INTROUDCTION
For hundreds of years, Cuba experienced ongoing severe inequality and slavery on the basis of race. Historically, the Spanish who brought slaves from Africa colonized Cuba from which the Cuban race was socially and economically constructed. The Spanish rulers were of the elite while the African servants were of the lowest social class (Marcus, 2013). Ever since these early days, Afro-Cubans—Cubans with African ancestry, are labeled solely upon their skin color, which defines their position on the social hierarchy. Blackness is associated with slavery (Roland, 2011). Thus, the lighter one’s skin, the further away from slavery. Afro-Cubans who are dark skinned realize that despite being Cuban, their skin color differentiates them from lighter skinned Euro-Cubans (Marcus, 2013). However, hope starts to emerge for the Afro-Cubans when Fidel Castro becomes the government’s leader in 1959. Castro embarks on a revolution (Marcus, 2013) that dramatically alters the lives of the black citizens socially and economically. Through time, globalization, and the revolution, meanings and perceptions of race and race relations in Cuba changes, specifically in education, job opportunities, and social status.
PRE-REVOLUTION
Before the revolution, Cuba operates under a capitalist system (Marcus, 2013), which leads to an extreme segregation in education, in the job market, and in marriage laws. Racism is evident in all aspects and areas of life and the black Cubans are racialized. Education systems deem that private schools are only reserved for white citizens (Marcus, 2013). This suggests that whites are regarded as not only more capable of being educated but also deserving of the education, unlike the Afro-Cubans who are left ...
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...rcus, 2013, p. 44), through several aspects such as socio-economic status, power and social status. Race remains but racism and racialism has reduced remarkably with respect to Afro-Cuban’s prestige, success, and living conditions.
REFERENCES
De La Fuente, A. (2008). The new afro-cuban cultural movement and the debate on race in contemporary cuba. Journal of Latin American Studies, 40, 697-720.
Marcus, A. (2013). Racism as a transnatioanl process. In C.R. Menzies & A. Marcus (Eds.), Anthropology for a small planet (2nd ed.) (p. 37-56). Vancouver, BC: New Proposals Publishing.
Roland, L. K. (2011). Cuban color in tourism and la lucha: An ethnography of racial meanings. New York: Oxford University Press.
Roland, L. K. (2013). T/racing belonging through cuban tourism. Cultural Anthropology, 28, 396-419.
Fidel Castro entered Havana, Cuba and took his place as Prime Minister in January of 1959, just after the fall of the Batista regime. Within days, many of the Cuban upper class began exiting the island, wary of losing their socioeconomic status and possibly their lives (Leonard 13). Castro’s radical new policies appealed to most of the suppressed lower class seeking change, but the middle sector “became disillusioned with their new leader” and soon comprised the majority of the Cuban refugees in Miami, Florida (Leonard 3). Beginning in December 1960 and ending with the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962, over 14,000 of those refugees wou...
Economically, Cubans “enjoyed one of the one of the highest standards of living in Latin America” (34). This is predominately due to the fact that Cuba exported half its sugar and two-thirds of it total exports into the U.S., and imported three-fourths of their total imports from the U.S. Although the U.S. (35). Although the U.S. boosted the Cuban economy, Cubans resented that they were still living at an economic level lower than Americans. The average Cuban income was one- third the average of Mississippi, the poorest state in the U.S. in th...
The entire struggle that Helg is alluding to in her book is founded within the racial hierarchies and racial ideologies that were formed early on in Cuba’s history. Several aspects of Cuban society (as discussed by Helg) served to foster the racism and the antagonistic attitudes that whites had towards the Afro-Cubans. An acute example of the inequality that the blacks were made to suffer was the denial of citizenship after 1886. According to Helg, Afro-Cubans were denied the titles of "Don" and "Doña" on their identity cards. This was a blatant form of discrimination against because it prevented blacks from being considered as first class citizens, "…despite the fact that they were full taxpayers". (25) What Helg means by this is that even though the Afro-Cubans were participating in the economic spectrum of Cuba, they were still denied access into the political and social arenas.
Since many women in Cuba are dark skin and dress similarly, women that may not be considered Cuban get treated unequally as well. For example, Roland the author of “Cuban Color in Tourism and La Lucha” describes a moment in her book that due to her skin color she was considered a jinitera; as described previously as a female hustler or prostituted. She claimed that “people who did not immediately recognize me as a foreigner assumed that I was around foreigners because I was jinitera” (L. Kaifa, 2011, p. 54). Tourists who are not from Cuba, but are dark skin get the shorter end of the stick. According to the article “Jineteras Love, Marriage and Divorce” seeing white people with Afro Cuban people is a bad thing and can sometimes lead to serious consequences. For example, as described in Havana Guide, once a white man and a twenty year old Cuban woman were walking and according to the article,”Jiniteras Love, Marriage and Divorce” “The police stopped them for an identity check, because they suspected the young Cuban woman of being a jinetera” (“Jineteras Love, Marriage and
Jose Marti’s writings and his thoughts on race lead to many feeling a much stronger connection to each other and a dislike for creoles and peninsulars who are disconnected from the land. All of this leads to Cubans feeling a very strong sense of nationality toward their homeland of Cuba.
During these times, the Latino community grew stronger and more diverse when different ethnic backgrounds migrated to the United States (predominantly New York City and Florida) such as Dominicans, Colombians, Cubans, and others who followed in those footsteps. The reader learns not only of the radical groups in the United States but the ones outside of it such as the groups in Cuba; Omega 7, Acción Cubana, and the Bloque Revolucionario. These groups were created to override the dictatorship that Castro implemented among the island. Throughout the 1970’s, the vast majority of the population in the United States was made u by the Latino community and soon their numbers made their votes principal towards the Anglo politicians. At the beginning of the Voting Rights Period, the United States saw that the Latino communities were no longer as involved in politics as it saw a decline of organizations. As time has repeated itself, the movements themselves reverted back to their primary goals which was political equality except this time around, it would be mixed together with both cultural pride and ethnic
Just like other immigrating Latino groups, Cubans share the same stereotypes when they are categorized as criminals, violent and others as well as having to face barriers for employment, housing and economics. However, most of the discrimination that Cuban Americans face is due to their ties to their home country. For example, most Cubans are stereotyped as extremists who despise Fidel Castro. The main push factor for Cuban immigrants was the regime of Castro in their home country. In contrast, other Latino immigrants are mainly pushed out of their country because of economic reasons. Therefore, while Cuban immigrants are seen as extremists or anti-Castro activists, most other Latino immigrants are merely seen as immigrants who come to “take jobs”. As mentioned, Cubans are not categorized as immigrants who come to the United States in hopes for a better economic life, they are seen as political refugees who are in search of better political conditions. This is one of the main differences between Cubans and other Latinos, because of this, Cubans are thought to be more prosperous than other Latino groups. However, this is a faulty stereotype because, although some Cuban Americans are better off economically than most other Latino groups, the majority of them still face countless amounts of
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Martínez, Elizabeth Sutherland. 1998. De Colores Means all of us: Latina Views for a Multi-Colored Century. U.S.: South End Press.
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