WORLD OF PIRI THOMAS + EL PUEBLO SE LEVANTA
NET JOURNAL: THE WORLD OF PIRI THOMAS 1968, 60 min, 16mm-to-digital. Special sequences directed by Gordon Parks; additional photography by Dan Drasin, Paul Glicksberg, Gordon Parks, Jr., and Frank Simon. Digital restoration courtesy of Indiana University Libraries Moving Image Archive. THE WORLD OF PIRI THOMAS depicts life in Spanish Harlem through the eyes – and writings – of Puerto Rican-Cuban poet Piri Thomas, whose memoir "Down These Mean Streets" (1967) had recently become a best-seller. Newsreel EL PUEBLO SE LEVANTA (Newsreel #63) 1971, 42 min, 16mm-to-DCP In the late 1960s, conditions for Puerto Ricans in the U.S. reached a boiling point. Faced with racial discrimination, deficient community services, and poor education and job opportunities, Puerto Rican communities began to address these injustices by using direct action. This film focuses on the community of East Harlem, capturing the compassion and defiance of the Young Lords as they implemented their own health, educational, and public assistance programs and fought back against social injustice.