the other children dug into their punishment of dirt and sand and stared at the dug pit every day.…
These two types of whiteness perspectives are represented well in our society. As exampled by Troy Duster’s very own example of the Chicago police morphing himself from an occupying force of domination, into someone there ‘to protect a woman citizen’ from a suspicious character. In South Africa, critics of affirmative action programs would place blacks in positions held…
In 1986, in Brent Staples memoir Parallel Time: Growing Up Black and White, he wrote a selection called Black Men and Public Space. Throughout the essay Staples talks about the injustice and racial profiling that he receives as a black man in society. This causes him to change certain aspects that he does on a daily basis to make the people around him feel less threatened. Unconsciously, Staples presents ways on how he and society systematizes him and other black males.…
Imani Perry begins her essay by giving us insight about her encounter with Princeton police and how she was treated and felt afterward. Imani Perry is a professor of African American Studies at Princeton University and was arrested a couple weeks ago by the Princeton, New Jersey police for a three-year-old parking ticket, which generated controversy in her social media between those who see it as an example of racist behavior and others who believe it was an overreaction to a minor incident. According to Susan Svrluga in her article, she states that “her account tapped into the national conversation over police treatment of black people that has led to protests, including demonstrations at Princeton and many other colleges.” The problem Imani identifies in her essay is the high sensibility regarding policing particularly with respect to black people experience these days. Perry assumes that her readers know too well about what is going on…
We live in a judgmental world; believe it or not that’s just how it is. People are going to judge you before even knowing you and what your intentions are. Brent Staples, who is an African American, experiences the moment of feeling like a threat to women and people based on his color of skin and the way he is dressed. Almost all black men in today’s generation are likely to be suspects or looked at as a criminals or dangers to people. This is due to the fact that colored people are usually the race that’s being placed under arrest. It is correct that colored men have the highest criminal rate, but not all colored men should be distinguished as criminals for the actions of their race. In the essay “Black Men and Public Space,” by author Brent Staples, he uses ethos, pathos, and logos to persuade his of the prejudiced nature of our society.…
Brent Staples’ “Black Men and Public Spaces” is based on his personal experiences dealing with racism and discrimination. He explains how his past incidents involving racism shaped who he is, today. Staples’ experiences made him attempt to conform in a way he hoped he would be perceived as less dangerous. By acting and doing certain things, that seemed less “black”, he believed people saw him differently.…
Forman asserts that racial profiling breaks conservative principles by violating the idea that if one works hard, they get a full membership to society. He points out that this is not always the case and that racial profiling aids in spreading the belief in students of minorities that they will always be treated as outcasts and criminals based on their ethnicity. He includes many stories from those who have been affected by racial profiling like Robert Byrd who was mistaken for stealing a van and then goes onto to say that, “For the conservative ethos to work and responsibility to resonate, black citizens must believe they are treated the same way as white citizens-that with equal responsibilities go equal rights.” Forman’s statement further supports his thesis by proving how racial profiling is defying conservative beliefs.…
My friend Tony is an American citizen of seventeen, born and raised in the United States but he is of African American descent. Once when his mother needed eggs, she sent him to the grocery store. On the way, he was pulled over by a police officer and questioned, after fifteen minutes the police officer let him go. Was he speeding? Driving recklessly? No, there was nothing wrong with his driving. The only reason he was pulled over and questioned was because he was African American. The whole situation was humiliating and debasing for Tony. This ordeal and others like it happen against citizens because of something they cannot even help, the color of their skin. Someone who shares the same opinion on this matter is Bob Herbert. In “Hounding the Innocent”, Herbert stated, “Ethnic profiling by law-enforcement authorities in the United States comes in many forms, and all of them are disgusting.” Self-respect, worth and dignity will certainly suffer a loss as a result of this practice.…
I am going to focus it on the injustices that African Americans continue to face in the United States today. That being, I know exactly what I need to get out of my interviewees, but it is probably a sensitive subject for some of the people I need to interview. I am not black, and I don’t know what it feels like to face this discrimination in everyday life. I can understand the tenderness that African Americans must feel then, when revealing and talking about their experiences with discrimination. I would think then, that it must be especially sensitive to talk about with a person from the race that they receive this everyday discrimination. It will be interesting to hear all the different types of prejudice that my interviewees have received throughout their lives. I would imagine that it ranges from just a look, or the way white Americans act around them, to voiced and physical altercations between themselves and white Americans. Hacker at times seems to be speaking directly to African Americans as he describes these altercations, “So many of the contacts you have with them (white Americans) are stiff and uneasy, hardly worth the effort.” But to me, that is exactly what the problem is. Why would it not be worth the effort? The first step to take for the uneasiness between the two races to cease to exist is for us (all people) to stop seeing color because once we act differently around the other is where…
Royster, a professor of sociology at the College of William and Mary, came to an agreement to carry on her own scientific study matter of fact after observing the apparent predicament of many Black men she had grown up with who have experienced racism. Seeing that so many who had trained for blue- collar professions were either underemployed or totally unable to find work, she set about to figure out why (Williams). In this case study, Dr. Royster Deidre interviews 25 white men and 25 black men to see how they were all faring in the working field.…
Even though Meher Ahmad and Thomas Chatterton Williams both address the discrimination issue, William provides a more convincing argument due to his own experience and feeling to the woman’s remark, the situation that made them to be noticed by the older white woman standing nearby and, his conclusion about mixed-raced.…
Racial Profiling is a longstanding predicament that’s been going on for a long period of time. In “Black Men and Public Space” by Brent Staples, he shares his own personal experience when he encounters a young woman walking in front of him, yet he did not show any threat to the young woman. She reacted timidly that speeds up her pace and began to run away of what she thought was a mugger/ rapist. The author uses a number of rhetorical strategies in the essay such as personal experience, imagery and cause and effect to set the theme of the story.…
People of color get pulled over more than white people. Is it because the people of color are all criminals or because the police are getting lazier? people who use racial profiling usually have a negative perception or judgment about African Americans. Racial profiling is a hot subject in the world today. Racial profiling is a fact of life for many Americans today, and I for one think it’s sad. Authors Ahmed Rehab and Randall Kennedy both comment on the negative impact that racial profiling has on society today in America. These authors helped me to see the reason why racial profiling is still used, but at the same time they helped to confirm my position on why racial…
Herbert gives examples of racial profiling, which occurs in many parts of the world. Furthermore, he explains the tragic story of a man, Rossano Gerald and his son Greg who were pulled over and interrogated by police because of their race. The police separated the man and his son from each other and searched the car with the help of drug-sniffing dogs. He was discovered to be innocent after being put through this unjust interrogation. This shows that racial profiling is a common occurrence that results often from the prejudice minds of law-enforcing officials.…
Weatherspoon, Floyd . "Racial Profiling of African-American Males: Stopped, Searched, and Stripped of Constitutional Protection." Race, Racism, and Law. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Mar 2013. <http://racism.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1472:constitutional-protection&catid=130&Itemid=241&showall=1&limitstart=…