Racism: A Black Man’s Perspective In his essay, “A Black Man Ponders His Power To Alter Public Space,” Brent Staples examines racism and the misconceptions that contribute to it. He writes of how something as simple and innocent as taking a late night stroll subjected him to the racism and fear of others, and of how his everyday life was under continuous scrutiny by a white society that both feared and misunderstood him. He …showed first 75 words of 815 total…

…showed last 75 words of 815 total…me an outcast, an inferior person, or worse—a dangerous criminal. “A Black Man Ponders His Power To Alter Public Space” opened my eyes to the realities of racism. I thought I understood all of the aspects of it, but I realized after reading the essay that I only had a grasp of racism from an academic perspective, not a human perspective. Brent Staples helped me see what racism feels like from the receiving end.