Comprehensive study of race, ethnicity and identity in Cuba

Abstract

The Cuban colonial and early republic societies were divided not only by race but by ethnicity, class and castel. The slaves identities would be influenced by their shipmates and fellow slaves working beside them after they arrived. These identities would play an important role in Cuban history and culture and were used by Castro to build support for the 1959 Revolution and to continue support for his regime after he took power. Castro's claims that the Revolution eliminated institutionalized racism are supported by political propaganda used by Castro to present a picture of a unified non-racist society, but not by statistical analysis or cultural studies. Despite the claims made by the Cuban propaganda and the ruling elite, racial prejudice remains a real issue in Cuba. On what basis does the regime claim there is no racism? What evidence exists in support of and contrary to the regime's stance? How does contemporary literature on and off the island address or portray racism in Cuba? In order to determine this thesis and answer these questions, the following procedures will be implemented: a review of fictional and non-fictional literature, music and media and a look at historical and political viewpoints. The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database will be used along with statistics from the United States Department of State and the CIA to establish populations. The use of these sources helped to draw a picture of the Cuban populace and better understand the dynamics of the race, ethnicity and identity issues. A review of the literature, both scholarly and artistic, and relevant databases suggests that the Cuban government presents an overly optimistic portrait of race relations. The evidence demonstrates that racism persists as a serious problem in Cuba. Socio-economic factors that addressed health and education inequalities ended many discrimination practices within employment and improved the quality of life for many Afro-Cubans. However these policies failed to address underlying racism within Cuban culture and institutions. The Cuban government's silence on the subject of race allowed for racism to persist. Nevertheless, propaganda under Castro reified the myth that racism was no longer an issue. 1 For this paper, race is defined as the classification of people based upon physical characteristics such as skin colour and facial features. Ethnicity is defined as the classification of people based upon common regional and cultural characteristics such as language and religion. Class is the division of people based upon economic, political and social characteristics. Castes correspond to heredity and are defined by law. In Cuba's colonial years there were three easies: white, free people of colour and slaves. Castes arc stratified by classes.