Even so, in his essay “Just Walk on By”, Brent Staples apprises of his story as a young, black man growing up in a large city and him facing racial profiling on the city streets. Furthermore, Staples shows his message that many people are willing to judge a person and assume what that person might have done and will do by their outside appearance by using a strong

Namely, he gets his message across to his audience with the use of imagery. Even so, he says that when he’s out walking the streets of Brooklyn at night, he finds that women “set their faces on neutral”, place their purses “across their chest bandolier style”, and “forge ahead as though bracing themselves from being talked” (Staples 543). With this use of imagery, Staples is able to place an image in the reader’s head of a young women walking the streets- alone, tense, and skittish- all because of man who, unbeknownst, means no harm to her. This denotes the theme of racial profiling in society because it shows the woman’s fear of an African American walking the streets, whom of which has not made one advance or threatening move towards the woman. The woman’s ability to assume the worst in the blink of an eye shows how society has been drilled with the influence of stereotypes and racial profiling. This leads to the fact that an innocent man is being ridiculed for the color of his skin while he had done nothing to cause such actions. Moreover, the description of the woman’s reaction to Staples makes the audience pity him because of his innocence in the cruel and unfair situation and unwillingness to be anybody other than an innocent bystander. Additionally, Staples’ use

Even so, his persona shines through with his point of view and recollection of past events of racial profiling he experienced. For example, he mentions that he was suffering from insomnia and, thus, would walk the streets at night, and when he faces the contempt of fellow pedestrians, he points out that he “was stalking sleep, not defenseless wayfarers” (Staples 542). With this in mind, it shows the reader that he is trying to defend himself against all the derision that society throws his way. Likewise, Staples’ persona can be seen as desperate, yet it can also be seen as angry and frustrated. As seen from his point of view, Staples indicates his helplessness and frustration in the way that he has no control over how the people of society view him; all he can do is try to act and coax people into believing he means no harm- the truth. Unfortunately, society still had a strong grip on stereotypes and judged and presumed the worst of him. In this case, by using his point of view, he gives the audience his insight of the cruel position he is in which gives him the credibility to show how racial profiling dominates in society against African Americans like himself. In the same fashion, Staples also uses anecdotes to show his difference between him and the stereotypical portrayal of an African American that society gives. One