Discrimination In Black Cuba

Earlier this week President Obama made history by being the first American president in 90 years to visit Cuba. This visit will not only mark the monumental progress made in the American-Cuban relationship but it also began to shed light on the racial inequalities present in Cuba. While Americans haven’t been allowed to travel to Cuba and many embargos were placed on the country, it hasn’t been completely isolated from the western world. With almost all western cultures racial/ethnic inequalities are very much present throughout the society. Cuba is no exception. What makes Cuba special however, is the amount of effort put in to create a post-racial society. While after the revolution they tried incredibly hard to eradicate racial/ethnic inequality they “fell short” according to a recent NPR broadcast. With the Cubans relationship with the Americans growing, Cuban racial inequality is being slowly brought to the American spotlight.

Comparing the race problems with those in the United States, that the government uses as a tool to have Afro-Cubans feel that their situation is not as bad as their brothers in America, effectively lessens the feelings of racism in Cuba (131-132). Finally, Sawyer concludes that the advances made in racial relation post-Revolution has been compromised by all the conditions that I have documented previously, and I agree wholeheartedly with his assessments (131).

The study of race relations in contemporary Cuba indelibly requires an understanding of the dynamic history of race relations in this ethnically pervasive island of the Caribbean. Cuban society, due to its historical antecedents of European colonialism and American imperialism, has traditionally experienced anguished and even tumultuous race relations. Racial disharmony has plagued Cuban society ever since the advent of the Colonial institution of the plantation system. Thus, in order to acquire some understanding of Cuba’s dynamic race relations one must study and investigate the evolution of racial tensions and the quintessential

Racial discrimination commonly refers to unfair or unequal behavior upon on individuals due to their race or ethnicity. Racism has been practiced for decades. Exerting superiority or supremacy over a race of individuals is the attempt of racial dominance. Despite the increasing population in the United States, Hispanic Americans find racial discrimination a reality in their lives. Migration rates have been on a dramatic climb over the past several decades resulting in a significant growth in diversity being experienced. The migration of the various cultural groups, including the Hispanic cultures,

Afro-Cubans struggled to no avail for racial equality between the years 1886-1912. The slaughter of protesting blacks in 1912 shows that the battle cries for equality of Antonio Maceo and José Marté during the war for independence had dissolved. What was left was a unequal Cuban society, divided racially and fearing a black revolution. Aline Helg speaks directly to this issue in her book Our Rightful Share: The Afro-Cuban Struggle for Equality, 1886-1912. The aforementioned period was one in which the nation’s formation was taking place, thus the unsuccessful attempt at equality has left difficult remnants of racial inequality buried deeply in the fabric of the nation.

Minority struggle to break free from poverty, due to systematic oppression and racism established in America. There is an odd belief that granting minorities rights would allow them to be on the same playing field as the majorities. However, the various death and injustice sentencing that has occurred for decades, proves civil rights were not the only problem. Pedro Pietri’s Puerto Rican Obituary and Wanda Coleman’s South Central Los Angeles Death Trip, 1982 both shed light on what minorities face, with some stylistic differences.

Thirty-seven years to the date April 20th, 2017, Fidel Castro enacted the policy of the Mariel boatlift, in which he’d allow Cubans seeking to emigrate to the United States to do so by departing at Mariel. This number would eventually eclipse 125,000 people seeking asylum and refuge from Cuba, and the regime in which at one point they felt represented or directly opposed their own viewpoints. The first wave of Cuban exiles being the extremely wealthy, in direct opposition to Fidel Castro’s regime for a race-less society, and a single-class economy, government, and social order. The ultimatum being set at you’re with the revolution or you’re not, this encouraged former supporters of the now ousted Batista, to seek refuge in the United States.

Cuba is merely one example of a society. Juan Cabrera is simply an ordinary example of an individual. What The Lonely Crossing of Juan Cabrera by J. Joaquin Fraxedas bring to light is the extraordinary effects of stepping outside the comfort zone of following the expectations of those that lead our governments. Although the situation was unlike our own it highlights what could very well could have

communities. In the United Sates, they were seen as black, members of a definite minority. The amount of education, the amount of income, and culture, didn’t erase ones blackness, as it would back home. Nor are whites sensitive to shade differences, as people are in Jamaica. Whatever their shade or achievements, Jamaicans were victims of racial discrimination in employment, education, and housing. For many Jamaicans, this was the first time that they became painfully aware that black skin was a significant status marker. New York Jamaicans are submerged in the wider black community of America. However, at the same time, Jamaicans distinguish themselves as different than the “indigenous” blacks. Therefore, the results are that their interactions with American whites are less painful. Jamaicans who came to New York City were not shocked by the racial situation, but were disillusioned when they found the city to be less glamorous and offering less economic opportunities than imagined.

In the article, “Why Do We Still Have an Embargo of Cuba?” Patrick Haney explores the history of the embargo and the different factors which have maintained and tightened its restrictions over the past fifty years. The embargo consists of a ban on trade and commercial activity, a ban on travel, a policy on how Cuban exiles can enter the U.S., and media broadcasting to the island. These once-executive orders now codified into law by the Helms-Burton Act, have become a politically charged topic which wins and loses elections, spawned influential interest groups, and powerful political action committees.

Cuban Americans are sometimes stereotyped as mostly being anti-Castro militants or extremists and have been described in some media reports, including newspaper editorials, as “crazies” for their aggressive protests. They were also labeled as overly emotional and hyper-violent criminals. Unlike other Latinos, they still have their images of being lazy, submissive, and

They have the leading college completion rate of all the Latino groups in the U.S. The majority of them came during the anti-Castro movement as refugees to the United States. They were generally well educated, had managerial or professional backgrounds, and therefore met with greater economical success than later immigrants (Racial and Ethnic Groups Chapter 9). Fidel Castro has ruled over Cuba for the past 48 years, and there are still people coming to the United States (Miami, Florida) to get their citizenship and running from his reign. As recent as today, some immigrants from Cuba are not accepted well, unless they are outspoken critics of Fidel Castro (Racial and Ethnic Groups Chapter 9). The younger generation is more worried about how the Miami Dolphins are doing than what is going on in Havana these days (Racial and Ethnic Groups Chapter 9).

According Almanza, a Latino man working in the helping profession chosen to be interviewed, believes that family and church are the two places that man Latinos turn to when seeking to find assistance or help that might be facing

The history of Cuban immigration to the United States is vastly different than that of any other immigrant group. This difference have been codified into law and policy with the purpose of crippling Castro’s communist regime. Many immigrant groups and Americans have viewed the laws and policies as discriminatory as they clearly established preferential treatment, economic and education advantages of one immigrant group over another. After The U.S. government passed the Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966, exempting Cuban immigrants from many of the provision established by The U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 it was not until the “wet-foot, dry-foot policy of 1995 that anything was done by the United States government to normalize the

This paper discusses the immigration of Hispanics to the United States in which they faced prejudice, segregation and racism. We will discuss such topics as dual labor market, affirmative actions, quotas, instructional discrimination, reverse discrimination, glass ceilings, glass walls and glass escalators. “Hispanic workers are among the fastest growing segments of the U.S. labor force,” said Jesse Caballero, Senior Career Advisor for empleosCB.com, a subsidiary of CareerBuilder.com focused on online job search for the Hispanic community. “They are also among the two groups reporting the highest levels of severe discrimination in the