Race in Down These Mean Streets Essay - 3202 Words

Qing Xu HCOM 345 Prof. Nava 5/2/12 Race in Down These Mean Streets â€Å"Éste es un mundo brillante, à ©stas son mis calles, mi barrio de noche, con sus miles de luces, cientos de millones de colores mezclados con los ruidos, un sonido vibrante de carros, maldiciones, murmullos de alegrà ­a y de llantos, formando un gran concierto musical (Thomas, Down These Mean Streets, 1998, p. 3)†, is how Piri Thomas describes his birthplace, East Harlem. The diversity of cultures, the vibrant street life, the passion and conflicts of everyday life and media portrayal in movies such as West Side Story make East Harlem an exciting and mysterious place. But hidden under the dirty faces of the children is the struggle in the search for acceptance and belong,†¦show more content†¦as a result of U.S. imperial invasion and colonization of the island. They became one of the most impoverished groups and were â€Å"systematically perceived and treated as a conquered people (Oquendo, 1998, p. 70)† Puerto Ricans could sometimes pass as whites, like Piri’s family did. However, Piri was treated badly by the school, public transportation, workplace and the government. In an interview conducted by Ilan Stavans, he recalled that in the classroom the â€Å"teacher came roaring upon me and said ‘listen, stop talking in that language [Spanish],’ and I said ‘well, I am speaking my mother’s language. My mother’s from Puerto Rico, I was born in this country,’ and she says ‘well you stop talking that, you have to learn English, you are in America now.’ (Thomas, Race and Mercy: A Conversation with Piri Thomas, 1996, p. 345)† He also recalled going to the South with his friend Billy on a bus. The driver ordered all colored people to go sit in the back. When Piri tried to tell the driver that he was Puerto Rican, the driver said, â€Å"I don’t care what kind of nigger you are† and reached his hand into his side pocket. To avo id the risk of being killed, he quietly went to the back of the bus (Thomas, Race and Mercy: A Conversation with Piri Thomas, 1996, p. 351). In a chapter of his book titled â€Å"How to Be a Negro without Really Trying,† Piri recalls another occasion where he and his fair skinned friend Louie went to a job interview for a sales position. The company hiredShow MoreRelatedBlack Men and Public Space841 Words   |  4 Pagesbecause of color, race, gender, culture or appearance. In addition, the author expresses to us that he notices the space between him and other people, such as women on the street. Some people may disagree that women set a certain amount of space when walking by a black man on the street. This statement is not true and public space is not about race, gender, color, culture, or appearance. 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