Beginning of Essay
I am not a man; I am not black; I do not have a very commanding presence nor am I now afraid of much. But I can relate to the prejudice, the intimidation by others and the stereotyping Brent Staples writes about in his essay “Just Walk On By.” First off, I ....

Middle of Essay
.... or even calling Brazil nuts “nigger toes.” All this was a common day to day occurrence for me while growing up in my predominantly white neighborhood. As a matter of fact, there were only about five black kids in my grade school. Don’t get me wrong, my Grandfather was never violent toward black people (they actually scared him) and he was never a “white supremacist,” but words were constantly said. My teenage years changed how I viewed the world. I can wholeheartedly agree with the Staples essay when in it he describes what makes a thug. My family and I had moved into a different neighborhood by the time I started high school. Thi ....