Object Details
- Artist
- Máximo Colón, born 1950
- Sitter
- Piri Thomas, 30 Sep 1928 - 17 Oct 2011
- Exhibition Label
- In the 1960s, the civil rights movement spawned a literary movement that expressed the political and cultural aspirations of a dispossessed generation in the form of memoirs and autobiographies. Piri Thomas’s Down These Mean Streets (1967) is an influential example of this genre, acclaimed for its candor and testament to the human spirit. The memoir drew on Thomas’s upbringing in El Barrio during the Great Depression, the dehumanizing racism he faced as the black son of Puerto Rican and Cuban parents, his time in prison and as a gang member, and his rebirth as an educator and a writer. Thomas was an important figure in the Nuyorican (New York–Puerto Rican) literary movement, which fought for the social, cultural, and political empowerment of a community then plagued by high levels of poverty and a lack of social services.
- Máximo Colón took this photograph for a segment that WNET’s prime time Puerto Rican television show Realidades devoted to Thomas’s memoir.
- En la década de 1960, el movimiento pro derechos civiles generó un movimiento literario que plasmó en memorias y autobiografías las aspiraciones políticas y culturales de una generación desposeída. La obra Down These Mean Streets (1967) de Piri Thomas es un influyente ejemplo, elogiada por su franqueza y testimonio del espíritu humano. En estas memorias Thomas alude a su crianza en El Barrio durante la Gran Depresión, al racismo deshumanizante que enfrentó por ser de raza negra, hijo de cubano y puertorriqueña, a su época en prisión y con las pandillas, y finalmente a su renacer como educador y escritor. Thomas fue una figura destacada del movimiento literario nuyorican (New York–Puerto Rican), que luchó por el empoderamiento social, cultural y político de una comunidad entonces acosada por altos niveles de pobreza y falta de servicios sociales.
- Máximo Colón tomó esta fotografía para un segmento dedicado al libro de Thomas en el programa puertorriqueño de horario estelar Realidades, producido por la cadena televisiva WNET.
- Credit Line
- National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; acquisition made possible through the Smithsonian Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center.
- 1972
- Object number
- NPG.2016.7
- Restrictions & Rights
- Usage conditions apply
- Copyright
- © 2015, Máximo Colón
- Type
- Photograph
- Medium
- Gelatin silver print
- Dimensions
- Image: 20 × 15.4 cm (7 7/8 × 6 1/16")
- Sheet: 35.4 × 28.1 cm (13 15/16 × 11 1/16")
- Place
- United States\New York\Kings\New York
- See more items in
- National Portrait Gallery Collection
- Location
- Currently not on view
- National Portrait Gallery
- Topic
- Exterior
- Costume\Dress Accessory\Eyeglasses
- Piri Thomas: Male
- Piri Thomas: Arts and Culture\Literature\Writer
- Piri Thomas: Arts and Culture\Literature\Writer\Poet
- Portrait
- Record ID
- npg_NPG.2016.7
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm460985aa4-228c-4925-b15c-6222cec1f9ee
