"Black Men in Public Spaces(1986)," is a narrative essay written by Brent Staples which explores the phenomenon of racial profiling.  Staples uses personal incidents in his life in which he has been racially profiled by others as a criminal because of his race.  The authors intended purpose is make others more aware of their own social prejudices against others.  Staple's intended audience is everyone, he mentions how all races, classes, and sexes seem to hold these stereotypes.


      While I understand the point that the writer is trying to make in his essay, I could not help but come to the understanding that we all are profiled to some degree.  Whether it is based on a person's race, religion, sex, or age, there are always negative connotations associated with some aspects of a person's life.  Profiling seems unavoidable, it has existed since probably the dawn of time.  All groups of people seem to hold prejudice and stereotypes of others who are outside of their "group."


     Staples focuses on his own personal experiences with racial profiling on blacks.  The text begins when he is a young college student and experiences his first case of racial profiling.  He writes about how he becomes sort of familiar with other people's perception on him.  Because of this, he tries to make himself less threatening to others.  Though he writes on the topic of racial profilling, he does not really seem to use words like racial, prejudice, or stereotype in the text, that would make others believe he was painting himself as a victim.