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Discrimination, Prejudice, Racism, and Stereotyping
Stereotypes and stereotyping
Racial prejudice and racial stereotypes
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While reading Brent Staples textual analysis “Black Men and Public Space”, I thought the theme was simply displayed: white people are still racist. However, when I reread the analysis a few more times it became very clear and more composite than how I interpreted it the first time. Staples implies that there is a fine distinction between the two races. The author notices the habits or cultural appropriation. Staples concentrates on how black men were being taken a gander at by the way they convey themselves or by the way they were wearing open spots. Staples was taken a gander at as a black man who needed to take or hurt somebody each time he was within the sight of a white people. Staples likewise clarified how as a young man he saw extreme folks going to prison and how he 's lost his sibling, high school cousin, and dear companion. He was practically expelled from an occupational building because the director had confused him for a thief. Following quite a while of being mixed up for a criminal Staples discovered that on the off chance that he would avoid potential risk to make himself less undermining. He does that by changing his physical conduct. There are things that are going on today where men specifically black men are being mixed up for being a risk towards white individuals and the final product being sent away to jail or being killed for reasons unknown by any means. Black men are being dealt with unjustifiably then white men. On the off chance that a black man was to stroll into a store with a dark hoodie on he will be viewed as a risk yet in the event that a white man was to do precisely the same he wouldn 't be appeared to be identical
Lynching of black men was common place in the south as Billie Holiday sang her song “Strange Fruit” and the eyes of justice looked the other way. On the other side of the coin, justice was brought swiftly to those blacks who stepped out of line and brought harm to the white race. Take for instance Nate Turner, the slave who led a rebellion against whites. Even the Teel’s brought their own form of justice to Henry Marrow because he “said something” to one of their white wives (1). Flashing forward a few years later past the days of Jim Crow and the fight for civil rights, several, but not all in the younger generation see the members of the black and white race as equal and find it hard to fathom that only a few years ago the atmosphere surrounding racial relations was anything but pleasant.
People in America are not all seen as equal, and this is especially true when it comes to people of color. According to “Theories and Constructs of Race” by Linda Holtzman and Leon Sharpe: “The continuous racial targeting of people of color and the privileging of whites, along with the misinformation about race passed along from one generation to the next and reinforced through the media, has imbued people of all races with a distorted sense of personal and group identity” (Holtzman and Sharpe 604). This quote means that people of color are often targeted in a negative way, which shows that racism and discrimination is something that can be passed down or learned from the media. Today, there are people who still think minorities are inferior based on the color of their skin. “Theories and Constructs of Race” also mentions how from an early age, minorities become the target for racism, blame, and overall hatred. According to “Theories and Constructs of Race” by Linda Holtzman and Leon Sharpe: “The myth of racial inferiority and superiority has been upheld not only by physical violence and discriminatory policies but also by the psychological violence conveyed through stereotyping and racist messaging” (Holtzman and Sharpe 604). This quote means that minorities are constantly targeted both physically and psychologically, which shows that inequality is a “monster” due to the damage it causes to individuals on multiple levels. Racism can also lead to internalized racism, which causes individuals to adapt a self-deprecating attitude and engage in self-destructive behavior. Furthermore, hate, racism, and discrimination often result from people not understanding that not everyone is offered the same opportunities due to the lack of
In Brent Staples’ "Just Walk on By: Black Men and Public Space," Staples describes the issues, stereotypes, and criticisms he faces being a black man in public surroundings. Staples initiates his perspective by introducing the audience in to thinking he is committing a crime, but eventually reveals how the actions taken towards him are because of the fear linked to his labelled stereotypes of being rapists, gangsters and muggers. Staples continues to unfold the audience from a 20 year old experience and sheds light onto how regardless of proving his survival compared to the other stereotypical blacks with his education levels and work ethics being in the modern era, he is still in the same plight. Although Staples relates such burdens through his personal experiences rather than directly revealing the psychological impacts such actions have upon African Americans with research, he effectively uses emotion to explain the social effects and challenges they have faced to avoid causing a ruckus with the “white American” world while keeping his reference up to date and accordingly to his history.
For instance, Staples faces many stereotypes. He is a journalist who is consistently judged due to his appearance. In paragraph 1, “As I swung onto the avenue behind her, there seemed to be a discreet, uninflammatory distance between us.” Staples creates an image by describing himself as a monster but his description is based on how the outside world see him. He considers his presence a cause for altering others emotion. According to Stereotypes by Rachel E, “In the United States, some of the longest-held and potentially most detrimental stereotypes are those about African Americans.” This relates to Staples crucial journey to greatness. Staples was perceived as a mugger, a murderer, and a rapist because of his outside image and how others viewed
The way Staples structures this essay emphasizes his awareness of the problem he faces. The essay’s framework consists mostly of Staples informing the reader of a scenario in which he was discriminated against and then following it with a discussion or elaboration on the situation. This follow-up information is often an expression stating comprehension of his problem and than subtitle, logical criticisms toward it. For example, Staples describes women “fearing the worst of him” on the streets of Brooklyn. He then proceeds to declare that he understands that “women are particularly vulnerable to street violence, and young black males are drastically overrepresented among the perpetrators of that violence.” Staples supports this statement with information about how he had witnessed gang violence in Chester, Pennsylvania and saw countless black youths locked away, however, Staples pronounces that this is no excuse for holding every young black man accountable, because he was an example of a black man who “grew up one of the good boys” coming “to doubt the virtues of intimidation early on.” This narrative structure highlights that Staples is not a hypocrite because he is not show ignorance toward the problem he is addressing unlik...
It is impossible for anyone to survive a horrible event in their life without a relationship to have to keep them alive. The connection and emotional bond between the person suffering and the other is sometimes all they need to survive. On the other hand, not having anyone to believe in can make death appear easier than life allowing the person to give up instead of fighting for survival. In The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill, Aminata Diallo survives her course through slavery by remembering her family and the friends that she makes. Aminata is taught by her mother, Sira to deliver babies in the villages of her homeland. This skill proves to be very valuable to Aminata as it helps her deliver her friends babies and create a source of income. Aminata’s father taught Aminata to write small words in the dirt when she was small. Throughout the rest of the novel, Aminata carries this love for learning new things to the places that she travels and it inspires her to accept the opportunities given to her to learn how to write, read maps, and perform accounting duties. Early in the novel Aminata meets Chekura and they establish a strong relationship. Eventually they get married but they are separated numerous times after. Aminata continuously remembers and holds onto her times with Chekura amidst all of her troubles. CHILDREN. The only reason why Aminata Diallo does not die during her journey into and out of slavery is because she believes strongly in her parents, husband and children; therefore proving that people survive hardships only when they have relationships in which to believe.
Since 1945, in what is defined by literary scholars as the Contemporary Period, it appears that the "refracted public image"(xx) whites hold of blacks continues to necessitate ...
The assumption that black people have lesser moral values and have a greater inclination towards violence is not new. According to Herman Gray, “Blackness was constructed along a continuum ranging from menace on one end to immortality on the other, with irresponsibility located somewhere in the middle.” (Gray) T...
Racism still exists today in this day and age. African American men are particularly stereotyped to be drug dealers, criminals, and gangsters. People have there on opinion about black men, if someone is sitting in their car, and a black man walks by they’re going to lock their door, because they’re scared there going to get robed. The stereotypes about African American men are not true. There are educated African American men just like any other race. Two articles “Black Men in Public Space” and “Right Place, Wrong Face” deal with the issue of two educated African American men that get treated differently, because of the color of their skin. The articles are focused on times when both
Racism within the black community is a serious issue that needs to be addressed. In the black community, African-Americans are discriminating against each other, putting those with lighter skin complexions against those whose skin is darker. In the African American community, it’s like a battle of the skin tones. This type of racism is also known as colorism, the belief that those with lighter, fairer skin are treated with a higher respect than those with darker skin, this issue has been happening for a long time within the African American community. This form of racism is more offensive, severe, and different than the common traditional racism.
In his article “Just Walk on By: Black Men and Public Space”, which first appeared in the women’s magazine Ms. Magazine and later Harpers, Brent Staples explores the discrimination he faced as a black man living in Chicago and New York. In writing this piece, Brent Staples hoped to use a combination of pathos and ethos to demonstrate to the women that read Ms. Harper’s that Staples is actually the victim when the women treat him the way they do and to get these women to view him, and other black men, differently and to make them realize that they are people too. Staples use of his ethos and pathos serve well to support his position and convince others to take a new perspective. Staples uses ethos in multiple ways
He creates this tone to convey his purpose to the reader which is that prejudice is still an ongoing problem in American society, and that it will never be a thing of the past. Staples gives many personal anecdotes that are very somber; the readers are affected by this because they can emphasize and feel the prejudice that the victim, Brent Staples, faces. Although Staples is never delighted with the positions he is in, he never shows his resentment. In one part of the article, Staples said, “It is not altogether clear to me how I reached the ripe old age of twenty-two without being conscious of the lethality nighttime pedestrians attributed to me.” (Staples, 2). Staples attributes that he knows many people in American society automatically assume that he is a threat to “their” society because of
In the short essay, “Black Men in Public Space” written by Brent Staples, discusses his own experiences on how he is stereotyped because he is an African American and looks intimidated in “public places” (Staples 225). Staples, an intelligent man that is a graduate student at University of Chicago. Due to his skin complexity, he is not treated fairly and always being discriminated against. On one of his usual nightly walks he encountered a white woman. She took a couple glances at him and soon began to walk faster and avoided him that night. He decided to change his appearance so others would not be frightened by his skin color. He changed the way he looked and walked. Staples dressed sophisticated to look more professional so no one would expect him to be a mugger. Whistling classical music was referred to the “cowbell that hikers wear when they know they are in bear country”(Staples 226). The cowbell is used to protect hikers from bears. But in Staples case, it was to not be stereotyped and show that he is harmless. The general purpose of Staples essay was to inform the readers that stereotypes could affect African Americans and any other races.
In this narrative essay, Brent Staples provides a personal account of his experiences as a black man in modern society. “Black Men and Public Space” acts as a journey for the readers to follow as Staples discovers the many societal biases against him, simply because of his skin color. The essay begins when Staples was twenty-two years old, walking the streets of Chicago late in the evening, and a woman responds to his presence with fear. Being a larger black man, he learned that he would be stereotyped by others around him as a “mugger, rapist, or worse” (135).
Throughout students’ lives, they are forced to take a novel, or some piece of literature, and analyze it by close reading. The definition of a text is something considered as an object to be examined, explicated, or deconstructed. However, not just articles or novels are a text. Non-traditional text such as music videos, sculptures, movies, pictures, lyrics, and much more fit under this definition. Items such as Beyoncé’s visual album, Lemonade, is a great example of non-traditional text. Throughout the visual album, Beyoncé demonstrates non-traditional text with lyrics, poems, and her actions.