How Did The Afro-Cubans Achieved After The Cuban Revolution?

The history of Fidel Castro’s and the Cuban Revolution, has left many of the citizens of Cuba in great debate over his legacy. Castro can be credited for the anti-Batista movement, were he and his fellow members of the coalition, overthrew U.S.-backed dictator, Fulgencio Bastita on December 31, 1958. Castro, can also be proclaimed as the man who put an end to racism within the developing nation. He also implemented a national literacy campaign. However, as the year’s progress, questions remain unanswered. Such as, with Cuba being a Marxist-Leninist society, how is racism still within Cuba? Can equality and liberty ever be achieved? Therefore, the anti-discrimination laws and reform policies made after the Cuban Revolution, have had both
a positive and negative effect on the struggle regarding racism.
After the success of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro recognized the prevalence of racism within the nation. By the 1960’s, the Cuban revolutionaries acknowledged that racial discrimination is one of the “Four Great Battles”, that the Cuban nation had to fight against. The Afro-Cuban citizen were marginalized and disproportionately poor. Devyn Spence Benson author of Antiracism in Cuba, states, “Revolutionary leaders imagined that Afro-Cubans required salvation – and what they needed to be saved from was their blackness.” Afro-Cubans lacked services such as medical care, housing, and social services. He also recognized that there was a lack of educational opportunities. They were also under represented when it came to political representation.
This would lead to Castro setting forth several reforms, to eliminate any form of racial disparity within education, employment, public places. Under Castro’s new administration, they even integration of social club. Yet, even with the existence of these reforms, they failed to understand the societal and cultural roots within this melting pot nation. After a few years, Castro fully believed in the success of his policies. He also made it a crime, to discuss race and any for form of racial inequality. Castro believed “We are all Cuban”, and anyone who objected to the reforms is attempting to divide a nation.
According Benson, Afro-Cubans activist had mixed opinions when the government implemented the anti-discrimination campaign.
Benson states, “Afro-Cubans responded in a variety of ways. One way is that obviously, many people supported it. When Castro made the announcement, and said, “We’re going to eliminate racial discrimination, and this will be one of the battles of the Revolution,” many blacks and mulatos applauded. They were incredibly excited that revolutionary leaders were condemning racism. There were also activists who negotiated with the state and tried to push for more. In the book, I explore how Afro-Cuban activists used the exact same rhetoric that the government employed in the campaign against racial discrimination. However, they turn the rhetoric on itself in order to pressure the government to provide more rights and resources to Afro-Cubans. Once the revolutionary government began using antiracist rhetoric and linked it to the Revolution, some Afro-Cubans responded with even more robust
demands.
Finally, a third group of Afro-Cubans were really hesitant. They appreciated that the government was willing to address racial discrimination, but they wanted to lead their own movement. They wanted to be in charge of antiracist activism on the island and they wanted to run the campaign from autonomous black social clubs and organizations. This third group faced a great deal of challenges, because there wasn’t much space for independent black political mobilizations in Cuba in 1959 or 1960.”
As a result of Castro’s new administration, in the 1960’s, the predominantly white upper-class abandon the nation of Cuba and fled to South Florida. Many of the white elites were disapproving of the new administration and felt that the Communist government was bad for that nation of Cuba. They believed racial discrimination would only be diminished, if communism was overthrown. Ultimately the country of Cuba was robbed of the rich and the educated population of the nation. Benson states, “Cubans who arrived in South Florida in the 1960s were predominantly white upper-class urban professionals who claimed that racial discrimination could only be tackled after communism was defeated. In fact, this group distanced themselves from U.S. black demands for equal citizenship even as they received over $158 million in federal assistance from 1961–66 alone.”
Some of the many great achievements under Castro administration, is the medical benefits and education.
Under Castro’s government, Cuba would push for and overall literacy program. The 1961 Literacy campaign had all colors of Cubans coming together to conquer the illiteracy issue of the nation. According to Benson, illiteracy in Cuba decreased from 23.6% to 3.9%, with the help of 270,000 literacy teachers, and more than half were youth. Graciela Chailoux, who is a professor at the University of Havana, describes the Literacy Campaign. Chailoux, was just an 11-year-old Afro-Cuban girl when she joined the campaign. Spending approximately 8 months within the countryside of Cuba, teaching black and white Cubans how to read. Chailoux states, “It was a special moment and everyone’s strength was put into
it.”
De La Fuente states, “The 1961 literacy campaign created educational opportunities for thousands of poor Cubans who were functionally illiterate. Some of the least privileged members of the working population participated in training programs that resulted in significant mobility, both substantially and symbolically. Low-income students were housed at the mansions of the country’s bourgeoisie and given state scholarships.” The program would not correct or erase racial transgression, but it would believe to be a start of building bridges.