Racial Inequality In Cuba: The Past, Present, and Future
If one were to look at a graphical interpretation of racism and racial inequality in Cuba, from its conception to the modern day, they would see a trend symbolic of a roller coaster. Throughout its lifespan, racial inequality in Cuba can be generally characterized by its numerous ups and downs; a vicious cycle of progression followed by regression. This tumultuous social phenomenon can be attributed to the equally tumultuous political career Cuba has gone through. In contemporary Cuban society today, racism still persists and has yet to be resolved however, it is at least being addressed which is a monumental step forward. In recent years, it has become such a pressing topic that Barack Obama even made a trip to Havana to speak on the topic, a topic that had long been suppressed and ignored. But to understand how race relations have evolved in contemporary Cuba, it is paramount to first examine Cuba’s history and the causation for this racial imbalance.
In a similar fashion to the United States, racism in Cuba began with slavery. During the 17th and 18th century, Cuba saw a huge influx of slave labor due to increased demand for sugar production (Sierra, 2005). Estimates on the approximate number of slaves exported to Cuba during this time drastically vary; while according to Voyages: The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database, the number could be as high as 900,000, more conservative estimates proclaim between 300,000-500,000. Either way, the impact of slave labor was profound seeing as sugar production in Cuba more than doubled between 1795-1805 from 14,000 tons a year to 34,000 tons (Sierra, 2005).
However, at this time slaves were not viewed as lesser people. Whites and blacks were in-fact unified in their shared desire for independence from their ruling empire, Spain. The Spaniards, fearing that the white Cuban elite would sympathize with the majority populace of black slaves, then engaged in an aggressive propaganda campaign that promoted racial myths in order to disparage the black community. “The [black] threat to whites was embodied in … specific stereotypical ideas that defined Afro-Cubans to white society. These images emerged subtly and blatantly in government documents and rhetoric, art, theater and music, newspaper stories and editorials, idle chat and academic discussions.” (Sierra, 2005). This slanderous agenda unfortunately proved rather effective and was one of the biggest tools implemented by the Spanish empire to cease rebellion efforts and gain the whites’ support such as in the “Ten Year War” that lasted from 1868-1878. As time went on, racism grew as white Cubans began to believe the racist Spanish rhetoric that blacks were rapists, murders, criminals, degenerates, and would come back to kill them (race war) if given independence.
These racist beliefs continued even after the abolition of slavery in 1886. The exaggerated myths once propagated by the Spanish empire persisted and racial tensions grew. However, former rebel leaders and socially progressive thinkers such as Antonio Maceo, Jose Marti, and Juan Gualberto Gómez, came together to develop a “liberation project” which entailed creating a new Cuban ideology from which racial harmony could succeed (Morales Dominguez, 2013; Sierra, 2005). Thus leading into the “War of Independence” in 1895, expectation of separation from Spain leading to autonomy gave hope to racial equality.
However, the benefits afrocubans wished to seize from the war independence proved fruitless after the US intervention in 1898. Though Cuba technically gained independence from Spain, it was immediately “recaptured” by the US. Essentially, Cuba exchanged one ruling empire for another. Ironically, Cuba became controlled by a country whose history of slavery and mistreatment of blacks is arguably more prevalent than in any other nation. In 1902 the US departed Cuba and the Cuban flag was finally allowed to be raised over Havana (“AfroCuban History”, 1997). However, in its wake, the US left Cuba with a president (Tomas Estrada Palma) that they installed and did very little to improve conditions in Cuba and robbed AfroCubans of their dignity by stealing their chance of gaining a self-sustained independence. “Since Cuban blacks and mestizos had no other source of inspiration but the liberation project led by Marti, Gomez, and Maceo, they saw their expectations smashed to pieces” (Morales Dominguez, p. 30, 2013). Racial discrimination even saw an increase with the American intervention due to the fact the United States was itself a racist nation. Now even the wealthy “criollo” people were targets of racial discrimination because they were not considered to pure white descent by the US’s standards.
Over the next decade, Cuba became a neocolonial “pet project” of the United States. From the American perspective, there was too much mixed blood in Cuba for it to be officially recognized and respected. In lieu of this ideology, the United States implemented programs of “whitening” — regionally known as Blanceamiento —by immigrating masses of white Europeans into the region. This effort was in hopes that interracial unions would take place, producing lighter skinned offspring. It was only then, the United States believed, that Cuba could join with the rest of the “civilized nations” (Morales Dominguez, p. 31, 2013). This ultimately set a precedent in Cuban culture that, simply put, viewed whites as being superior to blacks and that those who possessed lighter features had a better chance of attaining upward mobility.
Racial inequality in Cuba would persist for the next five decades. A huge factor was Fulgencio Batista’s coming to power of Cuba in the 1930’s. Batista’s regime vehemently opposed racial equality and his rise to power was fueled by American interest. Prior to Batista’s rule, the United States had denounced any attempt to establish a socially equal Cuba, so it became almost a slap in the face to the AfroCuban community when the US officially recognized the racist Batista government. However, the marginalized colored community of Cuba would soon see their best chance of racial equality in the last century.
Fidel Castro overthrew the Batista Regime at the end of violent five-and-a-half-year Cuban Revolution in 1959 (“AfroCuban History”, 1997). Castro was viewed by AfroCuban community as a voice of the people and this was solidified by his vow to end racial discrimination and inequality. At a labor union rally in Havana, Castro gave a speech to a mass of Cubans in which he was quoted as saying: ““One of the most just battles that must be fought, a battle that must be emphasized more and more, which I might call the fourth battle—the battle to end racial discrimination at work centers. I repeat: the battle to end racial discrimination at work centers. Of all the forms of racial discrimination the worst is the one that limits the colored Cuban's access to jobs.“ (“Castro Speech,” 2015).
For the most part, Castro did follow through with his vows. He implemented anti-discrimination laws and placed a large emphasis on improving literacy of the poor. His campaign included a multitude of benefits for the black community: land reform, elimination of housing discrimination, lowered rents, allowing blacks to join labor unions, more employment opportunities —all worked towards prescribing pride and status in the colored community (Sawyer, p. 57, 2006). These strides taken by Castro were not limited to institutional discrimination however. Social inequality was also improved as a result of these changes. For example public spaces such as parks and beaches no longer prohibited blacks. This allowed all people, despite class and color, to integrate which dulled racial segregation. In Castro’s eyes, such progression had been made that only a few years he declared that racial inequality had been eradicated and that Cuba had become a racial democracy.
But as the common expression goes: what goes up must come down. For the next three decades after the Revolution, race relations in Cuba plateaued then hit a sharp decline following a massive economic crisis stemming from the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990’s — referred to in Cuba as the “Special Period in Time of Peace” (De la Fuente, p. 30, 2011). Though notions of racial inequality tried to brought to light prior to this period, those voices were often silenced and views of “enemies of the state” (Colville, 2015). “It used to be a truism that race constituted a ‘non-topic’ in Cuban Studies, a taboo issue surrounded by patriotic silence. During the first three decades of socialism, only a handful of studies on race were published in the island, most of them to celebrate the achievements of the revolution.” (De la Fuente, p. 30, 2011). Since Castro declared an end to racial inequality, anyone that said otherwise was seen as a heretic. This “patriotic silence” is a huge part of why Cuba has been reluctant to address racial inequality in contemporary Cuba.
The economic crisis of the 1990’s then, could be viewed as a double edged sword. Yes, it did increase racial inequality but the devastation it caused was so obvious and widespread that the issue of race and color could no longer be ignored or hidden. Thats not to say that blacks did not suffer tremendously however. The “Special Period” gave birth to a new Cuban economy that relied heavily on tourism and service sectors. The management of these businesses favored hiring whites for their more attractive appearance and status which would appeal to tourists (Colville, 2015).
The problem of race in the 1990’s is still seen today. “The few public and reliable statistics available in Cuba show that, today, black people live in the country’s worst houses, receive less remittances and hard currency, are less active in the country’s emergent economy, have lower university enrollment indexes and tend to be employed in the worst-paying jobs available.” (Ravsberg, 2013). In addition, the populations of Cuba’s prisons and shantytowns are comprised of mainly blacks. But as was mentioned earlier, the glaring issue of race brought about in the 1990’s also brought with it interest in solving and eradicating it. This led to a mass movement of intellectuals, musicians, poets, and other visual artists to fight back against racist ideals and to put pressure on the Cuban government to solve Cuba’s persistent issue of race and color.
This also led to more powerful organizations dedicated to correcting the imbalance of race in Cuba. “Community and civic organizations such as Cofradia de la Negritud, the Comite de Integracion Racial ‘Juan Gualberto Gomez’, and later, the Comite Ciudano por la Integracion Racial, approached government authorities to make concrete claims for egalitarian policies in employment and education while demanding greater visibility for black public and historical figures in the media.” (De la Fuente, p.30-31). These organizations are crucial to Cuba’s long struggle to rectify social injustices. Sadly, many Cubans believe that the revolution hasn't even begun. Many cannot attain upward mobility and live in deplorable living conditions. As well, it is very difficult for blacks to receive remittances — a huge source of income for black cubans —because most of the exiled Cubans working in foreign countries are white and go to back to white Cubans (Zurbano, 2013).
The Issue of Race and Color in Cuba has become so pressing that Barack Obama visited Havana to talk on the subject. The US President’s visit was bittersweet: It empowered the black community to see a man of color in such a powerful position, but it also reminded them that their government does not reflect their demographics (Cave, 2016). While the issue of race and color still persists in Cuba today, it has come a long way in positioning the society for greater advances. Public awareness appears to be the biggest weapon. For the longest time the topic of racism was subdued by the government and the nation as a whole was either too scared and/or ignorant to deal with it. In addition, many Cubans believe that the education of the youth on the history of Cuba is paramount to its racial unity. As of now, children are not taught about Cuba’s hardship with slavery and thus cannot understand the current racial turmoil they are in now. Public awareness, political activism, community and civic organizations, and education of youth are all poised to create a more racially equal Cuba. It is just a matter of unifying and demanding change.
References
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2013. “AfroCuban History: a Time Line 1900 - the present”. afrocubaweb.com. Retrieved on April 23, 2016 from (http://www.afrocubaweb.com/history/History2.htm)
Castro, Fidel. 1959. “No Hope For Counterrevolution”. Retrieved on April 23, 2016 from (http://www1.lanic.utexas.edu/project/castro/db/1959/19590323.html).
Cave, Damien. 2016. “Cuba Says It Has Solved Racism. Obama Isn’t So Sure.” NYtimes.com March 23. Retrieved on April 22, 2016 from (http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/24/world/americas/obamaurges-raised-voices-incubas-husheddiscussions-ofrace.html?_r=0)
Colville, Waverly. 2015. “Harvard professor presents about racial democracy in Cuba”. themaneater.com Feb 7. Retrieved on April 23, 2016 from (http://www.themaneater.com/stories/2015/2/7/harvard-professor-presents-about-racial-democracy-/)
De la Fuente, Alejandro. 2011. “Race and Income Inequality in Contemporary Cuba”. NACLA Report On The Americas. 44: 4 (July/August): 30-43.
Sawyer, Mark Q. 2006. Racial Politics in Post-Revolutionary Cuba. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Sierra A, Jerry. 2005. 500 Years of Cuban History April 30. Retrieved on April 23, 2016 from (http://www.historyofcuba.com/cuba.htm)
Morales Domínguez, Esteban and August H. Nimitz and Gary Prevost. 2013. Race in Cuba : Essays on the Revolution and Racial Inequality. New York : Monthly Review Press. http://nuncio.cofc.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=572788&site=eds-live&scope=site. (April 22, 2016)
Ravsburg, Fernando. 2013. “Cuba’s Pending Racial Debate”. Havanatimes.org April 23. Retrieved on April 23, 2016 from (http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=91836.)
Zurbano , Roberto. 2013. “For Blacks in Cuba, The Revolution Hasn’t Begun.” NY Times.com March 23. Retrieved on April 22, 2016 from (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/24/opinion/sunday/for-blacks-in-cuba-the-revolution-hasnt-begun.html)
Slaves Image
http://www.casahistoria.net/slavery.htm
Fidel Castro Image
http://science-all.com/files/fidel-castro.html
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