Summary Of Just Walk On By Brent Staples

Sarah Foreman
Professor Olson
Composition II 1120-8
February 2, 2023

Analysis of “Just Walk on By: Black Men and Public Space” by Brent Staples
The essay “Just Walk on By: Black Men and Public Space '' by Brent Staples is an essay (within the 50 Essays 5th edition by Cohen) describing the author’s experience with people perceiving him as a criminal or at least a likely one throughout his life. The first paragraph starts off with him describing his “first victim,” a young white woman in 1973 who ran from a twenty-two year old Staples who was out for a night walk. He paints a picture of him night walking due to insomnia in Chicago and ends up on the same street walking the same direction as the women. She immediately started doing the backwards

This is something I can also relate to as I have to smother the rage at often being seen as a weak gender or having to deal with the dumb blonde stereotype. Granted this is more of an everyday annoyance than an actual danger to my life on most occasions, but it’s still a relatable point.
He gives people a wide berth, especially late at night or if they appear skittish. I do the same in order to avoid the same potential confrontation. No one wants a fight or perhaps worse.
One large difference is that I don’t have to take pains to avoid following people- I don’t have to take the longer route- I don’t have to take wrong turns and I don’t have to fear people merely going the same direction as me when I’m behind. What I do is become intensely aware of people potentially following me and become automatically suspicious of them even if they don’t deserve it. In this case I am the aggressor or at least making unnecessary assumptions or am I being sensible? I never act upon these suspicions except to gather more proof to prove my suspicions right or wrong. These are things that I began to contemplate after reading this short

Criminals or at least those with criminal intentions don’t have the ability to relax and no one expects Beethoven. Personally I would be put more at ease by any people who would hum classical music while around me. As pointed out by my English Professor James Olson this could be another example of prejudice. Criminals or at least grunt criminals are perceived as not really knowing classical music as a difference between casts. That said, No criminal would hum Vivaldi while about to hold you at gunpoint, they are often too nervous.

Resources
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Timeline of the American Civil Rights Movement". Encyclopedia Britannica, 13 Jan. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/list/timeline-of-the-american-civil-rights-movement. Accessed 14 February 2023.
HISTORY.com editors. “Civil Rights Movement Timeline - Timeline & Events - History.” Civil Rights Movement Timeline, A&E Television Networks, 16 Jan. 2023, https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/civil-rights-movement-timeline.
Staples, Brent. “Just Walk on By: Black Men and Public Space.” 50 Essays, edited by Samuel Cohen, 5th ed., Bedford/St. Martaan, Boston, New York, 2016, pp.