Challenges of the racial problem in Cuba
Esteban Morales
Professor of Economics and Political Science
University of Havana

TEMAS no. 56: 95-99, October-December 2008
Translation revised and corrected
by Robert Sandels, December 2009.
 

There are very few contemporary writings on the subject of race in this country and the ones that do exist are by-and-large found in magazines, especially Temas and Catauro [1] There have been more publications abroad dealing with the subject on a contemporary basis. Aline Helg, Alejandro de la Fuente and Carlos Moore are noteworthy for their extensive research. However, none of them shares with us the vicissitudes of daily life in Cuba and this can be seen in their writings, even though they make notable contributions, whether or not we share some of their opinions.

This situation tells us that, aside from the difficulties of taking up the topic within current Cuban society -- a matter we will address later -- in practice, we have ceded to others the treatment of a problem of vital importance in the life of the country, with the resulting danger that, in responding, we then find ourselves forced to clarify matters upon which we have not even fashioned our own scientific discourse. Therefore, it is of prime importance that we try to work out our own vision of the racial problem in Cuban society in these complex times.

This objective encompasses a desire to examine the problem within present-day Cuban reality, making clear that it is not simply a case of inherited burdens, but rather something that our society is still capable of generating, and calling attention to the danger that racism and discrimination could again take root as part of the macro consciousness in today’s society.

The fundamental problems that we run up against regarding the subject of race in both the sense of ignorance about it as well as the continuous avoidance and inadequate discussion of the matter. It is an issue that many people think is not worth the trouble discussing.

In Desafíos de la problemática racial en Cuba[2], which this article summarizes, my aim was to develop a model for studying and researching this subject to fill a need to theorize about it and to examine the scope and form in which many phenomena are studied at present. In reality, with the exception of some of the investigative works of the Anthropology Center of CITMA [Ministry of Science, Technology, and Environment], which are still unpublished, [3] we did not find earlier studies that are worthy of mention regarding either of those two aims. The vast majority of the Anthropology Center studies are the fruit of very praiseworthy research that has gotten caught up in the whirlwind of bureaucracy, ignorance and fear of publicizing its findings. [4]

It might seem that racism and discrimination have disappeared from Cuban society; a least that is what many believed. But the economic crisis of the late 1980s and early 1990s, with its strong traces of a social crisis, caused racism to resurface with the virulence that can be expected from a problem that, having been seen as solved, in fact was not. To imagine that racism and discrimination had disappeared was an example of the worst kind of idealism.

Racism and racial discrimination were eliminated from the institutional frameworks of the state and government with the triumph of the Revolution in 1959. Nevertheless, the phenomenon maintained a toehold in the family, individual attitudes and in some institutions. Today, there is the danger of its reestablishment in the macro consciousness of Cuban society. This could happen through mechanisms that inject prejudice and negative racial stereotypes into the population or through the dynamics of relations between the formal institutions and informal networks of power. [5]

Therefore, we need to take stock of this phenomenon. We need to examine the mechanisms through which it spreads and how to design tools to fight it. In this regard, I begin from a series of premises.

Racism arose from slavery. Slavery in the Americas took on a color. Blacks, usually poor, were brought in the slave ships from the west coast of Africa and turned into slaves. It did not take long to justify enslaving human beings based on skin color.

For generations, blacks and their descendants occupied the lowest rung in colonial and then neocolonial Cuban society. We cannot expect that in less than half a century after the triumph of the Revolution, that blacks can be rescued from the position of inferiority and even less so if the racial question, due to certain historical vicissitudes, has arguably become the least improved problem in contemporary Cuban society.

We should not confuse the degree of social justice achieved by all racial groups that make up our society today with the disappearance of racism, because racism is a very complex, multidimensional and multicausal matter that does not disappear solely through achievement of higher levels of social justice. Cuba is a tangible example of that.

In the years immediately following the triumph of the Revolution, social, economic and political conditions emerged that made “color” practically disappear from consideration by the typical Cuban. These conditions encouraged the idealistic view by the political leadership and the majority of Cubans – including the vast majority of blacks – that it was possible to forget about racism.

In 1959, the leader of the Revolution frontally and very forcefully attacked the existing racial discrimination, which had been a direct inheritance from republican Cuba. However, not long afterwards, the discourse changed. The case was seen as “closed,” and in 1962, the problem was declared solved. There followed a long period of silence.

In practice, the subject was no longer spoken of until it reappeared in the second half of the 1980s when the political leadership itself raised it. The more complex conditions that had encouraged silence concerning the subject of race gave way to the economic and political shockwaves of the late 1980s and early 1990s, giving rise to a more realistic understanding of what had actually occurred with racism. This encouraged a more objective and critical analysis of the problem.

Proclaiming in 1962 that the problem of racial discrimination and racism had been solved was an error of idealism and wishful thinking. As a direct result, race has become the most avoided and ignored subject. A significant segment of our intelligentsia pays no attention to it and does not even deem it worthy of consideration, as a result of which there are even major differences among our intellectuals over where we stand in terms of the consolidation of the nation and its culture. However, speaking scientifically, I do not think there can be the slightest doubt that when we talk about “race” in Cuba – even though this is a social invention – we are talking about culture and nation.

Moreover, turning the subject into a taboo, removing it from the social and political arenas, gave rise to a social environment that made it more difficult to refer to racism. Those who brought it up were ideologically and politically repressed. In the cultural sphere, the subject of race was still broached to a degree, but it was impossible to do scientific research on it, and especially to write about it. According to the prevailing view at that time, in the midst of the political confrontation of those years, anyone who critically analyzed racism was playing into the hands of those who wanted to socially divide Cubans, and it earned them accusations of being racist or divisive, or both.

Not to consider skin color for what it is -- a historical variable of social differentiation among Cubans -- ignores the fact that the starting point for blacks, whites and mestizos trying to take advantage of opportunities the Revolution placed before them, were not the same. It ignores the fact that the black person, besides being poor, is black, which is an additional disadvantage within contemporary Cuban society.

Color exerted its influence and even though blacks and mestizos were treated in exactly the same manner as poor whites, they remained at a greater disadvantage. Later, we realized that it was not enough to be born in the same hospital, attend the same school and recreation center as whites, if some of us went home to the tenement, to the marginal barrio, while others went to a solid house with parents enjoying a good income and better living conditions, a situation that is not characteristic of the immense majority of the non-whites and of blacks in particular. Neighborhoods are different as are families and their living standards.

Furthermore, although black and white children may have the same opportunities, that does not mean that all will be equally capable of overcoming the historic starting points bequeathed by family, living conditions, neighborhood etc. Unfortunately, social policies at the time of the triumph of the Revolution did not consider skin color, with consequences that must now be corrected.

Other subjects are useful for exploring a series of problems that seriously affect the racial balance in the social, educational and cultural spheres.

In those years, in the context of the struggle against imperialism, excessive priority was given to questions related to national identity, and matters of cultural identity were often given short shrift. Racism and discrimination were also fed by the stereotypes and prejudices against cultures originating in Africa. The upshot of this was that the dominance of so-called “white Hispanicism”retained its hold in our culture despite efforts made to reemphasize the values of the African presence within the national culture. Although we see a high degree of integration in this culture, racism and white dominance still leave their mark upon it. This situation can reflect a strong component of prejudices and negative stereotypes regarding the values of cultures coming from Africa although there is also a significant economic component, given that virtually all African countries are poor.

In addition, an ideo-political atmosphere unfortunately developed in Cuba wherein defining oneself racially is frowned upon. This affected the dynamics of personal identity, which must function as an integrated system, whose components, valued individually, are so important in fighting social perversions like racism. Only if one first values oneself is it possible to be part of any other thing. Individual consciousness cannot be dissolved within the national conscience. They form a system in which the whole does not function without the parts.

This implicitly requires a strong respect for diversity that has been lacking in Cuban society. Diversity is one of the objectives we grapple every day. Unity is an unrealizable goal if it is not built within the context of diversity -- a vital aspect if we are to uproot racism from our social and cultural reality.

Blacks and mestizos in Cuba, with very rare exceptions, do not have a genealogical tree and cannot trace their surnames to Africa or to Spain. The identity of blacks, especially, has always been under strong assault. Blacks have had to navigate a road mined by racial discrimination and non-recognition of their values. Even when the economic level of a black person is similar to that of a white, the black person is not saved from racial discrimination. This indicates that we are not simply dealing with an economic question.

With a certain amount of help, white may rises above poverty and their color helps them escape discrimination against the poor. Blacks, on the other hand, carry their skin color with them. They may escape poverty but continue to be excluded. What adaptation would allow blacks to leave discrimination behind; under what color could they hide? To take blacks out of poverty is difficult, but to achieve the conditions under which they do not suffer discrimination is even more difficult. Such conditions are not only economic. They go much further.

One factor that adds to the problems of the black identity is that blacks tend not to have a recognized history. We have not been able to get beyond a version of our written history in which the black and the mestizo -- but especially the black -- are scarcely mentioned. With very few exceptions, found in independent works, we almost completely lack a social history of blacks and mestizos in Cuba that would be comparable to the history that exists for the white population. This situation affects all of Cuban society, which is unable to develop an integral, realistic view of its historic development and therefore not infrequently muddles along with a distorted image of the true role that each racial group played in the formation of the culture and the nation.

The way power is distributed in present-day Cuban society does not go beyond what existed prior to 1959. White dominance is still forcefully expressed, especially at the level of what is called the “new economy.” This is especially evident in the absence of blacks in the upper leadership levels of the state, government and institutions of civil society in general, although not in the party structure. A recent example is that there is not one single black among the fourteen provincial chairs of People’s Power.

This is in complete contradiction to the leadership policy put forward by the Party in 1985, which is a long way from being realized in terms of racial representation. Of course, the matter is much more complex than whether there are blacks and mestizos in all these positions, but undoubtedly, what happens seriously affects participation of non-whites in the power structure.

The problems related to “whitening” still exist within our societal reality. What else would explain why so many people who are not white are unwilling to identify themselves that way? This distorts the census figures and moves the question of race into a realm of deception and hypocrisy, making it absurd to think that racial mixing might be the solution. What has to be mixed is various forms of consciousness in order to create a consciousness that makes color disappear so that, as Nicolas Guillen says, we arrive at a “Cuban color.” The attitude of many black or mestizo people toward their own pigmentation indicates that they do not find it advantageous to identify themselves as such.

Other aspects that are part of how present-day Cuban society presents itself ideologically are also affected, and these spheres suffer from the imbalance in racial representation. We have a prime example of that in national television, where the number of blacks and mestizos in front of the cameras is very low. It is seen in the nearly total absence of blacks or mestizos in leading positions on our educational channels. The “challenge of the paradigms” exists, requiring that there be a balanced representation, especially on television, which has such an influence in providing role models and requires that all racial groups be represented.

The subject of race is not dealt with in school. This can result in a profound and dangerous dichotomy between scholastic education and social reality. We are not preparing our young people to deal with what they later find when they go out into the streets. Things do not pass into the culture unless they are introduced in the schools. Our curricula and educational programs are still characterized by full-blown Occidentalism. African and Asian cultures are mostly absent from the curriculum. As a result, students do not receive an integral and balanced education as members of a monoethnic and multiracial society, so we cannot be sure that when they leave the classroom they understand the roots of Cuban culture, much less the nation’s real history. In the majority of cases, they have a Manichean and stereotypical vision of the most important aspects of that history. Not to mention that they ought to know who Aponte was, the history of the so-called Little War of 1912 and the Independent Party of Color.

As I said earlier, Cuban scientific work has barely begun to focus on the question of race. During nearly fifty years of the revolutionary process, almost all of the most important intellectual work on this subject from the perspective of the social and human sciences has been done outside Cuba.[6] This is a weakness because we have almost totally handed over a vital aspect of our reality with the resulting dangers that ensue for our scientific and cultural development and for the political and ideological struggle in defense of our social goals. Today in Cuba, we have various challenges regarding this subject, which we must confront very seriously.

Trying to gain a fundamental understanding of the context of a problem that produces such concern and prejudices and that has for so long been ignored, swept under the rug, forgotten, neglected, and even repressed, has given rise to a very complicated situation considered in the framework of political policies. There is no well-rounded understanding of the situation by all institutions, social and political organizations or leading sectors of the state apparatus. Sometimes, the existence of the problem is not even acknowledged. We see resistance instead. As a result, it is virtually impossible to predict the reactions that dealing with it openly might generate. In this regard, we see attitudes that run the gamut from a completely cynical approach, to fear and ignorance, and all the way to the most heavy-handed denial of its existence.

Not dealing with a problem of such importance to our reality would continue to cause bewilderment, ignorance and social discomfort among those who experience it whether directly or because of their having acquired an anti-discriminatory ethic. It would lead to a level of social hypocrisy that would end up turning the racial problem into an endemic illness from which Cuban society could not recover, with consequences for societal coexistence, the nation and Cuban culture. This is something that we must not leave to future generations. What kind of a basic overall culture can we have in a society that retains negative racial stereotypes, discrimination based on skin color and racism? Society must come up with an integrated strategy to struggle against negative racial stereotypes, discrimination and racism in today’s Cuba. Such a strategy would proceed from various assumptions, which I will summarize below.

Skin color is a problem that Cuban social and economic statistics cannot continue ignoring. We must not pass over skin color and deal with social phenomena solely based on classifying the population according to sex and age. Cuba is not Sweden or Holland. Skin color has historically been – and continues to be – a factor of social differentiation within the Cuban population. Race or skin color, class and gender go hand in hand in the country’s history. Skin color, social differences, poverty, imbalances in the distribution of power, discrimination, lack of empowerment, negative racial stereotypes and racism have always gone together in the Island’s history, and this has still not been overcome.

What country are we talking about if we do not consider color as a fundamental trait in our population? What democracy can we speak of if one segment of our population continues being discriminated against because of skin color?

This is a problem for all of society, not solely for blacks, whites or mestizos. It is something everyone has to solve. To do that, it is first necessary to lay out an effective strategy to make people conscious that the problem exists. We need to fundamentally understand the place that history reserved for each racial group; to realize that there is racism on the part of whites as well as blacks that stresses assigning each “their rightful place” flowing from a structure of classes and power that allowed some to discriminate against others; to understand that the response to these differences cannot be to try to maintain a social dynamic based on prejudice, stereotypes, mutual discrimination and debt, but rather on historical understanding and an attitude of making no concessions to those evils and joining consciences to expunge them from our Cuban culture and way of life.

Only by openly dealing with the question can we put an end to the ignorance, cynicism and hypocrisy that still lie below the surface whenever the question of race is discussed. Dealing with it openly can also help to develop an atmosphere in which it would be impossible to withdraw into a social space where racial discrimination can be practiced. Certainly, the subject of race contains a strong element of social division, but the only way to fight for a real, solid, integrated national culture is by not ignoring it. That is how we can build a culture within which all the forms of dominance that were spawned by the racist culture inherited from colonialism and capitalism can be overcome, a culture in which each racial group has its place within present-day Cuban society.

We should no longer acquiesce in avoiding the subject of race to maintain a harmonious social coexistence. That is a false harmony, riddled with hypocrisy and prone to making concessions to racism and discrimination and providing a context in which those who choose to keep their prejudice and discrimination will always be able to find some place to do so.

Nor should we accept the idea that attacking racism and discrimination weakens Cuban society. Rather the opposite is true. To not fight this evil is what divides society, weakens its culture, affects national identity and places at risk the Revolution’s social goals that must encompass nothing less than unity forged within diversity. The subject must be forcefully brought back into public discourse; it must be publicized; and it must be taken up in the political and mass organizations so that it becomes what it should be and in fact is: a fundamental aspect of the already-launched battle of ideas.

[1] It is worth mentioning the books of Tomás Fernández Robaina and Sandra Morales, useful attempts to try to place the question within the context of present Cuban reality. See also the magazine Catauro, n. 6, Havana, July-December 2002, pp. 52-93; Juan Antonio Alvarado Ramos, “Relaciones raciales en Cuba. Nota de investigación”; María Magdalena Pérez Álvarez, “Los prejuicios raciales: sus mecanismos de reproducción” and María del Carmen Caño Secade, “Relaciones raciales, proceso de ajuste y política social,” Temas, n. 7, July-September 1966, Havana, pp. 37, 44, and 58.

[2] Esteban Morales, Desafíos de la problemática racial en Cuba, Editorial de Ciencias Sociales, Havana, 2008.

[3] Temas has published portions of the results of these studies. See Rodrigo Espina and Pablo Rodríguez, «Raza y desigualdad en la Cuba actual», Temas, n. 45, Havana, January-March 2006, and Pablo Rodríguez, «Espacios y contextos del debate racial actual en Cuba», Temas, n. 53, Havana, January-March, 2008 [editor’s note].

[4] Anthropology Center of the CITMA, Pablo Rodríguez, Ana Julia García and Lázara Carrazana, “Relaciones raciales en la esfera laboral,” unpublished, Havana, 1999; Rodrigo Espina, Estrella González and María Magdalena Pérez Álvarez, “Relaciones raciales y etnicidad en la sociedad cubana contemporánea,” unpublished, Havana, 2003; Ana Julia García, Estrella González Noriega and Hernán Tirado Toirac, “Composición racial en la estructura de cuadros,” unpublished, Havana, 2003

[5] Institutional racism does not exist in Cuba, meaning it is not built into the politico-social system or the institutions as was the case before 1959. The revolutionary process, with its antidiscriminatory ethos, drove racism back into what are now its principal niches: the family, the individual consciousness of many people, the so-called “emergent economy,” and some exclusionary groupings, where it still exists because the definitive battle against racism which is now called for did not take place. This shortcoming led to its concealment, only to reemerge now, when the contacts with the market economy, the reemergence of inequalities, and the whole economic and social deterioration that resulted from the crisis of the 1990s are being felt.

[6] See Rebecca J. Scott, Slave Emancipation in Cuba: The Transition to Free Labor, 1860-1899, Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1985 (published in Cuba by Editorial Caminos, Havana, 2001); Alejandro de la Fuente, Una nación para todos. Raza, desigualdad y política en Cuba. 1900-2000, Colibrí, Madrid, 2000; Carlos Moore, Castro, the Blacks, and Africa, Center for Afro-American Studies, University of California Press, Los Angeles, 1989; Robin Moore, Música y mestizaje. Revolución artística y cambio social en La Habana, 1920-1940, Colibrí, Madrid, 1997.