Analytical Essay On Piri Thomas Down These Mean Streets

Chyna Gadbois

CALS 273

Professor Patricia Kim-Rajal

DTMS: Analytical Essay; Topic #2

On a daily basis, Piri Thomas struggled with racial identity and discrimination. When I say the word “struggled” I mean in a sense that he knew what and who he was but the rest of the world perceived him as something different than Puerto Rican. Piri Thomas was a Puerto Rican boy, but because of his darker skin, he was often viewed as African American. Piri’s family does not accept the African American aspects of their Latino ancestry. More often, Piri being viewed as African American meant that he was viewed as being “less than human”. He did not believe that dark skin should be assumed as an African American. Piri struggles to fit in while residing in certain cities and areas but slowly accepts his dark skin and always stays true to his Puerto Rican background and identity. Piri believes that if he had lighter skin, people would respect him more

Like stated before, it is unfortunately believed that the darker you are, the less human you are. I still see that as an issue in today’s society. In Down These Mean Streets, Piri was looked at less than normal because of the darkness of his skin. He was very judged and treated very poorly throughout his life in an unfair manner. Today this is still a relevant issue. For example, many people have the mindset of avoiding blacks at all cost. If you were to be walking down the street and there was a black person on one side and a white on the other side, sadly, many people would cross the street to be on the same side as the white person. Another example of how this mindset is relevant today is police brutality with dark skinned people. There are many videos and news reports proving that some police really do treat people of color differently. I think this is and was a huge issue and I think it’s time to make a