In this documentary directed by Gordon Parks in 1968, author and poet Piri Thomas confronts the harsh realities of growing up in impoverished Spanish Harlem. An Afro-Latino of Puerto Rican-Cuban descent, Thomas' memoir "Down These Mean Streets" became a best-seller in 1967. Street scenes, Thomas' prose and poetry, and children's answers to questions about their lives paint harrowing accounts of rat-infested tenement buildings, drug addiction, prison time, and street violence in "El Barrio" of New York City. Children's drawings and voices add hope for the future. "The World of Piri Thomas" aired in 1968 on "NET Journal" and is part of the THIRTEEN Vault. "NET Journal" was WNET's news anthology and documentary series that featured content about the Civil Rights movement, the Vietnam War, the Nixon administration, New York’s Spanish Harlem, life on Native American reservations, and more from 1966-1970. From September 15 through October 15, The WNET Group celebrates Hispanic and Latino ...