Thanks Mad Skillz, for the link. As a Latino who has visited Cuba, I found the article interesting. Although the author tends to over romantiscize life in Cuba (and Brazil), I feel he is correct in his assesment. Fidel did make the elimination of racism a central plank of his revolution. An impossible task in a racist world. I spoke wit many older black Cubans when I was there and they love Fidel and what he has done for Afro-cubans. The special period brough change in the race dynamic. I was there in 1998. With the introduction of tourism - needed to get cash dollars - Race, class and gender isues came roaring back. The jobs in the tourist industry are coveted, because you gain access to tips - in dollars. When I took a taxi in havana, if a private taxi the owner/driver could be black, white, or whatever, But the government taxi's, that have access to the tourist zones, were driven by whites. Jobs in the tourist zones are dominated by whites.
What is of interest here is not that there is racism in Cuba. First, it stands the ideas of the Ferrer character on their head. racism has increased, or the need for the human rights movement he proposes, is needed because of capitalist changes, the opposite of his propaganda, that the revolution is racist. Then the question becomes:
Does capitalism promote racism? Is racism an integral component of capitalism?
Seeing that racism in Cuba is on the rise do to the introduction of capitalist change, Cuba is a perfect laboratory for this type of investigation.
I cannot believe that Maya Angelou and other African Americans could be duped into signing that letter. Amazing and hurtful.
This would be a wonderful PhD dissertation for a young brilliant black scholar.
ase