In Kiese Laymon's "How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America" ​​and Brent Staples' "Black Men and Public Spaces", both essays deal with being an African American man. but the authors react in different ways. At one point in history, being African American hasn't always been easy, but two authors have shared their stories about their very different experiences. Although the color of their skin was the same and the way they treated them was as well, both authors take different precautions to handle the situations they found themselves in in order to persuade the audience on how to handle the effects of racism. Both authors show their hidden message through the actions presented throughout the essays. Laymon's casual tone and willingness to fight make him more relatable. Both authors have the same experience with racism and they don't understand. Staples says: “I had to become thoroughly familiar with the language of fear. At nightfall. Dark intersections. “I could cross in front of a car stopped at a traffic light and cause the thud, thud, thud of the driver – black, white, male or female – hammering on the door locks.” Laymon has a similar experience when “we approached Shonda's Saturn and one of the men said. “Kiese writes about it!” » Then another voice calls me a “nigger” and Shonda a “nigger bitch”. I think and feel a lot of things, but mostly I feel like there's nothing I can do to make the boys feel like they made us feel like they did here. After reading about these experiences, both authors feel a sense of fear about the side effects of racism. Laymon goes on to tell you to stand up for what you believe in, unlike Staples. Laymon appears very nervous, not afraid to say what he thinks. “Fuck you,” I tell him and suck my... middle of paper ...... every essay I would say the authors do an amazing job telling their stories. I think it would be nice if Brent Staples said more about how he actually felt about these situations instead of just giving a brief example. Laymon's essay was well written and very understandable. I like that it doesn't tell you what you're supposed to learn from this essay, but you do what you want with it. Although each author has shared their experiences, they handle these situations differently. One difference between the authors lies in the approach they took to the different situations they faced and the words they wrote about them. Some of the similar things these authors shared were the emotions they felt when faced with these adversities. One of the most important things they shared was the hidden message, while subtlety is very powerful. Peace is a very powerful tool for dealing with animosity.