Brent Staples, an African American man, grew up during the age of discrimination against African Americans. Brent Staples was discriminated against numerous times, especially by women. The first time he encountered a young white woman, she ran away thinking he was a criminal. Also, he shares the time when he was mistaken for a burglar by his own co-workers. These experiences made him realize that his skin color was to blame for everything and not himself. He could not change his skin color but what he changed was his behavior and his appearance in public so that people would not fear him or mistake him for a criminal. For example, he dressed in a professional manner and whistled classical music while walking at night. Through this essay, Brent is trying to point out how African Americans are always being misjudged, often deemed to be a criminal, despite being a harmless individual.

To back up his point, he mentions multiple stories of him being misjudged by the general public. One of the many personal experiences he mentions is about him encountering a white woman walking in the street at night and Staples stated that “to her, the 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-seemed menacingly close. After a few more quick glimpses, she picked up her pace and was soon running in earnest. Within seconds she disappeared into a cross street.” By using this situation, he is trying to prove his point to the general public, especially women since it was published in Miss magazine, being that African Americans are always being misjudged. This situation made him realize that he is not at fault but his inheritance of him being a black male as he points to his childhood where some his fellow mates were either was in jail or die because of violence.  Because of his inheritance he faced a major issue “one day, rushing into the office of a magazine I was writing for with a deadline story in hand, I was mistaken for a burglar. The office manager called security and, with an ad hoc posse, pursued me through the labyrinthine halls, nearly to my editor’s door” (Staples). Even his own co-worker assumed he was a criminal. He was furious about him being taken as a criminal, but he kept his cool because he knew he could not do anything since African Americans were considered inferior. This is very persuasive to the reader because it shows how he always was the victim because of him being a black male. Also, by bringing up the environment that raised him was his counter argument, which made his claim stronger because it shows that he was being judged because of someone else’s doing. His counter argument was countered by his story. His use of personal experience only makes the essay more persuasive to the reader because this shows the reader that he knows what he is talking about. In other words, it makes him more credible.

I agree with Brent Staples because till this day African Americans are being misjudged. I already had the knowledge of this issue because I have seen many cases where people were treated a certain way due to their skin color. This makes me feel bad for the people who are being treated that way because I believe that we are all the same no matter the skin color, race, etc. We are all human and it is inhumane to treat someone in such manners they are not deserving of.

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