''Black Men and Public Space'' was written by Brent Staples. In this article, he talks about his ''ability to alter public space in ugly ways''.
The first time he noticed he possessed this power was while he was studying in Chicago. One night, he was walking down a deserted street in Hyde Park, while another woman in her late twenty’s was the only other person around. At one point, the woman turned around and saw him behind her. She cast back a few more worried looks, as she was picking up pace up to a point where her walk turned into a full out sprint.
It became clear to the writer that he had been mistaken for a rapist, or a mugger at best. This lead to very mixed feelings of astonishment, disbelief, embarrassment , and anger on his part.
Similar situations followed: in the streets after dark, people would cross to the other side of the sidewalk as soon as they noticed him; while crossing in front of a car that stopped at a traffic light, he would usually hear the sound of doors locking down. Not to mention the countless unpleasantries with policemen, doormen, bouncers, and cabdrivers, or my personal favourite, a black man showing up at a hip restaurant for a meal(after making table reservations) only to be told: ‘’ There must have been some kind of mistake’’.
After a while, Staples got used to it. He learned how to smother his emotions and reduce the tension by whistling melodies from Vivaldi and other popular classic composers.
I found it quite interesting that it is the victim of prejudice who has to develop ways to loosen the tensions, and not the other way around. However, today, 25 years after the publication of the article, the situation has changed drastically. Perhaps, after the election of an African American for President, the vision of American people can be cleansed of prejudice and they will be able to see black people for who they truly are.
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When I read the essay "Black Men and Public Space" in 002 I found it to be a little funny. The reason I found it funny was because all though it was a about a black man I could relate to it perfectly as a black woman in both senses. As the black man and the white woman There have been plenty times when I would walk past a white woman and as I walked past she would clutch her purse. At the same time there have also been instances where a black man walked past me and I clutched my purse. My way of loosening the tension when I am the "black man" is by laughing loudly and letting the white woman I noticed.
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