Sanchez 1
Evelyn Sanchez
Mrs. Smith
English 3
20 February 2013
Just Walk on By: Black Man in Public Space Brent Staples, author of “Just Walk on By: Black Man in Public Space.” discusses when the white woman he comes across one day late at night was constantly turning back as if she feared him for the way he looked. Brent highlights racism that has occurred to him during the 1970s. This encounter happened in an impoverished part of Chicago; he describes himself as a “youngish black man--a broad six feet two inches with a beard and billowing hair, both hands shoved into the pockets of a bulky military jacket” as he was walking late at night he did not understand why this woman was acting strange as if she feared him, and she …show more content…

Brent Staples essay relates to many people in the world, racism still happens in present time. Many people not just black people can say they have had similar encounters. Situations like these are unfair; some people are intimidated and think that because the color of your skin is not the same as theirs they can treat you however they please. The reason Brent wrote this was to share personal experiences of racism that he has come upon in his early life. The author uses Emotional appeal to write this essay, by including the personal events and putting feeling into it. Even though this essay was written in and published in 1986 and uses experiences from the 1970s it is still relevant to time today. This Essay impacts the audience in both a negative and positive way because, it is a sad to know how people in earlier times acted towards this black man who was not causing any trouble but it is positive to known that he overcame this and learned to not feel so bad for the way others saw him as a person. The significant importance of this essay is to share one man’s experiences with racism. To know Brent’s back ground, living in a poor neighborhood where bad things happened such as gangs violence, murders and fighting and for someone to judge him with put knowing him is wrong. As Brent said before “Such episodes are not uncommon.” For a black man to be judged no matter where he is. Brent Staples is a