“Black men in public spaces” a story about a black man who shares his encounters in life while living in Chicago. He was forced to alter some of his behaviors to be able to fit into society. Some of the individuals around him, especially in the streets, judged him based on his race to be a thug, murderer or even something worse. This type of judgments imposes a not belonging feeling to a black man, therefore, making him feel apprehensive and worried about who he is and his place in the society. Evaluating the essay discrimination and stereotypes such as racism and gender inequality result in forming of groups, in most cases the major groups rule over the minor; however, it is vital to understand equality.

Staples first encounter was at the streets at night. A woman walking in front of him suddenly increased her pace after her sight of Brent. “It was in the echo of that terrified woman’s footfalls that I first began to know the unwieldy inheritance I’d come into – the ability to alter public space in ugly ways,” said Brent (Staples, 195). The second time was when he was about to deliver his work to a particular magazine company; he was mistaken for a burglar until someone who knew him confirmed that he was an interviewer. The third experienced was when he entered a jewelry shop; the woman in charge suddenly excuses herself. To his surprise, she comes back with a Doberman pinscher. Brent becomes speechless, looks around, bids her goodnight and left. According to my point of view, people do not have to hide or change only because of other people’s perception of them. Our differences are what make us who we are; therefore, we should not be ashamed or made to feel inferior. As a society, it is the duty of each one to make everyone belong. Additionally, we should embrace our differences to better our lives.

An incident similar to what Brent was facing was happening at our workplace. With the ratio of men to women being ten to three, decision-making was a sure thing that it was the men’s job. Therefore, women had to comply with what the men said. Women were perceived to be weak and vulnerable by society. Some of these women had better qualifications as compared to men. However, this could not be seen because of gender inequality.  Brent’s encounter with the woman that night showed that the woman saw him as a rare type of person to be spotted at such time in the streets with no wrong objective (Staples, 195). Consequently, the woman did not know that Brent was not at all different from her. The only thing was that he was black and she was white.

The adjustments that the women had to make to fit in were not comfortable. They hindered a lot of creativity, innovation and the organization’s development. They failed to understand that there was only one perspective and that was the success of the corporation. If given a chance to change the situation. I will work to ensure that I will be able to change the notion that they have of women as weak beings. With this, they will see no difference between them. As well, every opinion counts no matter the gender, social class or race. We are all equal and can work together to make our societies even better than they are now. Unfortunately, Brent staples also had to make adjustments to appear less threatening to the community (Staples, 197). His walking was now done with much care. He mainly walked a distance far from others in the morning or evening. Additionally, he changes his dressing. With less of casual wear and more formal wear. These alterations were done just because he feared to be gunned down at one point or the other for being mistaken as a thug or murderer. Brent lived a life of fear and despair.

At one point during a class debate day, I was opted out of the majority group only because the minor group had no one who could stand in for them as a leader. I was left with no option. This decision was quite devastating to me. I was sure enough that we did not stand a chance against them. What made it even worse was that the group was depending on my leadership for winning. Usually, there is a particular behavior and mentality that comes about because of being in a specific group, for example, being in a majority group makes one overconfident and a negative attitude towards the minor one. On the other hand, the minor group has a perception that they will always fail and stand no chance against the dominant group.

Conclusion

Discrimination and stereotypes such as racism and gender inequality result in forming groups in which the major groups rule over the minor. We should understand that we are equal and can equally make good and bad decisions. As well, it is essential to realize that numbers do not determine the efficiency of decisions or actions. It is expected of us to be united because we are all equal.

Work Cited

Staples, B. (1992). Black men and public space. Life studies, 2-32. Staples, B. (1992).

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