Piri Thomas

Piri Thomas was born in 1928 in Spanish Harlem, New York City. The eldest of seven children, he was a dark-skinned Puerto Rican in contrast to his blond, light-skinned brothers and sisters. Because of his dark skin, he suffered the same discrimination as his Afro-American friends. For years he struggled within himself to discover if he were really a Puerto Rican or an Afro-American.

Piri grew up on the streets of Harlem as a member of a gang. In the Harlem streets, fear of the world was very real but one dare not show it. One of the most important values in his society was courage--the greatest humiliation was lacking "heart." Piri felt that his reputation among his peers was most important and he had to behave accordingly. He became a drug addict but soon realized what was happening to him. He knew that he no longer had control over his life, that his reputation for courage was at stake. Although the change he was about to make seemed motivated by his desire to protect his reputation among his peers for being a man of courage, the experience influenced the rest of his life. With the help of a friend and the friend's mother he stopped "cold turkey."

By the time that Piri was twenty years old, he had participated in gang activities, some of them criminal, and had been arrested and sentenced to five to fifteen years in prison. In prison he had the courage of resist the sexual advances of fellow prisoners, sometimes having to fight to convince them he meant business.

Piri came before the parole board after four years in prison and was sent back for reconsideration in two years. He was filled with anger, hate, and the fear that he could never make it through two more years. As he passed the chaplain in the hall the next day, he was raging inside. The chaplain merely said, "Now's the time, if you really have heart, it'll shine through." He took the chaplain's words seriously as he had discovered the chaplain was a gentle, wise man, the first preacher who "didn't make God stick in my throat."

Through these simple challenging words of the chaplain, God touched Piri's heart. Piri determined then to make it through the next two years and, if possible, even without hate. He used those two years to better himself as a preparation for freedom. He got his high school diploma and certificates for special classes. He began studying the Bible and various religions.

Piri became aware of a group of Muslins who met often for prayer and for a while joined them, learning their customs and prayers. This was part of his new-found thirst for knowledge. He wanted to understand the world, himself and God. He described himself as a "child let loose in a candy store." He wanted to eat it all until he realized he had to be choosey. He began to pray, talking to God in his own words, telling God he wanted to believe in His presence, to know Him better. Gradually through responding positively to God's initial aims Piri was turning his life around.

Shortly before he was to appear before the parole board again, for the third time since he had been in prison he had a traumatic emotional upheaval. He was almost overcome by violent feelings and a great desire to laugh madly, or jump up and down and scream. He knew that if he even let out the least giggle, he could never stop--he would lose his sanity. In desperation he wanted to pray to Christ. The only prayer that came to mind was one he had learned in his childhood:

Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep: If I should die before I wake I pray the Lord my soul to take. Amen, amen, am. . . . . It's going , oh God, it's passing over. . . .Thank you, Mommie, gracious God. . . .

Later, Piri was struck by the thought that he had called upon Christ instead of Allah in his greatest need. He felt he had been confirmed in his faith as a Christian, an important step in his spiritual growth.

The day Piri was released from prison, two policemen waited with handcuffs and a warrant to take him to the Bronx too face charges for crimes committed there. He spent two weeks in jail awaiting his court appearance. The night before he was to appear in court for sentencing, when he thought his cell- mate was asleep, he knelt at the end of his cot and prayed aloud. He told God what was in his heart:

I talked to him plain, like always; no big words, no big almighties, no be deals. . . . I talked like a little kid and I told him of my wants and lacks, of my hopes and disappointments. . . . I felt like I was someone that belonged to somebody who cared. I felt like I could even cry if I wanted to, something I hadn't been able to do for years. I concluded, "God maybe I won't be an angel, but I do know I'll try not to be a blank. So in your name, and in Christo's name, I ask this. Amen."

He was surprised to hear a quiet "Amen" from the other bunk. Then Chico whispered,

I believe in Dios also. Maybe you don't believe it but I used to go to Church, and I had the hand of God on me. I felt always like you and I feel so warm, quiet and peaceful, like there's no suffering in our hearts.

"What's it called, Chico, this what we feel?" Piri asked softly.

"It's Grace by the Power of the Holy Spirit," Chico replied.

Piri could hear Chico crying softly in the night. "Good night, Chico. I'm thinking that God is always with us--it's just us that aren't with Him."

The next day Piri's sentence was suspended and he was released from prison. Piri had surrendered to the power of God in his life and now he began searching for ways to express his conversion for the good of society. Drawing on his own experience with drugs, he became a street worker in Spanish Harlem. Later he went to Puerto Rico where he became an assistant to Dr. Efren Ramierz, Director of the Hospital of Psychiatry. Using the help of an ex-addict, he developed a drug re-habilitation program for addicts. His conversion moved beyond his personal relationship with God as he used his experience to counteract a serious social problem.

(See Down These Mean Streets by Piri Thomas)

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