Mark Anthony Neal

Coming from a small (and close-minded) white-majority town, I understand what Neal is talking about when he references all the stereotypes that get unfairly thrown at black men. I know people back home who narrow their eyes in suspicion and instinctively leap to lock their car doors when they see a black man walk by. Such racial profiling is a blind prejudice and a terrible influence on society. And unfortunately, I think it's true that there would be less shock / horror given to the story of Nushawn Williams if he was white. Personally, I would look at a man who wantonly, irresponsibly spread AIDs with equal disapproval and censure no matter what color he was...but for some people, apparently, race makes a difference. I would like to note, however, that some black men seem to have given up changing the stereotypes and have turned to reinforcing them; one only needs to look at the average DPS crime report description to see what I mean. Just as females need to protest and work against oppression if they want gender equality, black men need to contradict the bad societal associations that are placed upon them in order to eliminate them. However, society certainly has an equal responsibility to stop shoving them unfairly into a box of negative stereotypes.