Black men, public spaces response

He uses the "they say" as evidence to what women think when they see a young black man on the streets especially at night. He ties it to his own narrative of being a young black man and not having the same experiences before going to grad school in Chicago. He talks about power and how he had seen many of his friends and cousins go to jail or die because of the perceived power and that him not needing that same power allowed him to achieve what he wanted to. The women at the beginning could not though distinguish him from other young black men who might though feel the need to use his perceived power to rape or mug her.