Racism got its start in Cuba in the early 1800’s when African slaves were brought to work on sugar plantations after the Haitian Revolution. Treatment of these African slaves was very harsh, in order to try and prevent a similar revolution from occurring in Cuba. During this time, Cuba remained one of the last colonies of Spain, due to the profitability of its sugar plantations. In the mid 1800’s, Cuban revolutionaries began to push a revolution against the Spanish government, and freed their slaves to help fight for Cuba's independence. In attempts to weaken this resistance force, the Spanish government fed Cuban revolutionaries racist ideas in order to divide their country in this time of revolution. Eventually, with the help of the US government, Cuba was able to free themselves from Spanish rule. This did not do anything to help racial relations within the country, as the United States was currently in their own fight against racial integration, which led to similar ideas being propagated within Cuba. Although Black leaders in Cuba were integral to their victory against the Spanish government, US politicians made moves to discredit these leaders, and strip them of their status in the community. In attempts to shape Cuba in a model of European culture, Cuban leaders fought hard to hide the African roots of Cuba, banning cultural artifacts that were developed by the integration of Cuban and African artistic styles. In 1925, Cuban leaders began to reject European culture, and celebrate the diversity that created Cuba. Despite this return to Cuban roots, influence of US funds was creating a major class divide, existing strongly based on skin color, that continued to stress racial relationships within the country. This class divide eventually culminated in the Cuban Revolution, which brought with it a return to the celebration of Cuba’s diverse history. While this revolution did a lot to bring the citizens of Cuba to a more even social playing field, Communist control over the country led to a loss of 80% of Cuba’s trade. This created a severe lack of financial capital within Cuba, and citizens were hard pressed to be able to afford living essentials such as food. Many citizens were forced to rely on support from family who had immigrated to the US during the Cuban Revolution. This support was disproportionately afforded to more fair skinned Cuban citizens, due to their relatives success in a still strongly racially divided ‘United’ States. This combined with a two tiered currency system which favored fair skinned citizens continued to create a class divide between fair skinned and darker skinned citizens. Despite the obvious racial disparity within the country, any recognition of this is seen as un-nationalistic, and is subject to severe censorship by the Cuban government. This censorship is manifested in artist's inability to speak out about this issue without facing strong reactions from the Cuban government.
How have recent developments in US-Cuba relationships affected the economic disparity of citizens in Cuba?
Will open borders between the US and Cuba have a similar effect to racial disparity in Cuba as ‘white flight’ during the Cuban Revolution?
Works Cited:
Bladeboy05. “Black in Latin America E01, Cuba: The Next Revolution.” YouTube, YouTube, 24 June 2011, www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7p30a4auyA.
“Cuba Embargo - ProCon.Org.” ProConorg Headlines, cuba-embargo.procon.org/.
Dear Gabriel, thank you for posting your thoughts on this film. Many would argue that the Cuban revolutionaries had won the war against Spain. The U.S.'s interventionism was sparked by the explosion and sinking of the U.S.S. Maine, which had been sent to protect U.S. citizens. Some historians in Cuba and the US claim that this explosion was planned by the U.S. to have a clear motive to intervene in the war. The had U.S. wanted access to Cuba, the "key to the Ggulf."
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