Expirience

Black Men in Public Places by Brent Staples, is a narrative story about the mishaps a young African-American man had to encounter in Chicago, as a new graduate student at the University of Chicago, and in New York City, in the late 70’s and early 80’s. Brent Staples tells us how other people mistook him by a criminal many times in public places just because of his appearance. The short stories that he mentions in his essay explain how he was scaring people, especially young women, just with his mere presence, in the streets, at a store or in a train. The fact of the matter is, that he was probably more scared than they ever were, since even as a child he parted himself away from “criminal behavior”, so common in his childhood neighborhood. However, because none of these actions towards Mr. Staples was personal, he understood very well why others acted in that manner. The danger that he represented was not part of their imagination, it had a, not just, but understandable explana...