Introduction
Brent Staples lived in the United States since 1951 when racial discrimination was an outstanding matter. His story Just Walk On By: A Black Man Ponders His Power to Alter Public Space is very momentous; it encourages every man who has ever witnessed any form of racial discrimination. The author, Brent Staples is knowledgeable considering he holds a Ph.D. in psychology and has wealth of experience in journalism. This makes the story more creditworthy. Brent authored the article in 1986 after nasty experiences of racial discrimination which were amplified by the fact that he was black. The major goal of the story was to highlight to the public the issue of prejudice that was widespread in America.
Main Body
Through the article, Brent was successful in highlighting the racial discrimination that blacks were subjected to. The whites held a misconception of the blacks; they viewed them as rapists, muggers, or some other worse people. This is displayed by the author through his first encounter with a white woman. Brent comes upon a white woman who he estimates to be in her late twenties. Though Brent is an avenue behind the woman; the woman perceives the distance to be menacingly close.
Her view of a black man amplifies the matter, she glances at Brent and picks up her pace, and disappears. From the incident, Brent concludes that the lady must have seen herself threatened by a black rapist, murderer, or even worse (Staples, 1999). This concludes the degree of racial discrimination that was prevalent in America; blacks were seen as criminals from the sheer fact that they were black.
The other aspect of racism that the author successfully highlights is racial discrimination against blacks by the police. The police naturally perceive black to be criminals. This complicates society’s perception of the blacks since it is expected that blacks can seek refuge from the police. The police are fearful of the blacks and treat them with contempt. Brent displays this fact in his article by highlighting the “meeting of fear” when he makes an errant move after being stopped by a policeman. Racial discrimination against blacks by the police amplifies the chances of death since the police perceive blacks as criminals (Staples, 1999).
The blacks are mostly understood to most of the time be on the wrong or stealing from unrestricted places. Whenever a black is seen in a stockpile or shopping center it constantly seems like he is being followed or watched. Beyond reasonable doubt the ones that need to be observed but no concentration is paid on them are the Whites and Asians among other heritages (Knowles & Prewitt, 1970).
Most of the young black males who dress in loose clothes, long necklaces, pagers, have golden teeth, then drive cars with loud music are without human intervention labeled as a hooligan or just evil men. This characteristically relates to the black man in public space who was considered as an assailant due to his manner of clothing and his race.
Black men were being blamed for crimes they had not committed and were subjects of typecasting which was false. Some blacks committed crimes and were dangerous, similarly, there were still few whites who did the same crimes and were still perilous. Blacks are repeatedly neglected due to the whites’ pre-supposition of their characters that are based on the color of their skin.
Racism characterizes the ability to element people on their race and racial classes as more advanced than others. Prejudice and favoritism are influential weapons promoting panic or hatred during conflict, war, and economic downturns. Racism has fostered imbalance and bias for centuries, as well as influencing how we relate to other individual beings.
Racial injustice is a menacing moral and social syndrome affecting black people. It is diagnosed by the classification of its symptoms and manifestations which include terror, bigotry, division, isolation, discrimination, and disgust. While these symptoms of ethnic narrow-mindedness may be apparent, the solitary fundamental cause of racial injustice is unawareness. Historically, a race of people is defined as residents with noticeable genetic features.
Humans are different in looks, the problem begins when the signs of indifference become obvious: fanaticism, partition, and revulsion (West, 2001). Positively, one may embrace the differences of peoples on the face of the globe and speculate the exclusivity of individuals who reside on a different part of the earth or across the street. Racial discrimination perverts this distinctiveness of the races and takes the opinion that these differences detach persons further into groups, with one group being lesser to the other.
Conclusion
As persons and as cultures we have an instinctive need to feel superior to others. Also, as humanity we have come to the point of saying that there could be distinction either in races or genders. We would have to overcome false credibility and begin enjoying the differences instead of pretending that they are non-existent. We are all God’s creation who should enjoy equal rights and the life of an African has just as much right and importance to be on the planet as that of a white man (West, 2001).
References
Knowles, L. L. & Prewitt K. (1970). Racism in America. 1st ed. New York, NY: Prentice-Hall.
Staples, B. (1999). Just Walk On By: A Black Man Ponders His Power to Alter Public Space. Article. Canadian Content pages, 173 – 176.
West, C. (2001). Race Matters. New York, NY: Beacon Press.