Nothing But A Black Man

In his collection of essays in Nobody Knows My Name, James Baldwin uses “Fifth Avenue, Uptown” to establish the focus that African Americans no matter where they are positioned would be judged just by the color of their skin. Through his effective use of descriptive word choice, writing style and tone, Baldwin helps the reader visualize his position on the subject. He argues that “Negroes want to be treated like men” (Baldwin, 67).

Staple’s “Black Men in Public Spaces” and Rae’s “The Struggle” address misperceptions with ethnicity. Staples and Rae share similar circumstances making it easy to understand each viewpoint. Culture settings and gender define the authors’ differences. Both essays give the readers different perceptions of African Americans’ lives.

Fueled by fear and ignorance, racism has corrupted the hearts of mankind throughout history. In the mid-1970’s, Brent Staples discovered such prejudice toward black men for merely being present in public. Staples wrote an essay describing how he could not even walk down the street normally, people, especially women, would stray away from him out of terror. Staples demonstrates his understanding of this fearful discrimination through his narrative structure, selection of detail, and manipulation of language.

Even in modern society, the simplest of things can shift the delicate atmosphere. A black man entering a room, or any space, full of white people, can automatically transform the ambiance. This ‘ability’ may not be a desired effect, but in certain situations, it becomes inevitable. Through the use of different rhetorical devices, Brent Staples is able to demonstrate his realization of his “ability to alter public space in ugly ways” simply because of his race and stature in his essay, “Black Men and Public Space.” Staples uses the rhetorical techniques ethos, logos, and pathos in order to get on the “same side” as the reader while still presenting the essence of his argument. The author is able to sympathize with his “victims” and justify their feelings, appealing to ethos. He also analogies and details about his background, such as his doctorate in psychology, and the fact that he was a reporter to appeal to logos. Additionally, by using vivid imagery and creative diction, he engages the reader by use of pathos, evoking the emotions of the reader. With the use of rhetorical devices, Staples is able to effectively describe his experiences of being perceived as a criminal, solely based on his “unwieldy inheritance” (205), while, additionally, extending this concept to be true throughout society.

As a target of racism and prejudice, Brent Staple wrote Just Walk on By: Black Men and Public Space. Throughout this essay he explains his personal experience in public spaces and the stereotypes he has faced. Since society has deeply embedded their views of “blacks,” just their presence induces fear and causes unnecessary feelings and emotions to arise. Staples presents no anger in his decision to alter his actions and his appearance to ease those around him despite his skin tone. Societal views on blacks are based on reputations as a whole and not on each individual person, Staples presents this through the uses of point of view, ethos, and pathos.

The struggle for equality and the battle to have one’s suppressed voice be heard is prevalent throughout the history of the United States. The Native Americans, women, and even Catholics have all encountered discrimination and belittlement in one shape or form, which eventually urged individuals within those groups to rise up and demand equal opportunity. As the United States began to shift away from slavery, one of the most deep rooted, controversial dilemmas aroused- what do black people need to do in order to gain civil rights both economically and socially? Booker T. Washington’s “Atlanta Exposition Address” and W.E.B. Du Bois's “The Soul of Black Folks” were pieces of writings influenced by the puzzle that black people were left to solve. Booker T. Washington and W.E.B Du Bois had contrasting ideas, but they both contributed a piece to the puzzle in hopes of solving the never ending mind game.

Author and editorial writer for the New York Times, Brent Staples, skillfully uses both his educational and racial background to exemplify and reflect on the harrowing times black men faced during the mid-1900’s. Growing up the oldest of 9 in 1951, he pushed himself through primary schooling and against the predications of most, was accepted into college where he earned his B.A, and eventually, a coveted Ph.D. His anthology of literary works focus on politics and cultural issues and popularly include, Parallel Time: Growing up in Black and White, which won the Anisfield Wolf Book Award, An American Love Story, and the piece in mention, Just Walk on By: Black Men and Public Space.

This theme helps illuminate how black people came to be treated in America both when slavery existed and beyond into today’s society. The theme that black people are disposable bodies within American society. Because of the tradition of treating black people as objects or whose value strictly came from their ability to make profit, the idea of what it means to be black in America is imbedded in the danger of losing one’s body. Although slavery has ended, the racism remains as a violence inflicted on black people’s bodies. Coates is more than happy to emphasize that racism is an instinctive practice.

“Black men and public spaces” is an excellent article it has many similarities to the world today. This story has several points that I agree with I have a strong connection with the story. I assume his choice, this new title for the female readers to have more insight on the problems that a black man go through in the real world. I like how Staples used different scenarios to get the readers to have an emotional connection. So, that they will be able visualize and understand what he is going through. This story shows that black men still get judged due to their race and gender. I don’t like how he acquired to change just to satisfy the needs of others. Till this day black men in society are always going to get judge by the cause of their skin color. It shouldn’t be that way in the world, but that’s how things are. They always must wonder about rather they’re going to get arrested for just roaming the streets at night or entering a jewelry store. Therefore, people are always categorizing men as lower-class men, they don’t think that they can be successful in life.

“We cannot be free until they are free,” said the late and great James Baldwin in an excerpt from “A Letter to My Nephew: The Fire Next Time”. Never has there ever been a truer statement on the outlook of the American people. Now we have writer, Ta-Nehisi Coates, who has been likened to James Baldwin, and because of his style in “Between the World and Me.” However, in classic Coates style, what we get from this book is tales of childhood in West Baltimore, violence, gang, love, hope, education, police brutality, and most importantly of all, we get race and racism in a style of “pessimism”. From this “pessimism” I ended with a question: is there hope for the Dreamers and the black community alike? I had the most positive view of this book and that question summarized the whole novel. It tugged at heart strings that I didn’t know that could be reached, it made me tear up with a deep sadness and longing that will forever be with me because of my skin color and gender. So when Coates addresses the overall theme of race and racism in a black body and how to manage it, he gives a silver lining of hope to his son, for whom the book was written to, and to his audience. There is hope, but there is also reality, and to have hope means take away what the Dreamers shielded from themselves for decades, their false reality.

In the novel “Invisible Man” by Ralph Ellison, the reader learns of the experiences of the unnamed narrator as he goes from being a model black citizen in the Jim-Crowe era Southern United States to being expelled from college and joining The Brotherhood in Harlem. This drastic change in cultural and physical setting have a profound effect on the narrator’s perception of the role of a black man in American Society during the 1930’s. The narrator’s experiences in these two opposing cultures causes him to reflect on the substance of his own individuality and his rightful place in society.

Today’s blog post will be examining the elements framed in the opening chapters of Hamilton’s and Carmichael’s Black Power: The Politics of Liberation in America. Black Power’s introduction is an empowering narrative dedicated to the black people of America, propositioning unification and mobilization of black forces, to gain control of the freedom they deserve. Hamilton and Carmichael outlined the steps as follows: first to assemble in solidarity, then to question and challenge embedded societal structures, subsequently invoking complex thinking, and ultimately invested involvement in political participation. Correspondingly, they explicitly state that there are no easy solutions and astutely recognize that revolution is a constantly evolving

Staples, Brent. Black Men and Public Space. The Norton Reader: An Anthology of Nonfiction. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2012. Print

Beginning the conversation about the black experience in American history, Dubois discusses the metaphor of “the veil” (Dubois, 6) and the concept of “Double consciousness” (Dubois, 11) which are respectively broken down and defined as the ignored history and experiences of Black Americans and “this sense of always looking at one's self through the eyes of others” (Dubois, 11). There has been class discussion in which lost stories have been slowly been brought to light; however, the task has been difficult because of the lack of records or because that person was pushed out of history to try to

In this paper, I wanted to achieve in informing the reader how with black representation the oppressions of whiteness can be fought up against. Before I even began to explain my goals, terms, and theories I decided to use. I went first to talk about how I had first seen the world and how I was in the between an area where finding things catered to black people was starting to really boom, but still hard to find in many places like the town I lived in when I was young. Black representation is more renowned in both white and black media currently than ever before.