In this essay, Staples, a black man, acknowledges the fear his presence evokes in people on the street and talks about the measures he takes to avoid alarming strangers, especially whites who might form the wrong ideas about him. For example, he will drop back if he is behind a woman on the sidewalk so that she doesn 't think he is going to mug her, and he will hum classical music, such as Beethoven,...
In this essay, Staples, a black man, acknowledges the fear his presence evokes in people on the street and talks about the measures he takes to avoid alarming strangers, especially whites who might form the wrong ideas about him. For example, he will drop back if he is behind a woman on the sidewalk so that she doesn 't think he is going to mug her, and he will hum classical music, such as Beethoven, to help convince people he is not a "thug." He says he engages in these behaviors because too many innocent black men he knows have been shot or killed due to having their actions or appearance interpreted as hostile or criminal. He is trying to illustrate for white audiences how racism works in very real ways as black men navigate public spaces. He is showing that black men have to take precautions all the time that whites never have to think about. By describing his strategies in such detail, he hopes for whites to get inside his skin and see what it feels like to be him.
This essay raises two issues for me: First, it was written decades ago. Have things changed at all for black men in public spaces? Have they gotten worse? What does it say about our society if the treatment of black men has not changed or has worsened?
Second, is Staples doing the right thing in being so accommodating to white fears? Doesn't he have the same rights as other people to dress the way he wants, listen to the music he wants and walk where he wants? Isn't he giving in to racism by letting it dictate his behavior? Or is he simply wise and practical given the racial climate in which he lives?
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