Public Space -- Any place that is publicly owned and regulated.
Writer Brent Staples wrote in Black Men and Public Space about the power that black men have had through the annals of their history and violence - the ability to alter public space. As a graduate student in 1986, Staples suffered bouts of insomnia and often "stalk[ed] sleep" in the streets at night. One night, a woman walking in front of him kept looking at him, imagining the worst possible scenario of becoming the "victim" of the "menacing" black man behind her, and ran from fright. This sweeping generalization and image of violence pervades just the few instances described by this essay, and continues to even recent times.
As Trayvon Martin was visiting his father's fiance and her son in Sanford, Florida, he had a power he was certainly not aware of and would not have wanted. Eventually, it was what got him killed - gunned down by a nervous member of a neighborhood watch. Trayvon Martin altered public space for his killer, George Zimmerman, on February 26, 2012, and he suffered the fate feared by Staples, being at the receiving end of stereotypes and violence. To Zimmerman, Martin, with his hoodie and the dark color of his skin, was in fact wearing a "cloak of stereotype" (Rivers). During the weeks previous to the shooting, Zimmerman had made several calls to the police, and in each of the calls, Zimmerman only offered information about their race when specifically asked by the officer, reporting that the people were black males. To Zimmerman, Martin was not an individual of himself, but a representative of a group Zimmerman identified as criminal.
Great integration of a real-life example of this! George Zimmerman definitely felt uncomfortable as Travyon Martin altered the public space simply because of his race and the stereotypes associated with his race. Nice blog Larry!
ReplyDeleteGreat connection hear Larry! I like how you pointed out that Martin was not aware of how he altered public space and this is part of what lead to the tragic misunderstanding.
ReplyDeleteInteresting post; however, you are making the assumption that George Zimmerman shot Trayvon Martin simply because he was African American and thus instilled fear within Zimmerman. If Martin had attacked Zimmerman, would that have changed the situation? Would Zimmerman then have killed Martin out of the alternated public space or merely out of simple self-defense?
ReplyDeleteI like how you tied in the Zimmerman case with Staples' piece. Both showcased unfair racial prolfiling. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI liked how you related both Staples' piece and a real world court case in your blog! It's interesting how the people who controlled space were both African American.
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