GROUP+7

- Your article is the first one in this packet: "Just Walk on By"


 * Note for this group: You have a good summary here. If you plan to revise for your portfolio, it's a bit choppy and has several errors you'll want to clean up, but the content is solid.**

POST YOUR SUMMARY HERE (final) “Just Walk on By” by Brent Staples is an article on the stereotyping of black men being seen as gangsters, rapists, and muggers. He explains his accounts of when he was an insomniac, when he would walk the streets and how people would react to him. He also explains the affect the color of his skin would have on others when he worked for the newspaper. One encounter was when he walked into a store to get information and the lady in the store went out back and brought out a huge attack dog. Another account was with his friends who went down to get information on a murder and he was arrested because they believe he was the murder. Only because he was black. He basically is trying to tell others about racism and how it still is in effect today. He shows matter if you were a black man you must be a rapist, according to many people. When he was young he never knew that this would happen and never had it happen to him when he was young. So basically what he does when he walks the street is sing something that only intelligent -since rapist, gangsters, and muggers are not smart- people would know such as Beethoven or any other famous pianist. There is this stereotype out there and it became a shock to him. That is why he writes this.

Outline for "Just Walk on By" ( M. Jake D. I. First Encounter of someone Fearing him because of his Skin. a. Lady in a white Dress II. Explaining the Stereotype. a. Because of his Insomnia he walked the streets at night b. Why do they Fear? III. His First Years Away from Home. a. Cars would lock doors when he walk'd by b. People would always go to the Other side of the street. IV. Move to New York a. New York is known for Black muggers, shooters, rapists, and gangsters. b. People would walk around him all Hunch cradling their purses and valuables. V. The age of 22 a. Background on his Childhood b. Chester, Pennsylvania VI. Young thugs a. Tough Guys b. Everything is Intimation. VII. Nonsense taken Literally a. Buried many of His young friends VIII. Public places and the Newspaper a.The Doberman Pinscher b. Burglar c. Murder in the Big house IX. Negro Problems a. Precautions X. Beethoven a. No such thing as a smart Gangster. Mike Rose summary "Just Walk On By," is a short story of a young educated man who is constantly looked upon as a mugger or sometime even a rapist just because the color oh his skin. The man is Brent Staples and within this article he describes how being a black man is difficult living in a large city. He talks about accounts of when he wouldn't be able to sleep how he would take walks around the town and whenever a white woman or couple would be opposite to him, would crossed the street to avoid him. Brent also talks about working for a paper and being suspected of being some kind of criminal. He describes how he built up a tolerance to shake these accounts off and also would find ways to let the people feel more comfortable in certain situations, such as going the opposite way in a building so the people do not feel their being followed. The main point of the article to tell people of the real life accounts of racism that still happen in our cities. Also, that regardless of your education or your history, people do not always use the best judgment towards strangers walking the streets.

Summary (Jessica) The short story " Just Walk On By" by Brent Staples shows how we stereotype black people. The article starts off by explaing that this 22 year old black male who graduated from college is stereotyped as a mugger or rapper. He was known as a night walker he always walked at night and with in dark place so when this women saw him behind her she automatically got nervous and picked up the pace because she was scared of him. Since where he was at that time it only make sense he was a mugger, unlite street, late and some part of Chicago. This man go on and explains his childhood and his life and he doesn't seem anything like a mugger. His main point is whenever people see a black male they get nervous because all there stereotypes so it didn't matter that he had a degree in college, he will always look like a mugger or rapist when he walks the streets.

Summary By Megan Brent Staples who was born in Chester, Pennsylvania in 1951 was a 22 old black male. He was rather intelligent had recieved his education at Widener University his hometown and also went for his Ph.D. in Phychology at the University of Chicago. Staples was a reporter first for the Chicago Sun-Times and later for New York Times. As i have described Staples is a black man and because of his skin he is not treated with the respect that he should be recieving. He writes this essay "Just Walk On By" to explain to the public the abuses that he goes through because of the assumption of others. There are several stories in this essay of his experiences as a man of people fearing him as some kind of gang banger just because of the color of his skin. He gives them no reason to act as they do and for that he tells about how he has to watch his steps to make sure he is not walking upon somebody to quickly; even though he means no harm. Staples states in his first example of the woman walking in front of him in the night, briefly notices him behind her and starts to move much more quickly because she fears that he could be a bad man."As a softy who is scarcely able to take a knife to a raw chicken- let alone hold it to a person's throat - i was surprised, embarrassed, and dismayed all at once." This should show the public that this man is obviously innocent and it is very sad how the world perceives people because of race. Racism has not ended, it is in fact a major factor in some parts of the United States. Why can't it just end and everybody come together as one. This man will always be stereotyped because of his color and he is in fact very intelligent. Staples has worked very hard to become who he is and will still continue to live a rough life because of the public categorizing him into a bad group.