Social Issues In Down These Mean Streets By Piri Thomas

I cannot deny that there are racist and inappropriate comments in this book, and I am offended by some myself. Even though there are racist comments, I still believe this book should be read because the amount of important information, that needs to be known, there is in the book, more than triples the inappropriate comments that are said. If people never read books with inappropriate comments, they would miss out on tons of information that could be useful somewhere in their lifetime.

Dreaming in Cuban by Cristina Garcia and Down These Mean Streets by Piri Thomas share compelling stories that detail the struggles of identity formation in Cuban and Puerto Rican Americans. Both novels describe the social and generation differences that surround common issues faced by Latinos in America. Thomas’s memoir focuses on the perspective of Piri, a young man, that gets involved in the streets of the ghetto that eventually lead to a complex path in his search for his identity. Garcia’s novel takes a similar stance, but from women that vary in age and experience. Throughout both pieces, location becomes an important factor that influences the recollection of past memories and social class. Piri concludes "Spanish Harlem" as his only

From a broad standpoint, the goal of children’s ministry to offer shalom and peace to children through holistic ministry that stems from having a relationship with God. As noted in the lesson slides, when sin entered the world and shalom was broken, people’s relationships with God, themselves, others, and creation were all broken. Shalom seeks to restore these relationships through God, and while complete restoration will not happen until Jesus’s return, pieces of shalom can be experienced through God’s love now. In the article “Street-Living and Working Children” in Understanding God’s Heart for Children: Towards a Biblical Framework, Greg Burch says, “God has called us to bring about reconciliation, with his help, between his creation, in both the vertical (human to God) and horizontal (human to human and other created beings) senses.” (p. 84)

1 - I enjoyed reading the article From the Grey Nuns to the Streets (…) – Grey nuns were an integral part of my childhood in Châteauguay, QC. They actually owned the Seigneurie for a time, and devoted themselves to caring for the destitute. The article states that they were long-mocked, as the order’s founder, Marguerite d’Youville, had been married to a bootlegger (Hardill, 2006, p. 91). To complement the article, I would like to add that they were called “Les Grises” due to her defunct husband’s activities (grisé in French means drunk), but also because they wore grey attires.

The question or problem I would solve would have to be the war on poverty and the streets influence on children in the inner cities of America. The amount of people in America are hungry and it seems as if the inner cities are the focal point for those terribly high numbers. I would attend the all the food drives ad even possibly start a food bank and help families feed their young children who have no way of providing for their selves. I would even maybe visit their schools to help them pursue their dreams no matter how crazy because, isn't that what America is all about?

We see that most of the characters of the movie conform at some point, as “the most of us will go to great lengths to avoid social exclusion” (Aronson, 2007, p.28). This is visible on the will of Pino, who intensely dislikes his black clients to be together with the group of his Italian friends, although the business is much more profitable in a district where their pizzeria is the only one. And we can also see how this rule is supported by the exclusions. Da Mayor, Mother Sister, and Smiley are three characters who, being far not as anyone else in a movie, do not act as the majority of their neighbors. It is the result of a lack of need for social approval. One tiny moment which proves this is when the policeman kills Raheem, Smiley, unlike

Define American is a non-profit transmedia organizational campaign led by undocumented activist Jose Antonio Vargas. It was founded in April 2011 and has become staffed by dreamers, immigrant rights activists, and undocumented people themselves. Define American’s mission is to use the power of story to surpass politics and shift the conversation about immigrants and citizenship in a changing America.

Imagine eating only 300 calories per day, that’s only four pieces of bread. Now envision that every day for five years straight. The Jews suffered greatly under the Nazi dictatorship. The Jewish people had limited food and water, their daily lives were controlled and long, and the atmosphere was filthy.

Urban, inner-city children who lack strong familial ties are often raised by the code of the streets rather than the counseling and advising of their parents and/or guardians. The code of the streets is deeply damaging to young children as they learn violence as a problem-solving method. “The pervasiveness of violence and intimidation has had a particularly devastating effect on parenting strategies. Inner-city children, from a very early age, now experience fierce social pressure to become sexually active, participate in the drug trade, and display indifference or hostility to formal education.” Violence and intimidation proves more influential on the minds of impressionable youth. The advice of their parents and/or guardians is silenced by the call of the streets. For

City girl is what most people would say to define me. I was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio and had minimum experience in rural areas. Because I was familiar with the city, I became accustomed to city life; lights, cars, tightly built houses and local establishments. I realized that the loudness of the city kept my mind occupied and it was not until I enrolled in college at Malone where I found myself experiencing a calmer environment. Initially I was not too fond of Canton simply because it was too quiet and I perceived it to be rural. However, I realized that when residing in a smaller city, it is then when you are able to notice the beauty of creation. It was not until my Junior year of college when I felt a calling to care for creation

One of the things that confused me is the father. Instead of sitting down with his wife and talked to her about her beliefs, he supported her. Clearly he did not agree with her. He wanted to send money back to their family, he just did not have the balls to stand up to her. He does not comment what anyone does to him. He seems like he as accepted American culture his wife is the one that has not. Hopefully as time goes on in the book he changes.

I would like to do a study on the Arts influence on street kids to determine whether a positive influence in their lives can help them become a productive member of society. The goal for this study is to improve these at risk kids' lives by giving them a positive outlet, and getting them out of the gangs of the inner city.

Mahatma Gandhi once said, “Be the change that you wish to see in the world”, social movements allows people that kind of opportunity. In democratic societies, social movements are a key to giving societies a place to voice their concerns about rights, welfare and well-being, by engaging in diverse forms of joint action and public demonstration. Social movements are the result of people coming together whose relationships are not defined by rules or channels, but who share a mutual viewpoint of society. It’s common knowledge that social movements help to generate a sense of collective identity and new ways to view society. Collective identities within the borders of social sciences are a cause in which people are able to mobilize for political or other collective efforts. In my paper I will be discussing how social movements are the action of being able to collectively identify as a one voice, and how collective identity can not only inspire people to mobilize but how it also aides in excluding others, by looking at Identity Dilemma. Identity Dilemma examines both aspect of collective identity advantages and disadvantages.

I was not a huge fan of this book, it was really hard to understand what was going on do to it thick dialect. The book is written in first person, but the choice of words and dialect created a dense style that made it hard to read and understand what is going on through the book. I had to reread some of the area to understand what the character was saying. Regards the the dialec the book is good to read and understand about black history. Because of the length, style and choice theme; I feel this book will be best for students who are in 8th grade or in highschool.

The presentation of these social issues as something to laugh at rather than worry helps provide much needed relief to an audience that might otherwise be consumed with agony over how to cope and solve those problems. This presentation also allows the focus to be drawn onto the alternatives available to Easy Street. Chaplin allows the Tramp character to be a reference on possibilities to fix the problems afflicting Easy Street, one being religion. The Tramp is “saved” at the beginning of the film, welcomed into his new faith by a pastor and The Girl. To affirm his commitment to this decision, he returns the donation box he was intending to steal. The newfound hope that The Tramp has acquired inspires him to get a job as a policeman, where he inadvertently adopts the role of being the savior of Easy Street. There he meets his nemesis, the Bully, whose eyebrows are done in a manner suggesting horns, likening him to a Satanic figure. When the Bully bends the gas lamp with his sheer strength, it suggests there’s something inhuman and demonic about him. The Tramp therefore becomes even easier to sympathize with, since he is facing insurmountable odds, but isn’t deterred. By allowing the Tramp to succeed in his defeat of the Bully, Chaplin suggests that the righteous will always overcome evil, the good just have to try, albeit even unconventionally, in order to overcome evil. The Tramp does not stop at trying to stop evil, but also demonstrates trying to spread good. He