*Just Walk on By: Black Men and Public Space by Brett Staples

Brett Staple's essay, "Just Walk on By: Black Men and Public Space"  examines the precariousness that each individual takes around him, because of the urban, impoverished setting they are placed in. Staple provides an anecdote about him walking behind a girl at a night, with more than enough space between them, but because this took place in the high-crime part of New York, he began to blend in with the other muggers and rapists waiting to prey on her; causing her speed off to into the distance for what she thought would be her "safety". Staple also uses a generalization to point out that "women are particularly vulnerable to street violence, and young black males are drastically overrepresented among the perpetrators of that violence. The author then comments on the amount of changes in his behavior he has made to escape, or the lessen the fear that people depict when they are around him. Staple, a black man himself, is relating to his African American audience as well as his other audiences that make certain prejudges about African Americans without knowing their full intent. His purpose is to bring notice to actions that African Americans and other races do, subconsciously that comes across suspicious to others who easily prejudge.