Just Walk on By: Black Men in Public Spaces

By Brent Staples

1stREADING

  1. What is this essay about?
  2. What is one event discussed in this essay?
  3. What do you learn about the writer in this essay?

2ndREADING:CONTENT

  1. Who was the author's first "victim"?
  2. Why was Staples really out on the street late that night?
  3. What did Staples ultimately do about his "threatening" appearance?
  4. What are some examples of people "whose business is to screen out troublesome individuals before there is any nastiness"?
  5. Name two cities mentioned in this piece.
  6. According to Staples, what goes into "the making of a young thug"?
  7. According to the author, what is dangerous about seeming dangerous?

STRATEGY AND STYLE (reread as necessary)

  1. In the first paragraph, the author describes himself as " a broad six feet two inches," in other words as a fairly large man. What effect does this decision have on the rest of the essay? What would he lose if he chose not to describe himself?
  2. In terms of rhetorical mode, discuss this piece as either an exemplification essay or as a cause and effect essay.
  3. Staples uses onomatopoeia (thunk, thunk, thunk) to describe the sound of people shutting their car door locks. What other ways could he have conveyed this information? What is effective about the way he decided to present it?
  4. Staples calls Norman Podhoretz's essay "My Negro Problem—And Ours" both famous and infamous. Just from the title, what's infamous about it? How can you relate Staples's use and description of this title to the author's views about race?
  5. In the last paragraph Staples compares his whistling to a cowbell. Describe the mental images involved in this comparison. How can you link it to the rest of the reading? Do you find this conclusion effective?
  6. How does Staples consider and appeal to his audience? Does he avoid alienating or accusing his reader? If so, how?
  7. What IS Staples' attitude about this phenomenon? Is he bitter? angry? disappointed? understanding? (Give evidence). And what IS his purpose? Explore the connection between his tone and his purpose.
  8. How relevant is Staples' essay (written and published in 1986) today? Do you think young black men have the same effect on public space in 2011 as Staples' experienced twenty-five years ago?

An exemplification essay is an illustrative thesis that uses examples to show, explain, argue or prove a point. It applies enough detailed as well as specific examples to get a point across. Exemplification essays are art forms that give an article vitality and intensity.

Short Constructed Response

Staples writes in paragraph six that the danger some women feel upon encountering young black men at night "is not a hallucination." If it's true that their feelings are somewhat justified by statistics, what's the problem with their reaction? What can be done about it?