A Black Man with a Gentle Heart

Frances's Article

After the liberation of slavery, Black are still facing abundant living challenges and problems. Poverty has written the book of desperado and discrimination for many black men and worsened the status and reputation of the entire black in society. Many black men try to climb the mountains of modern civilization to reach the top of a better social status with their backs straight and their heads up, however, the path is paved with concrete obstacles of prejudice. Staples, witnessed the giving-in to “the power to intimidate” of some of his black fellows, made a detour to avoid the trap of fake power and stay as “a survivor”. Inevitably, he was still wounded in his heart by the frequent misassumption from the passers-by and the lights of fright quivering in their eyes. He was at first “surprised, embarrassed, and dismayed”, but later he “grew accustomed to but never comfortable” with the avoidance from his white counterparts, especially females. And that’s “the language” they speak to him – “fear”.

It was not easy for Staples at all, because he perceived himself as “a softy” who would hardly be a daredevil to hurt other living creatures. Therefore, when he encountered the situations like people “crossed to the other side of the street” to avoid him and being seen as a potential trouble maker when he had no intention to create any hazards, he did feel frustrated. Under these circumstances, Staples knew that anger wouldn’t help him, so he took positive actions and “precautions” to minimize the embarrassing moments. I feel sorry for his situation, but his sense of humor gives me a smile from the heart, and the ways he handled his problem are impressive as well – “whistle melodies from Beethoven and Vivaldi”. Who could ever come up with a solution like this? Only from a black man with a gentle heart!