Quote:
Originally Posted by scottw
Cuba's atrocious record on race was somehow overlooked by the Congressional Black Caucus.
|
If I remember my history correctly, Castro set foot on the other side of the Strait to visit "gasp" Malcolm X in 1960 and stayed at the Hotel Theresa, a black owned luxury hotel - something of a rarity these days. Castro is somewhat of a folk hero uptown.
Cuba may have an atrocious record when it comes to human rights abuses of political dissidents, but I suspect it is not because they are Afro-Cuban or the color of their skin. The interesting thing about race is the malleability of the selection criteria by region and culture; it changes throughout the Carribean, the Central American isthmus and South America. Obama might not even be considered "black" according to cuban cultural standards, Brazilian standards, etc..., for let us not forge that the "1 drop rule" was a construct endemic to the ante-bellum south.
Although the historical prevalence of intermarriage between indians, slaves and europeans impededes accurate assesment, I've heard estimates that indicate that anywhere between 65% and %35 of the Cuban population are descendants, in one way or another, from African slaves. According to your post, seems like there is much self-hatred going on down there....
Quote:
Originally Posted by scottw
"The Negro is indolent and spends his money on frivolities, whereas the European is forward-looking, organized and intelligent... We're going to do for blacks exactly what blacks did for the Cuban revolution. By which I mean: NOTHING!"
- (Ernesto "Che" Guevara.)
|
Is this quote from the "Congo Diary". If it is, its important to put things in context. Namely the fact that he became disillusioned with the black Congo revolutionaries he allied himself with against an imperial Belgium and their sympathizers. He lamented that the local Africans were indifferent to the marxist ideology he was trying to export into Africa as evidenced by the subsequent struggle which proved disastrous for him. I don't know that he despised blacks, considering he left Cuba to fight imperialism in Africa. To the contrary, it was more likely his beef with their reluctance to welcome his vision.
He did have this to say about Jim Crow in america though. Not that this negates any of his expressed "racism". For the purposes of context, this was an address to the U.N. in 1964.
""Those who kill their own children and discriminate daily against them because of the color of their skin; those who let the murderers of blacks remain free, protecting them, and furthermore punishing the black population because they demand their legitimate rights as free men — how can those who do this consider themselves guardians of freedom?"
-Che Guevara