The Theme of White Supremacy in Piri Thomas's Down These Mean Streets

The theme of white supremacy is very relevant throughout Piri Thomas's book of short stories titled Down These Mean Streets, and is displayed in a way that resembles a social ladder, involving violence, that minorities must climb in order to "fit in”. Whites are born at the top of the ladder, allowing them more resources for success, while minorities like blacks and Latinos are born towards the bottom of the ladder, causing many trials and tribulations on their way to gaining the same, if not much less, success as the white man.

Due to this social ladder formed by white privilege, many minorities try to look and act like white people in an attempt to climb their way up the social ladder, as displayed in Thomas's short story "The Konk”. This climb is accompanied by violent acts of racism, relevant in Thomas's short story "Alien Turf”. Throughout this essay I will use a critical text titled “Puerto Rican Negro" by Marta Caminero-Santangelo to define white supremacy as violence and to connect the violence the protagonist experiences at the hands of others, and the violence he inflicts on himself, due to white privilege and white supremacy.

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A lot of times, white people are actually unaware of white privilege because they are under the impression that the resources they have are available to everyone else. This becomes a problem because since the problem is unrecognized, white privilege continues to flourish, along with white supremacy, and the violence that comes along with it. “White privilege in America has been maintained through the continued suppression of political advances for the black population "we got to keep these damn niggers down""(Caminero Santangelo).

Violence towards people of color stems from the whites' aspiration to beat them and their self esteem down in order to control them and make sure they do not rise above and gain political positions. “In this immediate context, only American blacks pose a threat to America whites; thus only American blacks count as "niggers." This is, might add, an ironic reversal on the earlier exchange with the two Italian boys regarding nationality, in which to be black is not to be "American"; in this scene, only if Piri is "American" is he black” (Caminero-Santangelo). This scene also shows how Piri was lumped into a certain category just because his skin color is darker than the Italians'. This shows that race is socially constructed, and that biological explanation for race does not exist. “The logic of emerging European nationalisms which gave rise to the concept of race as we know it today, blackness and nationalism were mutually exclusive" (Caminero-Santangelo). This means that whites believed that if you were black, you were unable to have patriotic feelings, principles, or efforts, causing racial violence in many instances like in Thomas's short story "Alien Turf”.

The connection between the violence the protagonist experiences in "Alien Turf” and white supremacy is relevant because Rocky and his friends truly believe that they are better than Piri because they are white and he is not. White supremacy can be seen throughout American culture, including within the media, which perpetuates stereotypes about people of color, causing Americans to believe them. Piri's internal struggle with his Puerto Rican and black identity is clear throughout this short story, and his “proof of blackness is in white reactions" (Caminero-Santangelo). Piri is shown defending himself by saying that he is not black but Puerto Rican, which, seemed to be not as bad as being African American. Piri and his family had moved to a neighborhood where “a climate in which racial and ethnic politics encourage Puerto Ricans living within the continental United States to identify themselves against African Americans as a means of establishing a slightly higher position on a hierarchy determined by fine degrees of social marginalization” (Caminero-Santangelo). He used this as a defense mechanism in this scene because he knew violence was probably coming.

It was only when Piri had to move to a new neighborhood full of white Italians that he learned that his skin color makes him inferior. “I sure missed .

th Street, where everybody acted, walked, and talked like me” (Thomas). On .

th Street he was treated as an equal because people just like him were all around, but once he was forced into a new environment where whites were the majority, he experienced white supremacy. The whites on 114th street believed they were superior, and so they were, in Piri’s mind at least. “In these instances, it is social perception, rather than biology, that defines race; Piri is apparently black because white Southerners say he is. Such moments point to the social construction of race, and thus undermine the essentialist biological explanations that have underpinned American social structures” (Caminero-Santangelo). The Italian kids' parents probably spouted out some racial slurs within their households, or talked down upon minorities, causing these children to obtain these biases against people of color.

It is only when Piri fights back against the neighborhood bullies that he is seen as an equal, but leading up to this fight, white supremacy is displayed through the neighborhood crew. “Man, you must wantta be Italian” (Thomas) states one of the bullies, when, in fact, Piri never expresses a desire to be Italian. I do, however, believe that the one reason he would want to be Italian, if any, was so that he did not have to walk down the street in constant fear of violence being inflicted on him. When Piri finally asserts himself to the boys and fights back, their response is surprising. “He got much heart for a nigger," somebody else said. A spic, I thought. "For anybody," Rocky said. "Here we are, kid," he added. "Watch your step”” (Thomas). This scene shows the bullies realizing that Piri really is a fighter, just like them, regardless of skin color. Unfortunately, I have a feeling this realization will be forgotten by the boys, as they are probably constantly bombarded with white supremacist beliefs through the media and other sources. An important aspect of this short story is the way it humanizes Piri and his family, and shows that they have the same feelings and hopes and family dynamic as anyone else, regardless of skin color.

Thomas's short story “The Konk” displays white supremacy and how it causes violence on more of an internal level, due to the protagonist actually inflicting violence upon himself in order to seem “more white”. "Subjects appropriate 'race,' a discourse they do not control, for their own needs, wishes, and interests" (Caminero-Santangelo). A social ladder is clear throughout both of these stories, with whites reigning at the top and minorities further down, and in this particular story, Piri attempts to climb this social ladder by getting his curly, “nappy” Puerto Rican hair chemically straightened, and apparently, many others during this time period did this too. "When I was a kid, many folks spent a lot of time, effort, and money trying to pass for white” (Thomas). This process, called “the konk”, was extremely painful, and Piri discovered this firsthand after marching down to the barber shop with hopes of no longer being made fun of for his ethnic hair. At the end of this short story, Piri realizes that the only people that truly matter, the people that love him, like him the way he is.

The violence Piri and many others inflicted upon themselves during this time period was for many reasons. People of color were bullied, and constantly had walk the streets in fear due to their race, always being told that "whites are better, whites are more beautiful, whites are more intelligent”. This caused them to want white features not only because they wanted to seem prettier or smarter, but for their own safety. This short story took place around the time of the Great Depression, when segregation was still happening in society, and a way to not be segregated against, was to look as white as possible. Piri takes this into consideration, and also wants to stop being made fun of for his hair, and decides to endure the painful procedure called the konk. It is upsetting that colored people believed that they had to put themselves through this in order to be liked by whites, or looked up to by people of their own race.

Assimilation was a harsh reality that people of color had to face during the time period “The Konk” was set in. Things like racism and white supremacy discouraged people like Piri from being proud of their cultures, and encouraged them to try to look and act like whites because they were “supreme”. At the end of this short story, Piri's mother states, "don't you ever be ashamed of being you. You want to know something negrito? I wouldn't trade you for any blanquitos” (Thomas). To me, it is sad that she even has to tell Piri this, that this comparison even has to be made. This is the result of white supremacy, which forces young people of color into thinking that they are not good enough. “Yet at the same time, Thomas's text suggests that non-essentialist understandings of race are no guarantee of progressiveness, while strategic essentialism can be used effectively, even against more "radical" notions of race, to construct a solidarity based on the exigencies of American life”(Caminero-Santangelo).

In conclusion, both of these short stories written by Piri Thomas display ways in which white supremacy caused violence aimed towards minorities. “Making the next step to white" is, at first, important to Piri in order to assimilate into his neighborhood, but he soon finds that just being himself is good enough. These recounts of this time in Piri's life teach readers a lesson and show that Piri became aware that forgetting about race altogether is the best way to progress in this world. “Indeed, it is surely this scene, among others, that has triggered the critical view that Thomas "rejected the paradigms of black or white . . . years before the concepts of hybridity, heterogeneity, and difference gained academic and social repute" (Caminero-Santangelo). It is proven that race has no ground in biology, and that race is a social construct. Many whites perpetuate white supremacy because that is how they were raised, and this vicious cycle does not allow the United States to be the wonderful, united mixing pot that it could be if the idea of race was thrown out the window.

Works Cited Caminero-Santangelo, Marta. “Puerto Rican Negro': Defining Race in Piri Thomas's 'Down These Mean Streets.”” MELUS, vol. 29, no. 2, 2004, pp. 205–226.

www.jstor.org/stable/4141826.