Black Americans & Cuba News

“Skin color alone is not enough to bind a people together. We need to find cultural ties. We have to find ways to make that happen,” said Dr. Marvin Dunn, who authored “Black Miami in the Twentieth Century.” Understanding Afro-Cubans 2/4/2015 Miami Times

Robert Williams, 1925-1996

‘Anti-Black’ Claim Raised About Cuba As Solidarity Activists Stopped at U.S. Border & Black Socialists Arraigned in United States for Collaborating with Russia  5/5/2023 Towards Freedom: "A 2-year-old argument about “anti-Blackness” in Cuba, which Black solidarity activists in the United States say has no basis in reality, has reared its head. It appeared in a video posted on Twitter on May 1 that has since gone viral, generating more than 2 million views in four days. The video features Afro-Cuban Grecia Ordoñez, who claims Cuban Revolution leaders Fidel Castro and Ernesto “Che” Guevara were racists who engaged in “white saviorism.” She also claimed genocide was committed in the Democratic Republic of Congo during the time Cuba’s revolutionary government intervened to support rebels fighting the DRC government put in place after revolutionary leader and first Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba was assassinated in 1961. Further, she pointed to Afro-Cubans being detained in Cuba as an example of racism."

Revolucionarios negros cubanos vistos desde la revista estadounidense Soul  6/17/2022 La Ventana

The Buffalo Soldiers at San Juan Hill: What Really Happened?  5/12/2022 History Channel: "U.S. troops landed in the southeastern tip of Cuba on June 22, 1898, with the goal of capturing the port city of Santiago de Cuba, where the Spanish were anchored. Two days later, when engaging the enemy at Las Guásimas, the Rough Riders struck first. But they, along with other troops, were pinned down in an intense skirmish until the Buffalo soldiers’ 10th Cavalry regiment arrived and forced a Spanish retreat. A week later, on July 1, the Americans set out to take Kettle Hill and San Juan Hill, both high points in San Juan Heights about a mile outside Santiago. Roosevelt’s volunteers, along with regular enlisted troops, both Black and white, were assigned to take the blockhouse atop Kettle Hill, while other regiments focused on San Juan Hill."

Pulling Back the Curtain on Race and Health Care  4/25/2022 NYT: "Dr. Rachel Hardeman’s journey to understanding community health care began in Cuba, where she studied medicine and public health at the Latin American School of Medicine from 2002 to 2004. “That’s really where I learned not just what public health was, but how powerful it could be,” she said. “I saw that there’s a different model for caring for people than what we know and what I’d been exposed to in the United States.” In February 2021, Dr. Hardeman, who is now a reproductive health equity researcher and associate professor at the University of Minnesota, founded the Center for Anti-Racism Research for Health Equity, which seeks health care solutions to the effects of policies and attitudes that work against people of color. "

5 Country Alliances African-Indigenous Centered Curriculums  2/7/2022 African Diaspora Alliance: "practicing BLISSipline and experiencing peace and joy in the process???Please follow @cllctivly and support the campaign to support 28 organizations in the community doing the work! Infinite gratitude for our communities and partners that have made this work possible over the last 6 years. We have so many exciting things in store to share with you about how we are expanding as we move into year 7."

Black Lives Matter and Cuba  8/6/2021 Communist Party USA: "Organizing one’s community to demonstrate against the U.S. embargo of Cuba, working with unions and community groups to educate on the embargo and support Cuba, writing one’s representatives and senators, and calling for an end to U.S. imperialist intervention in other countries, and for peace, are some ways to advance this struggle."

Black Lives Matter: ¿declaración o alianza?  7/30/2021 AfroCubaWeb: "No creo que esta organización sea reconocida en la isla desde su origen comunitario hasta sus enfoques interseccionales al racismo y elcapitalismo."

Black Lives Matter: a Declaration or an Alliance?  7/30/2021 AfroCubaWeb: "I don't think Cubans on the island are aware of the organization’s community origins or of itsintersectional approaches toward racism and capitalism."

Black Lives Matter nuevamente criticado por los invitados que eligió para foro virtual sobre Cuba  7/27/2021 Cubanos por el Mundo: "Cabe destacar que, el movimiento BLM en días anteriores fue duramente criticado por su postura de elogiar al régimen castrista y pedir el fin del embargo a Cuba por parte del gobierno de Estados Unidos, esto mientras los ciudadanos cubanos eran cruelmente reprimidos mientras expresaban su derecho de manifestar libremente." [Claro que la solucion es mas bloqueo!!!]

On Cuba: our solidarity continues… Cuba: nuestra solidaridad sigue  7/23/2021 Black Lives Matter Facebook: "Black Lives Matter se compromete a escuchar y elevar las voces de nuestra familia afrocubana mientras piden un cambio. Y nos mantenemos firmes en nuestro compromiso con la libertad de los negros en todas partes, una liberación que solo se puede lograr cuando los negros de todo el mundo prosperan, experimentan alegría y están libres de todas las formas de opresión y violencia. BLM se muestra en profunda solidaridad con el pueblo de Cuba y continúa exigiendo el fin del embargo estadounidense, una demanda que ha sido repetida por 39o año consecutivo por 184 países bajo la ONU. También denunciamos las sanciones adicionales impuestas recientemente por la administración Biden."

The Movement for Black Lives is in solidarity with the Cuban people and the spirit of the Cuban revolution.  7/23/2021 M4BL: "We know that the Cuban People and Black Cubans in particular are not a monolith, so we support the right of Cubans to protest and at the same time we know that it is our obligation, those of us based in the U.S., to demand an end to the inhumane and punitive blockade, and condemn any hint at U.S. intervention. In the tradition of Black internationalism, we support the self-determination of the Cuban people and Cuba’s rights as a sovereign nation."

Black Lives Matter Issues Statement in Support for Cubans  7/20/2021 BNC News: "However, numerous progressives and activists, including associate professor of Latino studies Dr. Danielle Clealand, took to Twitter saying the U.S. and Cuban governments are to blame for the country's problems; targeting the U.S. embargo fails to acknowledge the issues that Black Cubans have faced with systemic racism from the Cuban government for years. Dr. Clealand and Ajamu Baraka, national organizer of the Black Alliance for Peace, joined Marc Lamont Hill on “Black News Tonight” to talk about BLM’s statement."

Will protests lead to lasting change in Cuba?  7/19/2021 The Griot: "“This is the first time that Cuba has really risen up and protested the government,” Clealand told theGrio. “And so it’s a really exciting moment. And it’s also a very scary moment because we don’t know what the state response exactly has been and we don’t know what it will be.”

1619 Project founder Nikole Hannah-Jones sparks outrage with unearthed 2019 podcast saying communist Cuba is among the 'least racist' countries in the world because socialism means the 'least inequality'  7/19/2021 Daily Mail: "She said that while not claiming to be an expert on international race relations she thought Cuba to be among the most 'equal' and 'multiracial' country in the western hemisphere due to its socialist society. 'The most equal multi-racial country in our hemisphere, it would be Cuba,' she began." [With link to portion of Vox interview on Cuba]

Black Lives Matter Misses the Point About Cuba  7/17/2021 The Atlantic: "Not surprisingly, Havana’s primarily Black neighborhoods, the most neglected in the city, are the epicenters of the largest recent demonstrations, as footage shows. In some of them, such as La Güinera, Centro Habana, Diez de Octubre, Cerro, and La Habana Vieja, we’ve seen clashes between demonstrators and the police and members of the government posing as civilians. As a result, Black Cubans, along with compatriots of all races, are disproportionately being beaten, brutalized, and jailed for protesting. The government is publicly calling them “thugs” and “criminals” in the state-controlled media. The Cuban government has officially acknowledged the death of Diubis Laurencio Tejeda, a young Black man from La Güinera who died during a confrontation with the police."

“RESPUESTA A BLACK LIVES MATTER” Escrito por Pablo Betancourt Guilian y Enrique Patterson  7/17/2021 Pablo Betancourt Guilian: "Desde 1959, el gobierno cubano le ha quitado todos los derechos y libertades fundamentales al pueblo cubano, y no es casualidad que Cuba sea el único país donde la población negra, no se benefició de los logros y avances del Movimiento de Derechos Civiles en la década de los 60s."

RESPONSE TO BLACK LIVES MATTER Written by Pablo Betancourt Guilian and Enrique Patterson  7/17/2021 Pablo Betancourt Guilian: "Since 1959, the Cuban government has taken away all fundamental rights and freedoms from the Cuban people, and it is no coincidence that Cuba is the only country in the western hemisphere, where the black population did not benefit from the achievements and advances of the Civil Rights Movement in the decade of 1960s."

Complicated Situation in Cuba Explained  7/17/2021 Boots Riley, Instagram: "People want hope. The threat from some Miami Cubans to storm the island by boat & cause war is scary to everyone. The spread of false information as well."

1619 Project founder believes Cuba has 'the least inequality' and has brought about the 'end of codified racism'  7/16/2021 The Post Millenial: ""The most equal multi-racial country in our hemisphere, it would be Cuba. Cuba has the least inequality between black and white people anyplace really in the hemisphere. I mean, the Caribbean, most of the Caribbean it's hard to count because the white population in a lot of those countries is very, very small. A lot of those countries are run by black folks. But in places that are truly at least biracial countries, Cuba actually has the least inequality. And that's largely due to socialism—which I'm sure no one wants to hear," Hannah-Jones continued."

Any more questions? BLM releases statement blaming protests against Cuban regime on U.S.  7/16/2021 Law Enforcement Today: [the logic here is defective…]

A must read!  7/15/2021 Tan Ya: "IMHOP, Black U.S. Americans are still reeling from losing several generations of Black intellectuals/activists with a transnationalist - or as we say today - diasporic - consciousness when it comes to Black activism and consciousness. They were a huge counterweight to Black U.S. American folks - on the left and the right - who start with U.S. Black American exceptionalism as a point of departure for their political and economic agendas (centered on empowering U.S. African Americans). That counter balance was taken out in terms of its manifestation as a cohesive transnational Black movement. Yes, newer generations of us are here who share that vision, the one that takes NO STATE at its word and are suspicious of Eurocentric thought... I could go on."

Black Lives Matter gets crushed for praising Cuban regime, blaming 'cruel' US for unrest: ?'BLM is a radical Marxist organization'  7/15/2021 The Blaze: [with many quotes from the far right…]

Black Lives Matter insta a Joe Biden a levantar el bloqueo contra Cuba  7/15/2021 Cubadebate

The consequences of years of US embargoes  7/15/2021 BLM: Statement on Cuba - "Black Lives Matter condemns the U.S. federal government’s inhumane treatment of Cubans, and urges it to immediately lift the economic embargo. This cruel and inhumane policy, instituted with the explicit intention of destabilizing the country and undermining Cubans’ right to choose their own government, is at the heart of Cuba’s current crisis. Since 1962, the United States has forced pain and suffering on the people of Cuba by cutting off food, medicine and supplies, costing the tiny island nation an estimated $130 billion."

La madre del BLUES: Una película sobre el racismo en la industria musical  4/21/2021 Afrofeminas: "La madre del blues es una de las películas que cuenta con cinco nominaciones a los premios Óscar 2021. Este filme está inspirado en la vida de Ma Rainey`s, una cantante negra de BLUES, pionera tanto en la música como también en la liberación sexual femenina. La cinta retrata a la perfección la estructura racista predominante dentro de la industria musical en los comienzos de 1920."

Covid's devastation of Black community used as 'marketing' in new anti-vaccine film  3/11/2021 NBC: 'As vaccine distribution in the U.S. has ramped up, so has the misinformation blitz targeting Black communities. A new video from anti-vaccination activists released online Thursday adds to what experts have called an effort to "weaponize" the outsize damage Covid-19 has done in communities of color. The video was released by anti-vaccination activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who was recently banned from Instagram for spreading Covid-19 vaccine conspiracy theories, and Republican megadonor David Centner. The hourlong film, which relies heavily on the U.S. Public Health Service Syphilis Study at Tuskegee, promotes false claims that Covid-19 vaccination efforts are part of a larger, sinister experiment on Black communities."

Massacres and Killings of Social Leaders Impede Peace in Colombia: Second Alert  12/23/2020 WOLA: "On December 15, police officers in Cartagena, Bolívar department assaulted Kendrick Sampson—a Black U.S. actor and Black Lives Matter Activist. A video of the incident circulated through social media, which showed a uniformed officer harassing Kendrick, punching him in the face, and pulling a gun on him. The police officers then withheld Kendrick’s documents and detained him at a police station for several hours."

‘Insecure’ Actor Kendrick Sampson Punched by Cop in Colombia  12/16/2020 Variety: “Today this happened to him here in Cartagena and everything hurts, not only because he is a friend but because that is the day-to-day of many, because we got used to this and that is NOT okay, it’s not normal, the police have the right to ask for your ID but they don’t have the right to punch you, dig in your underwear (as happened before someone started filming) and pull a gun on a person who is not committing any crime or offering any resistance, taking him to a station, not wanting to return his ID and even trying to admonish him?” Reyes wrote."

¿Abuso policial en contra del actor Kendrick Sampson en Cartagena?  12/16/2020 El Espectador: "En un video quedó registrado el momento en el que un uniformado de la Policía le pega en la cara y saca su arma. La actriz Natalia Reyes denunció el hecho que catalogó como exceso de la fuerza policial. Desde la Policía Metropolitana de Cartagena aseguran que fue uso legitimo de la fuerza, luego de que el líder del movimiento Black Lives Matter se opusiera a un procedimiento de registro personal."

Kendrick Sampson punched by Cartagena police in viral video  12/16/2020 The Grio: "He also wrote his fans should hold the Biden administration accountable to a progressive agenda: “Remember WE won. Not Biden. US. They were elected. WE won. Don’t let them forget that. We are coming for what we are owed.”"

Insecure Star Kendrick Sampson Punched and Had Gun Pulled on Him by Colombian Police Officer  12/16/2020 People: "Sampson said that after eight hours of talking to the officers, he was able to leave and eat something before he found three of the captains waiting at his hotel to get his account. "I'm tired as f—," he said. "Hope this will be over soon. They are also asking me to confront and identify the officer tonight! I don't trust this s—.""

Salsa in the streets of Florida's Little Havana: How American-Cubans' fear of 'socialists' Biden and Kamala and backlash against Defund the Police and BLM helped seal crucial Sunshine State win for the Republicans  11/4/2020 Daily Mail: "American-Cubans were seen celebrating in the streets of Miami after Donald Trump secured the state of Florida in the election - with exit polls suggesting 55% of the demographic voted for the president. Miami Democrats blamed their Florida defeat on backlash from Hispanic and Latino voters over the Black Lives Matter movement and their 'extreme' efforts to defund the police, as well as Republican claims that Biden is a 'socialist'."

'Insecure' Actor Kendrick Sampson On Activism And Acting  8/25/2020 WBUR: "Inspired by the work of others such as Black Lives Matter activists Patrisse Cullors and Melina Abdullah, Sampson teamed up with Abdullah and other community leaders to present the Los Angeles County council with the People’s Budget — a plan to defund the Los Angeles Police Department in favor of reimagining public safety through social programs."

Featured interview with Adriana Heredia Sánchez | U.S. cancels private charter flights to Cuba  8/14/2020 Center for Democracy in the Americas: "Beyond Roots is an enterprise focused on promoting Afro-Cuban culture from different perspectives. We work in three main ways: organizing educational experiences where visitors are immersed in Afro-Cuban culture, managing the first and only Afro-style store in Cuba which sells everything from hair care products to accessories to clothing items, and organizing educational events promoting love and respect for Afro-Cuban traditions. We founded Beyond Roots in 2016 in a context marked by the increase in the arrival of tourists to the island, mainly from the United States. We identified that people who came from the U.S. were interested in learning about the culture of the country they visit, as well as achieving a true connection with its people. This motivated us to do something different. We are from a community where Afro-Cuban traditions are deeply rooted, and we decided to show the world the importance of these traditions for us and how they are an indissoluble part of Cuban identity. This is how the idea of starting to offer experiences on Afro-Cuban culture with the support of our community of neighbors arose. What began as the dream of two people, today has become the commitment of 35."

Du Bois y Cuba: Conexiones históricas en el Sur Global  8/7/2020 JULIO CÉSAR GUANCHE: "En el estudio de la relación Du Bois-Cuba identifico dos espacios. El primero tiene como material de análisis la correspondencia que Du Bois mantuvo con intelectuales cubanos entre 1931 y 1956 a fin de recrear las conexiones de Du Bois con América Latina. El segundo consiste en el establecimiento de los puntos de mutuo fortalecimiento, así como la diferencia contextualizada, del lugar del anti-racismo en la crítica a los proyectos nacionales en Estados Unidos y Cuba, representados en Du Bois y en intelectuales cubanos como Gustavo Urrutia, Alberto Arredondo y Fernando Ortiz."

How Latin American Activists Are Harnessing the Black Lives Matter Movement  7/16/2020 Progressive: "Unlike the United States, Colombia and other Latin American countries did not implement discriminatory laws that legalized racial segregation. Instead, many Latin American countries became “racial democracies” that included vows of multiculturalism. But such policies, while ostensibly anti-racist, had the effect of making racism less apparent. “This myth of multiculturalism erases racial differences and inequalities to justify that social conflicts are economic, not racial,” says Angela Yesenia Olaya Requene, a researcher at the Afro-Latin American Research Institute at Harvard. “With this they deny that Afro-descendents are victims of structural anti-Black racism that limits their human rights.”"

Cubans For Trump Faced Off With Black Lives Matters Protesters In Miami Lakes  6/29/2020 CBS

Más de 300 artistas se unen para pedir a Hollywood que no "glorifique" a la Policía  6/24/2020 Publico: "K. Sampson y T. Thompson han escrito la carta en colaboración con el movimiento Black Lives Matter que han firmado dichas celebridades mientras Amnistía Internacional pide que se lleven a cabo reformas para la actuación policial en EEUU."

Why There Are No George Floyds in Cuba — August H. Nimtz  6/17/2020 Legal Form: [Written 8 days before the very unusual murder of Hansel Ernesto Hernández Galiano, this article remains essentially correct. Such acts are very rare.]

Kendrick Sampson: The Activist and Actor Shaping a Celebrity Social Justice Movement  6/14/2020 People: "The 31-year-old activist and organizer has recently launched BLD PWR (that's pronounced “build power”), a grassroots personalized training program to turn those influential people with bold names into the next super activists on social issues, a la Jane Fonda or Muhammad Ali. But Sampson was so busy learning about and developing this initiative that he forgot to have a launch party. (The event finally happened May 16 in Hollywood.)"

The murder of George Floyd impacts the world of culture  6/12/2020 Granma: by Pedro de la Hoz - "In a statement released in Havana, signed by the José Antonio Aponte Commission of UNEAC, the organization of the Cuban artistic and intellectual vanguard, expressed solidarity "with our white, black, Latino, Native American and Asian brothers and sisters, and all other ethnic groups, who are closing ranks against human rights violations and facing ethnic hatred and racial discrimination.”

Nancy Morejón: “Black Prince for George Floyd”  6/9/2020 Repeating Islands: "Although his dream was to throw you into the Mississippi, that cannibal in opaque uniform has silently burned his knee into your inert neck."

Three ideas on the death of George Floyd and the protests in the United States  6/2/2020 On Cuba: "The knee on George Floyd’s neck is not an individual act, it is the weight of a political system in which Afro-Americans, in addition to being poor and discriminated against, first appear as a criminal suspect than as a good citizen to protect."

Chicago: black people are 30% of its population but 60% of its Covid-19 deaths  5/24/2020 Guardian: "A coalition of organizations and progressive lawmakers at the state and municipal levels have launched the Right To Recovery campaign, which is aimed at addressing the “gaping holes in our public health and social safety net infrastructure, as well as the brutal inequality built into our economy”. Amika Tendaji, the Right to Recovery lead for the group Southside Together Organizing for Power, which has been working on housing issues related to the crisis, praised progressive measures to provide relief to communities hard hit by the pandemic, including legislation proposed by state representative Delia Ramirez to temporarily cancel rent and mortgage payments in Illinois. “We’ve worked really hard to put politicians in place that are responsive to their communities,” Tendaji said. But Tendaji expressed concern that top officials aren’t taking bold enough action, calling the image of Lightfoot as a progressive mayor a “fallacy” and calling for structural change. “This is systemic racial injustice,” Tendaji said."

‘A no-win situation’ — Expert weighs in on COVID-19 racial disparities  5/22/2020 Medical News Today: "For example, non-Hispanic (NH) black and Hispanic Americans are more likely to end up in occupations that we have newly deemed “essential,” including, but not limited to, retail work (e.g., grocery stores), sanitation, farming, meatpacking plants, frontline healthcare workers in nursing homes, early child care educators, etc. Each of these occupations is critical in allowing the rest of society to stay at home and “flatten the curve.” Yet, it is nearly impossible to engage in physical distancing in these occupations, which contributes to the spread of the virus. Many of these workers take public transportation, which again makes it impossible to engage in physical distancing."

Black Americans and Latinos nearly 3 times as likely to know someone who died of COVID-19: POLL  5/22/2020 ABC: "Thirty percent of black adults and 26% of Latino adults in the country said they know a victim of the coronavirus, who died either from the disease or from complications related to the virus. For white adults, the corresponding figure is 10%. The findings are consistent with local and national data reported by states and cities and reviewed by ABC News that revealed racial and ethnic minorities suffer a disproportionate share of the negative health and economic outcomes from the coronavirus pandemic."

California: Coronavirus Impact: Black COVID-19 patients nearly 3 times more likely to be hospitalized, study finds  5/22/2020 ABC: "Even more alarming, the study also revealed one in four African American patients have to be moved to an intensive care unit for life-saving treatment compared to just one in 10 white patients. Lockhart believes, in part, access to testing is the issue. "Our African American patients are coming in later and sicker. So, it's not about necessarily who was tested, but when," he said."

Racism declared a public health crisis in Ohio's most populated county  5/20/2020 ABC: "Officials in Ohio have declared racism a public health crisis in the state's most populated county. Commissioners in Franklin County passed a resolution Tuesday that makes the declaration, as well as vows to support community efforts on racism and ensure that board commissioners will work under "antiracism principles." The resolution was in the works well before the novel coronavirus crisis, according to officials."

Black Americans dying of Covid-19 at three times the rate of white people  5/20/2020 Guardian: "Gathering data on the racial gulf in deaths has itself been hampered by an absence of federal action, compounded by slow and in some cases non-existent reporting by many states. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) only produced its first set of death statistics by race this week, despite mounting calls for basic information. In the absence of government data, APM Research Lab has stepped into the breach. It now gathers statistics from 40 states, covering almost 90% of the total of 92,128 deaths in the US recorded by Johns Hopkins."

Why is coronavirus killing more Black people than White people in Bexar County?  5/19/2020 KSAT: "“Sometimes people are living in more dense areas with multi-generational families,” Woo said. She said that crowded living environments, like jails and prisons, can make it harder to social distance and avoid the virus. “That’s (mass incarceration) disproportionately impacting our Black and Brown communities. So we know that we’ve had these outbreaks at the jail,” Woo said. Woo said many working minorities are front line and essential workers, which creates greater opportunities to be exposed to the coronavirus. On the other hand, she said there are many others who don’t have access to health care."

Trump's HHS secretary accidentally tells the truth: Racism is driving pandemic policy  5/19/2020 Salon: "The implications of Azar's comments are clear enough, despite the superficial language of concern: Black and brown communities and individuals are somehow responsible for dying at higher rates from the coronavirus pandemic and the nation's "unfortunate" diversity is at least partly to blame."

Fight breaks out at Michigan anti-lockdown protests  5/15/2020 CBS: "Protesters demonstrated at Michigan's state capitol Thursday to voice their opposition to statewide stay-at-home orders. Michigan's governor says she's concerned about the racist undertones of those protests."

The Disproportionate Impact of Covid-19 on Black Health Care Workers in the U.S.  5/14/2020 Harvard Business Review: "The data about who is most affected by the coronavirus is still coming out, but the kind of patients Mindy went into nursing to treat are likely those who are the hardest hit by Covid-19. This makes black health care workers’ intentional decisions to go where they saw the most need fraught with frightening implications."

Street Medics See Cuba As A Model For COVID-19 Response In Vulnerable Communities  5/12/2020 Shadow Proof: "Henderson isn’t alone as a Black doctor in the U.S. reaching out to considering Cuba for help. Historically, many other Black doctors, such as Dr. Melissa Barber, have received free medical training in Cuba and have used that training to help their communities respond to the pandemic. “I’m in solidarity with Armen’s concerns that you have in respect to the situation, but it is a difficult thing,” explained Dr. Marta Galvez Cabrera, a specialist of over 35 years in comprehensive general medicine in Havana, Cuba. “It’s difficult because first of all you have to create basic premises that at this moment do not exist [in the U.S],” she said, adding, “Before the problem is there you have to prevent it.”"

COVID-19 Took Black Lives First. It Didn’t Have To.  5/9/2020 ProPublica: "Dr. Mira Iliescu-Levine, a pulmonary critical care doctor at The Loretto Hospital on Chicago’s West Side, is concerned that African American and Latino patients are waiting to come to the hospital after their symptoms become too severe. “You end up with an overwhelming clinical picture, almost like a tornado, that’s very hard to stop,” she said. She said she wants patients, especially her African American patients with diabetes, obesity and other comorbidities, to seek care when they have “innocent symptoms” like a cough, runny nose, itchy eyes or low-grade fever."

Black People Are Being Arrested at Higher Rates for Social Distancing Violations  5/9/2020 Truth Out: "With more than 70,000 Americans dead from the coronavirus, government officials have not figured out how to balance the threat of COVID-19 with the harms of over policing, Clarke said. “On the one hand, we want to beat back the pandemic. That’s critical. That’s the end goal,” she told ProPublica. “On the other hand, we’re seeing social distancing being used as a pretext to arrest the very communities that have been hit hardest by the virus.”"

NY’s COVID-19 stats show African-Americans, Hispanics, nursing homes at higher risk as reopening looms  5/8/2020 Record Online: "The leading underlying illness was hypertension, which showed up in 55% of the deaths. Next was diabetes, which was diagnosed in 7,414 deaths, or about 36% of the cases."

One Mardi Gras Story Lays Bare How COVID-19 Is Devastating Black People  5/8/2020 Democracy Now: "What we’re starting to see as we learn that Black people are disproportionately dying from this is this blaming of Black communities and saying that, “Well, that’s just because Black people don’t take care of themselves. Black people don’t take care of their health.” The truth is that Black people are living in a constructed environment that is designed to actually produce exactly the disparities that we see. It is not accidental that Black people are the most likely to live near toxic sites, the most likely to live in polluted neighborhoods, the most likely to live in areas where there is a lot of highway and freeway traffic. And so, what that means is Black people have been intentionally placed in the most vulnerable positions."

The coronavirus pandemic is hitting black and brown Americans especially hard on all fronts  5/8/2020 CNN: "To put those numbers into context, African Americans make up about 13% of the population in those places but 27% of Covid-19 deaths for which race and ethnicity is known, APM research shows."

The Coronavirus Was an Emergency Until Trump Found Out Who Was Dying  5/8/2020 Atlantic: "The coronavirus epidemic has rendered the racial contract visible in multiple ways. Once the disproportionate impact of the epidemic was revealed to the American political and financial elite, many began to regard the rising death toll less as a national emergency than as an inconvenience. Temporary measures meant to prevent the spread of the disease by restricting movement, mandating the wearing of masks, or barring large social gatherings have become the foulest tyranny. The lives of workers at the front lines of the pandemic—such as meatpackers, transportation workers, and grocery clerks—have been deemed so worthless that legislators want to immunize their employers from liability even as they force them to work under unsafe conditions. In East New York, police assault black residents for violating social-distancing rules; in Lower Manhattan, they dole out masks and smiles to white pedestrians."

Why Trump and Anti-Lockdown Protesters’ Calls to Return to Normal Are Acts of White Supremacy  5/7/2020 IMI: "Ending lockdowns too early will kill more Americans—it’s that simple, and even the government’s own agencies project such a scenario. President Donald Trump has admitted it, saying, “Will some people be affected badly? Yes. But we have to get our country open and we have to get it open soon.” Except that ending the lockdowns now will specifically kill far more African Americans than any other demographic. The health news website MedPage referred to the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on blacks as a, “Wildly disproportionate mortality.” Researchshows that African Americans are dying from COVID-19 at a rate that is, “2.3 times higher than the rate for Asians and Latinos, and 2.6 times higher than the rate for Whites.” In fact, whites are the least impacteddemographic in the nation. In New York City, the national epicenter of the disease, the same racialized outcomes are observed, with more African Americans being hospitalized and dying from the disease than any other racial group, followed by Latinos. Black and brown Americans are also more impacted financially by the virus-related lockdown. A Pew Research survey found that African Americans and Latinos were far more likely to lose their jobs and lack the savings to cover their expenses than whites."

Many States Are Reporting Race Data For Only Some COVID-19 Cases And Deaths  5/7/2020 FiveThirtyEight: "Last week, we published an analysis finding that several states have yet to break down their COVID-19 data by race and ethnicity. At least three states — Nevada, North Dakota and Nebraska — and five U.S. territories have yet to release any demographic information about the cases and deaths they’ve reported so far. But even the places reporting some demographic data aren’t necessarily giving the full picture. For both cases and deaths, almost every state is missing varying amounts of race and ethnicity data — data that’s critical to understanding how communities are being affected by the novel coronavirus. According to our review of data available, 18 states and U.S. territories are not reporting information on the race and ethnicity of people who have died of COVID-19.1"

Black people four times more likely to die from Covid-19, ONS finds  5/7/2020 Guardian: “These results show that the difference between ethnic groups in Covid-19 mortality is partly a result of socio-economic disadvantage and other circumstances, but a remaining part of the difference has not yet been explained,” the ONS said."

'We have to test more people': Wisconsin expands coronavirus testing for African American, Latino and tribal communities  5/7/2020 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: "Individuals in high risk racial and ethnic groups, including African Americans, Latinos and tribal community members, will now be able to get a free test at those sites, regardless of whether they are having symptoms. "We can bend the curve on this if we test more," Evers said. "Is that going to solve economic disparities? No. But hopefully, it's going to save some lives. That's the critical thing right now.""

Nueva York deja morir a los hispanos y personas de color, denuncia enfermera en desgarrador video  5/7/2020 Tu Nota: "Acá no importan las vidas de los negros y de los hispanoamericanos", dice entre lágrimas en la grabación difundida a través de Internet y publicado en el NewYorkPost. “La negligencia grave y la mala gestión médica completa”, aseguró la profesional en el video, y se lamentó: “No les importa lo que le está pasando a estas personas. Y sólo tengo que seguir viéndolos morir… Oh, Dios”. "

Minorities, more likely to have jobs that make them 'essential workers,' disproportionately affected by COVID-19  5/7/2020 ABC: ""The excess morbidity and mortality that we're seeing in COVID-19 is really a reflection of centuries really of systems that have created this sort of perfect storm, where people have less opportunities to work in places where they're able to shelter in place so minorities are more likely to be those 'essential workers.'" Payne owns a taxi and limo service. He thinks he got the coronavirus after driving a client. "I definitely had to work because that's my only way of making a living," Payne said. "There's nothing else for me really to depend on. If I don't transport clients, we don't eat.""

She Said Anthony Fauci Sexually Assaulted Her. Now She Says Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman Paid Her to Lie.  5/7/2020 Reason: ""Mother Nature has to clean the barn every so often," Burkman counters. "How real is it? Who knows? So what if 1 percent of the population goes? So what if you lose 400,000 people? Two hundred thousand were elderly, the other 200,000 are the bottom of society. You got to clean out the barn. If it's real, it's a positive thing, for God's sake.""

African Americans are disproportionately dying from COVID-19. Here are states with the worst disparities  5/6/2020 WUSA: "Since then, more states have released data showing COVID-19 cases and deaths by race. According to the Racial Data Transparency map by Johns Hopkins University, as of early May, 41 states have released race-specific data on confirmed cases, and 38 states have started reporting COVID-19 deaths by race. The new data shed light on the extent of racial disparities in the pandemic. In Wisconsin, African Americans make up 32% of coronavirus deaths as of May 1, but the group makes up just 6.7% of the population. Similarly, in Michigan and Missouri, African Americans account for roughly 40% of coronavirus deaths despite comprising only 14% and 12% of the population respectively."

Black Americans are bearing the brunt of coronavirus recession – this should come as no surprise  5/6/2020 The Conversation: "As the COVID-19 pandemic worsened in April, many Americans were shocked by the extent that black Americans were being disproportionately impacted: higher infection rates, more deaths and greater job loss. But many black Americans were not surprised. This is not new. The same dynamic has been going on at times of crisis for decades and generations. As a labor economist and former chief economist at the U.S. Department of Labor under the Clinton administration, I know that history has shown that black Americans consistently bear the brunt of recessions and natural disasters."

'It's gone haywire': When COVID-19 arrived in rural America  5/6/2020 AP: "As the world’s attention was fixated on the horrors in Italy and New York City, the per capita death rates in counties in the impoverished southwest corner of Georgia climbed to among the worst in the country. The devastation here is a cautionary tale of what happens when the virus seeps into communities that have for generations remained on the losing end of the nation’s most intractable inequalities: these counties are rural, mostly African American and poor. "

Disproportionately black counties account for over half of coronavirus cases in the U.S. and nearly 60% of deaths, study finds  5/6/2020 WaPo: "Although public health experts and political leaders have attributed the high rate of serious illness and deaths from covid-19 among black Americans to underlying health conditions, such as heart disease and diabetes, the Amfar study found that those factors were not the primary cause of the disparities. Rather, other social determinants, including employment, access to health insurance and medical care and poor air and water quality, were more predictive of infection and death from covid-19."

More than 80 percent of COVID-19 patients in Georgia are black, CDC study finds  5/4/2020 11 Alive: "Shocking new numbers from the CDC show the toll the coronavirus is taking on Georgia, particularly African Americans. Researchers looked at COVID-19 patients at eight Georgia hospitals - seven in metro Atlanta and one in south Georgia. More than 80 percent of the patients were black, according to the study published Wednesday."

What We Know About the Covid-19 Race Gap  5/4/2020 The Nation: "While the CDC and additional states have begun to release more racial and ethnic data, it remains incomplete. Race is missing or unspecified in nearly 60 percent of the confirmed cases reported by the CDC, and as of this writing, the agency has not released demographic data on Covid-19 testing. Many states are effectively erasing Native Americans from their data sets by classifying them as “other,” despite the fact that the states tracking that demographic, such as Arizona and New Mexico, have found severely disparate rates of infection or death."

Afrodescendientes en América Latina: los retos de la covid-19  5/2/2020 El Pais: "La falta de estadísticas y de atención a las poblaciones afrodescendientes invisibiliza el impacto diferenciado del COVID-19 entre los más vulnerables, aquellos que necesitan más ayuda y que enfrentan la epidemia desde posiciones singularmente desventajosas. En este sentido las cifras procedentes de Estados Unidos son inequívocas y contundentes: las tasas de infección y especialmente de mortalidad son mucho mayores entre los afroamericanos. Algunos expertos dicen que el virus no discrimina; sin embargo, en las Américas, este virus impacta desproporcionalmente a poblaciones históricamente discriminadas como la afrodescendiente. Es imperativo que los gobiernos atiendan de manera urgente este tema para garantizar que la pandemia no refuerce aún más las brechas étnicas y raciales tradicionales."

More than 80% of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Georgia last month were black, CDC study finds  4/30/2020 CBS: "A CDC study released Wednesday found that over 80% of the COVID-19 patients hospitalized in Georgia last month were black. It's the latest analysis showing that communities of color are being hit disproportionately hard by the coronavirus. The study comes just days after Georgia Governor Brian Kemp started reopening some of the state's businesses — a move condemned as premature and dangerous by local black leaders as well as public health officials and even President Trump."

Minority groups at risk as states withhold, provide partial COVID-19 racial data  4/30/2020 ABC: "As the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the U.S. tops one million, a review of nationwide data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows racial and ethnic information is still missing in over 50% of the total cases reported to the federal government."

Ibram X. Kendi: Why the coronavirus is hitting black people so hard  4/30/2020 Salon: "Then we ask, "OK, why is it that we're dying?" It's not because there's something wrong with black people. It's because we live in neighborhoods where there's environmental hazards, where there's pollution, so that causes young black kids to have asthma. We live in food deserts where it's hard to get access to high quality, cheaper food. That causes people to be more likely to suffer from heart disease and you suffer from respiratory disease, which then is going to make you more likely to die. We're just showing through this book, over time, there's never been anything wrong with black people as a group and always been wrong with the way in which we've been forced to live in this country."

HOW MILWAUKEE REPRESENTS THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC FOR AFRICAN AMERICANS  4/29/2020 The Undefeated: "Researchers at Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health also recently found that long-term exposure to air pollution can possibly lead to higher rates of deaths from COVID-19. A 2019 study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America found that, on average, African Americans are exposed to 56% more air pollution than they themselves cause, air pollution that is disproportionately caused by white Americans. White people, on the other hand, are exposed to 17% less of the air pollution they’re responsible for."

‘A Terrible Price’: The Deadly Racial Disparities of Covid-19 in America  4/29/2020 NY Times Magazine: "He says this precious memory has been marred by the racial health disparities he has spent much of his career studying, the disparities that have come to define the American outbreak of Covid-19 — and the harm this lethal combination has inflicted on the Zulu club. “These men were doing something as seemingly harmless as socializing, as networking, and just because of that moment of fellowship to celebrate their heritage, they’re now dead?” he says. “That just made me pause. It makes you understand the pain, the hurt of this gap in health care outcomes as a function of race that have been with us for decades. Covid-19 has basically taken off the Band-Aid that was covering the wound, pointed out how deep it is and left us no other choice but to finally say: We get it, we see it.”"

Georgia's Covid-19 reopening pits white governor against black mayors  4/22/2020 Guardian: "In a state where African Americans make up more than 32% of the population but account for an estimated 54% of known coronavirus deaths, the decision pitted a white Republican governor against mostly black Democratic mayors and critics. “By trying to push a false opening of the economy, we risk putting more lives in danger,” Stacey Abrams, the Democrat who lost to Kemp in a controversial election in 2018, told MSNBC. Citing the close contact needed for grooming services, Abrams said: “There is nothing about [the measure] that makes sense.”"

Watch: Georgia doctor reacts with horror to Gov. Kemp’s decision to ‘reopen’ state despite pandemic risks  4/22/2020 Alternet: "Dr. Bernice King, daughter of the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., was just as vehement if not more so than Dr. Lorraine. King is actually a member of Kemp’s “Coronavirus Task Force,” but, inexplicably, even she was not informed of his decision beforehand."

Rep. Pressley’s Equitable Data Collection & Disclosure Act included in Latest COVID-19 Relief Package  4/22/2020 Ayanna Presley: "“The inclusion of key aspects of our Equitable Data Collection and Disclosure on COVID-19 Act is a meaningful step forward. This will save lives. We now must work to ensure that the CDC is transparent in their data collection and reporting, and that the data is being used to effectively and efficiently get testing, treatment, and other economic resources and support to those communities most in need.”"

Southern governors create a Covid-19 coalition and experts fear a 'perfect storm'  4/21/2020 Politico: "The newly formed coalition includes Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi, a part of the country that has underfunded health systems, as well as high rates of obesity, diabetes and other illnesses that amplify the deadliness of the coronavirus. And unlike their peers in New York, New Jersey and other Northeastern states that have been working cooperatively since last week to restart their economies, the six in the South have lagged on testing and social distancing measures."

Black Leaders Condemn Republican Governors’ Plans to Reopen State Economies: ‘More People Can Die’  4/21/2020 Atlanta Black Star: "“I’m extremely concerned about the governor’s plans and what his decisions will mean for the safety, health and lives of Georgia residents,” King said in a Periscope video. She is a member of Kemp’s coronavirus task force and revealed the governor did not inform them of his intentions. In the video, King also highlighted the elevated risk for Black people. “I am particularly concerned about populations most affected by the virus,” she said. “It is well-known and conveyed by scientists, medical professionals and data that the coronavirus is proven to be especially dangerous for members of my community, the Black community.”"

Racial toll of virus grows even starker as more data emerges  4/19/2020 ABC: "As a clearer picture emerges of COVID-19’s decidedly deadly toll on black Americans, leaders are demanding a reckoning of the systemic policies they say have made many African Americans far more vulnerable to the virus, including inequity in access to health care and economic opportunity. A growing chorus of medical professionals, activists and political figures is pressuring the federal government to not just release comprehensive racial demographic data of the country’s coronavirus victims, but also to outline clear strategies to blunt the devastation on African Americans and other communities of color."

The Black Plague  4/16/2020 New Yorker: "In Philadelphia, a scientist at Drexel University found that, in Zip Codes with a “lower proportion of minorities and higher incomes,” a higher number of tests were administered. In Zip Codes with a higher number of unemployed and uninsured residents, there were fewer tests. Taken together, testing in higher-income neighborhoods is six times greater than it is in poorer neighborhoods."

Cuban-trained Doctor Helps Mobilize Pandemic Response in Her South Bronx Community  4/11/2020 Indypendent: "In the South Bronx, Dr. Melissa Barber is putting into practice lessons she learned more than a decade ago from her training as a medical student in Cuba at the Latin American School of Medicine, or ELAM as it’s known by its Spanish initials. For Barber, healthcare doesn’t start with an ambulance ride to the hospital but with community organizing and a deep familiarity with the needs of one’s neighbors. Barber is also the coordinator for the U.S.-Cuba scholarship program that provides free medical school training in Cuba for aspiring doctors who commit to return and serve in their communities. Amid the pandemic, she recently took a break to talk with The Indypendent about how the South Bronx is mobilizing against COVID-19 as well as the Cuban medical system that has inspired her life’s work."

Una Médica Capacitada en Cuba Ayuda a Movilizar la Respuesta Ante la Pandemia en su Comunidad del Sur del Bronx  4/11/2020 Indypendent: "En el sur del Bronx, la Dra. Melissa Barber está poniendo en práctica las lecciones que aprendió de su formación como estudiante de medicina en Cuba en la Escuela Latinoamericana de Medicina (ELAM) hace más de una década. Para Barber, la atención médica no comienza con un traslado en ambulancia al hospital, sino con la organización comunitaria y una familiaridad profunda con las necesidades de los vecinos. Barber también es el coordinador de un programa de becas estadounidense-cubano que brinda capacitación gratuita en la escuela de medicina en Cuba para los aspirantes a médicos que se comprometen a regresar a los EE. UU. y servir en sus comunidades después de terminar el programa. En medio de la pandemia, se tomó una pausa para hablar con The Indypendent sobre cómo el Sur del Bronx se está movilizando contra COVID-19, así como el sistema médico cubano que ha inspirado su trabajo y su vida."

Humanity’s Catastrophe: Following Sylvia Wynter in the Age of Coronavirus  4/10/2020 Critical Legal Thinking: "For the oppressed, the future will have been now and if local responses to the global crisis are anything to go by, now is perhaps the time to give the Human a long-overdue makeover, or as Sylvia Wynter states, “…the struggle of our new millennium will be one between the ongoing imperative of securing the well-being of our present ethnoclass (i.e. Western Bourgeois) conception of the human, Man, which over represents itself as if it were the human itself, and that of securing the well-being, and therefore the full cognitive and behavioural autonomy of the human species itself/ourselves.”"

'It's a racial justice issue': Black Americans are dying in greater numbers from Covid-19  4/8/2020 Guardian: "According to CDC guidelines, every state is legally required to track data on testing and treatment by race, as it has done during other outbreaks. Fewer than a dozen have released that data so far. Last week congressional Democrats, including Senator Elizabeth Warren and Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, both of Massachusetts, sent a letter demanding the CDC provide racial data. Without demographic data, health officials and lawmakers would not be able to address inequities in health outcomes and testing that might emerge, the letter said. The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights also called out the CDC for not including those racial breakdowns. “This is a crisis like none other and officials in our state and federal governments play a large role here in bringing transparency,” said Kristen Clarke, committee president and executive director. The committee sent letters urging state health departments, as well as Washington DC, to release their numbers. On Monday, Washington’s Mayor Muriel Bowser published coronavirus numbers by race for the first time: of the District’s 24 deaths, 14 were of black patients. After losing its majority-black status in 2011, Washington DC is now 45.5% African American. Bowser dismissed questions on racial disparities, claiming “all deaths are a concern”. But for many black communities the threat of being infected by Covid-19 is proportional to their fear. According to Pew, 46% of black Americans viewed the coronavirus as a threat to their health, more than double their white counterparts."

AMERICA SET UP BLACK COMMUNITIES TO BE HARDER HIT BY COVID-19  4/8/2020 The Verge: "“When you look at [COVID-19] that particularly is virulent for persons who have higher rates of disease, that’s exactly the picture of African Americans. But it’s not their genes. It’s the social conditions that we have created,” says, David Williams, a professor of public health at Harvard whose research has examined how race and class affect health. “I hope this is a wake up call for America.”"

Louisiana’s COVID-19 deaths were 70 percent Black residents  4/7/2020 Griot: "More than 70 percent of Louisianans who have died from COVID-19 are African-American, and the leading underlying issue is hypertension. The news comes a day after The Grio reported that 70 percent of all COVID-19 deaths in Chicago are Black people."

What the COVID-19 Pandemic Means for Black Americans  4/7/2020 Scientific American: "One of the main solutions to combating COVID-19 is widespread testing that would allow us to cohort and quarantine groups of patients who test positive so as to restrict the spread of disease. However, COVID1-9 testing has had limited availability for a variety of reasons, including ineffective federal leadership, the bureaucracy of federal agencies and an uncoordinated health care system. As a physician, I’ve found it upsetting that celebrities and government officials without symptoms have been able to access testing quickly with same-day results, while I’ve had to ration out testing to my patients with turnaround times of five, seven and sometimes 10 days as a result of backlogs."

Van Jones: Start screaming this to black community to avoid disaster  4/7/2020 YouTube: "CNN political commentator Van Jones explains how the novel coronavirus pandemic has the potential to hit the African-American community especially hard."

Rate of deaths, illness among black residents alarms cities  4/6/2020 Miami Herald: "Public health experts in Chicago said the trend was unsurprising to anyone familiar with decades-old barriers to health care in the geographically divided city; residents of the city’s South and West sides historically have poorer access to health care, higher poverty rates and jobs that require them to keep showing up while others are able to work from home. Similar conditions mark other large cities with large black populations that are considered hot spots for the coronavirus, including New York, Detroit, Milwaukee and New Orleans. Figures released Monday by Michigan’s Department of Health and Human Services showed African Americans, who make up 14% of the state population, make up about 33% of cases statewide and 41% of deaths."

Black America must wake up to this viral threat  4/6/2020 CNN: "In addition, younger African Americans are already dying at higher rates from diabetes, HIV and cancer than white populations of the same age, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And people who contract Covid-19 and are already immunocompromised appear at greater risk of complications from the virus, should they contract it. Furthermore, obesity rates are significantly higher among both African American children (17 and under) and adults (18 and older), according to the Department of Health and Human Services. And obesity puts them at greater risk of those underlying immunocompromising illnesses such as diabetes and high-blood pressure."

Leaked Memo Reveals Amazon Execs Plotted to Paint Fired 'Not Smart' Worker as 'Face of Entire Union/Organizing Movement'  4/3/2020 Common Dreams: "The richest man on earth, @JeffBezos, had a meeting to develop a PR strategy to smear Christian Smalls, a young, African American Amazon warehouse worker, father of 3, who organized a walkout because of unsafe conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Look how they talk about him"

The South Doesn’t Want to Self-Isolate  4/2/2020 Washington Monthly: "Whether religiosity explains it, or a probably related skepticism toward scientific expert advice, or maybe something to do with their car culture, I don’t know. But their slowness to respond to this outbreak has undermined the effectiveness of the efforts of the areas that did respond. And, because of the nature of this disease, we’re all going to be paying for that for the foreseeable future."

In 1918 and 2020, race colors America’s response to epidemics  4/1/2020 The Undefeated: "When the flu epidemic of 1918 came to Chicago, black people were blamed, and that blame came directly from John Dill Robertson, the city’s commissioner of public health."

Whoopi Goes Off on Bernie’s Castro Remarks: ‘There’s Nothing Groovy About a Dictatorship!’  2/26/2020 Daily Beast: "Liberal co-host Joy Behar expressed exasperation over Sanders’ position, claiming he should have also said that Cuba is “an oppressive dictatorship” where the “quality of life is awful.”"

Whoopi Goldberg: Bernie Sanders praising Cuba 'as bad' as Trump's Charlottesville remarks  2/25/2020 Washington Examiner

African Solidarity with the Cuban Revolution  12/21/2019 Hood Communist: "Fourteen days ago I was in Cuba, one of 160ish people there for the Venceremos Brigade – a solidarity delegation celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. The VB was started half a century ago, a first of its kind internationalist mission created by youth living and struggling in the United States who wanted to show their solidarity with the Cuban Revolution. The Brigade has shown up in many sizes and forms over the years but at its core it remains about people to people anti-imperialist solidarity in direct action form. The VB is an act of collective support for Cuba’s right to self-determination and an act of collective defiance against limitations on the free movement of US citizens and the devastating blockade that has stolen billions of dollars from the Cuban economy over the course of generations."

Nikole Hannah-Jones on the 1619 project, choosing schools, and Cuba  12/1/2019 Vox Podcast: "Ezra Klein and Nikole Hannah-Jones discuss America's founding contradiction, racial segregation, capitalism and more."

La Habana y Nueva Orleans firman un acuerdo de cooperación  11/14/2019 Todo Cuba: "Autoridades de las ciudades de La Habana y Nueva Orleans suscribieron este jueves un memorando de entendimiento para cooperar en diversas áreas. El acuerdo ocurre en el marco del 500 aniversario de la capital cubana y a pesar de las deterioradas relaciones entre los gobiernos de Cuba y Estados Unidos. Suscribieron el acuerdo el director de Relaciones Internacionales y Colaboración del Consejo de Administración Provincial de la Habana, Félix Mejías Ruíz, y el director de Relaciones Intergubernamentales de Nueva Orleans, Arthur C. Walton, de visita en Cuba con una delegación del consistorio de la ciudad estadounidense."

Kendrick Sampson Is Empowering Celebs To Become Activists With New Initiative  7/16/2019 Huff Post: "Along with organizers Tia Oso and Mike de la Rocha, Sampson is seeking to cultivate a community where collective action can take place. At May’s launch event, the team introduced the nonprofit to nearly 300 entertainers, athletes, artists and organizers, offering them a crash course in how they can use their privilege to advocate for those who need it most. BLD PWR focuses primarily on “intersectional racial justice and undoing systemic oppression in the criminal legal system,” according to its website. The group uses education and individualized training to help folks dive into their personal journeys with policy experts, academics and organizers."

Actor Kendrick Sampson Talks About His New Activism-Focused Organization  6/11/2019 Teen Vogue: "The actor is working with individuals like the Black Lives Matter cofounder Patrisse Cullors, UCLA professor Kelly Lytle Hernandez, and Cal State L.A. professor Melina Abdullah to provide a knowledge base required to effectively talk about systematic oppression and societal dangers. Kendrick has his hands in a couple of different pots that include immigrant rights, prison reform, and police brutality. When asked to list the most pressing issues affecting the future of this country (no small question), Kendrick answers eloquently: “I'm just going to kind of break it down into four things: education, housing, health care, and jobs. Those all intersect,” he explains."

[Black] Cuban Revolutionaries  5/1/2019 Souls, UIC: This issue of Souls will be out Spring/Summer - "What has it meant, and does it mean to be a [Black] Cuban revolutionary? We also seek essays which look at how the early revolution handled race, and black revolutionary thought, and what it has done since. In addition, how have revolutionaries taken different positions on this question over time? There are now movements and groups that center the experiences of Afro-descendants whose purpose it is to tackle the racial problem. What have been their goals and how have they measured success? What has been the role of Hip Hop, film, African religions, and educational institutions? How has the US blockade and US aggression impacted this discussion in Cuba; and how do different lenses, such as that from African-Americans, complicate and problematize this question? In addition, what has been the impact of the hundreds of thousands of Cubans that fought in and have worked in Africa on their sense of race? We seek essays, which address these types of questions in ideological, pedagogical, sociological, and political and cultural ways."

Rev. Tom Smith  2/27/2019 Bambose Shango: "Today I received a call from Rev. Tom Smith, who said he was dying, but wanted to call me to thank me for introducing him to Cuba, Lucius Walker, P4P, and Sister Cities where he had the opportunity to meet many of you. He said his participation in all of these organizations had made his life worthwhile, and opened many doors that had enriched his life, that everyone he encountered through the work with solidarity with Cuba, had been ‘a blessing’. Upon reflection of his life, the solidarity work to build a better world was what he treasured the most."

Nehanda Abiodun, 68, Black Revolutionary Who Fled to Cuba, Dies  2/8/2019 NYT: "“I have a commitment to those who have sacrificed their lives for us,” she told Ebony magazine in 2014. “I’m talking about from the time of slavery, the first Africans who were brought here, that gave their lives for us to be free.” Ms. Abiodun was born Laverne Cheri Dalton in Harlem on June 29, 1950, to Wesley and Marge Dalton. Her mother worked for United Airlines, and her father was a bodyguard for Malcolm X for a time. Laverne grew up immersed in the black power movement."

We Have Iré: Afro-Cuban in the United States  12/13/2018 Casita Maria: "Iré - the Lucumi condition of being blessed with positive energy. We Have Iré: Afro-Cuban in the United States, conceived by Cuban-American writer-performer Paul S. Flores and co-produced with Puerto Rican filmmaker and photographer Eli Jacobs-Fantauzzi, is an interactive, multi-disciplinary event that highlights the experiences of Afro-Cuban and Cuban-American artists as they seek to define their voices in the United States, finding success through hard work and “iré”."

The Last Black Radical: How Cuba Turned LeRoi Jones Into Amiri Baraka  12/10/2018 Poetry Foundation: "He meets Robert Williams, a former head of the Monroe, North Carolina chapter of the NAACP, a former advocate of nonviolence who changed his pacifist message after the cops violently attacked black citizens in that town. Robert suggested that all black people carry guns from that point on and was exiled for his call to arms. He meets Fidel Castro and hears him speak and asks, “what do you intend to do with this revolution?” “Whatever the people want,” is Fidel’s response, as he explains that he’s not a Communist but a Radical Humanist."

I dig through archives to unearth hidden stories from African-American history  12/4/2018 The Conversation: "Many years ago, as a graduate student searching in the archives of Spanish Florida, I discovered the first “underground railroad” of enslaved Africans escaping from Protestant Carolina to find religious sanctuary in Catholic Florida. In 1738, these runaways formed Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose, the first free black settlement in what became the U.S. The excitement of that discovery encouraged me to keep digging. After doing additional research in Spain, I followed the trail of the Mose villagers to Cuba, where they had emigrated when Great Britain acquired Florida. I found many of them in 18th-century church records in Havana, Matanzas, Regla, Guanabacoa and San Miguel del Padrón."

Unearth Hidden Stories from African-American History in Digital Archive  12/4/2018 Urban Faith: "Previously unknown church records for Havana’s black Brotherhood of St. Joseph the Carpenter document the membership of Jose Antonio Aponte, executed by Spanish officials in 1812 for leading an alleged slave conspiracy. Our records similarly document the marriage and death of another famed “conspirator” – the mulatto poet Gabriel de la Concepcion Valdes, better known as Placido. Africans and their descendants also left a documentary trail in municipal and provincial archives, including petitions, property registries and disputes, bills of sale, dowries and letters from owners granting slaves their freedom."

La segunda visita de Will Smith a Cuba  11/19/2018 Vistar: "willsmith: Corrí medio maratón en La Habana esta mañana. Gracias Cuba! Me encantó!"

Cuban Art Show Comes to South Bronx Gallery WE HAVE IRE: AFRO-CUBAN IN THE U.S.  11/16/2018 Broadway World: "Casita Maria Center For Arts & Education in partnership with Pregones Theater are proud to present "We Have Ire: Afro-Cuban in the United States." This exhibition and multi-disciplinary theater project will be produced by Cuban-American writer, performer, Doris Duke Artist and San Francisco resident Paul S. Flores, with collaborating Puerto Rican filmmaker and photographer Eli Jacobs-Fantauzzi. "We Have Ire" documents the stories of four Cuban artists, focusing on their influences and dreams."

Maduro in NY: Harlem Stands with Venezuela as US Allies Appeal to ICC  9/27/2018 Venezuela Analysis: "Maduro’s participation in New York had earlier been cast into doubt when he cited security concerns over travelling to the USA. Nevertheless, he made the journey for the first time since 2015, only to be greeted by the announcement of further sanctions by the US Treasury Department and talk of a military uprising by US President Donald Trump. His presence was, though, greatly appreciated by the 2000 strong Harlem crowd."

NJ Black Caucus meeting with Cuban diplomats tarnishes group  9/4/2018 NJ.com: the author: "Jose Arango, a Republican who represented the 33rd District in the N.J. Assembly (1986-88), was the first Hispanic elected to the state's legislature from Hudson County, the county with the largest Hispanic population in New Jersey."

The Spirit of Black August in Solidarity with Venezuela  9/4/2018 Venezuela Analysis: "The majority, Black and Brown working class in Venezuela do not want a US model. The people are fighting everyday against these attacks in their collectives, cooperatives, communes and grassroots social movements. The Bolivarian State, a revolutionary government determined to human rights and guaranteeing a life with dignity and happiness for all stands with its people. The Venezuelan people support their President Nicolás Maduro and are manifesting their vision for 21st Century Socialism."

Rihanna and Donald Glover In Cuba: ‘Guava Island’ Is Likely Much Bigger Than a Music Video – Report  8/17/2018 Indiewire: "Director Hiro Murai, "Atlanta" cinematographer Christian Sprenger, and "This Is America" creative director Ibra Ake have been in Cuba prepping most of the summer."

Donald Glover And Rihanna Spotted Filming In Cuba  8/16/2018 Vibe: "Entertainment Tonight reports the film is being shot in several locations throughout Havana and is directed by Hiro Murai who directed the video for Glover’s “This Is America.” The Cuban website Visitar also reports Black Panther’s Letitia Wright and British-Nigerian actor Nonso Anozie are also featured in the film."

Rihanna filma en La Habana, ¿sobre qué tratará la película?  8/16/2018 Nuevo Herald: "La sesión tuvo como telón de fondo varios rincones de La Habana Vieja y el restaurante La Guarida. En cuanto a Childish Gambino, aprovechó la visita estancia en el país para conocer la Fábrica de Arte Cubano."

Childish Gambino visitó la Fábrica de Arte Cubano  8/14/2018 Vistar: "La Habana tiene caminando por sus calles a Donald Glover (Childish Gambino). Pasa desapercibido para muchos por su forma sencilla de vestir y la ola mediática que genera el regreso de Rihanna a la Isla para el rodaje de una especie de película musical."

The Time Fidel Castro Hired Joe Louis as a PR Flack  8/7/2018 OZY: "...a group of prominent African-Americans assembled by former world heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis, who wore a traditional hat called a guajiro for the occasion. Since 1935, two years before he became world champ, Louis had been a partner in Rowe-Louis-Fischer-Lockhart, an all-Black public relations firm in New York City. Castro greatly respected Louis’ athletic skills and his inspirational rise from poverty as the son of an Alabama sharecropper. And that admiration helped the boxer and his firm land a gig to organize the influential Americans toasting the arrival of 1960 with Castro."

5 Tips on visiting Cuba (Yes, even in this Trump era)  7/31/2018 The Griot: "I couldn’t escape my citizenship, but I could subvert it by developing meaningful relationships with other Black people from whom I was supposed to feel isolated by national borders, class hierarchy, a 60-year old political feud, and a language barrier. Somewhere along the way, I got knocked up by a Cuban, and now I spend months at a time in Cuba to co-parent our child. The change in presidential administration has added to the confusion about how to get to Cuba and, for many, has also intensified the desire for respite from American nationalism."

bell hooks: “Lo más importante es lo que digo en mis libros, no quién soy”  7/23/2018 Afrofeminas: "bell hooks es un autora afroestadounidense, profesora, académica y activista social. En su carrera, que abarca cuatro décadas, ha explorado y escrito sobre una variedad de temas, incluidos el racismo, el feminismo, la cultura y la educación. Su trabajo se ha centrado en identificar y desafiar los sistemas de opresión y discriminación que se basan en la raza, el sexo y la clase. Hay un amplio consenso en considerarla como una de las intelectuales y escritoras más importantes de su generación."

Visiting Cuba: My Nigerian-American Perspective, By Bunmi Fatoye-Matory  6/9/2018 Premium Times, Nigeria: "Cuban socialist leaders claim to have slain the monstrous dragon of racism in Cuba, but this is a myth. The reality is that there is a distinction in how resources are distributed between the descendants of Africa and those of Europe. The white ruling elites fled after the revolution, so Castro and his peers had the opportunity to reset the race button. This means black and white Cubans who remained there after the revolution were starting at more or less the same line. As we went around Havana, we found that the leaders of all the institutions we visited were white, even at the Casa Da Africa, a museum devoted to things African. We also heard the familiar negative and racist construction of black people as “lazy”, “not liking education” and other unsavory characteristics that the oppressor white groups heaped on descendants of enslaved Africans in the Americas."

At Havana’s Diaspora Sol Conference, Bridges Built Between Black Americans and Afro-Cubans  6/7/2018 Latino USA: "Last month’s Diaspora Sol conference brought together artists and activists of African descent living in the United States and Cuba to discuss race, racism, empowerment and building solidarity. With panels on activism, natural hair and organizing, as well as three hip-hop concerts featuring Black Cuban and American artists, Diaspora Sol was the first event of its kind in recent years. The conference was also a reflection of the history of solidarity between African-Americans and Afro-Cubans. The African Diaspora Alliance, an organization started by Moriah Ray and Jasmine Hall, two black 25-year-old U.S.-based activists, organized the three-day conference in collaboration with the Cuban-based women’s hip-hop organization Somos Mucho Más, and other groups based out of Cuba and the U.S., like Women of Color in Solidarity."

Why African-American Doctors Are Choosing to Study Medicine in Cuba  6/6/2018 New Yorker: "In the U.S., black and Latino students represent approximately six per cent of medical-school graduates each year. By contrast, nearly half of E.L.A.M.’s American graduates are black, and a third are Latino. “You would never see those numbers” in the U.S., Melissa Barber, another American E.L.A.M. graduate, told me."

Black Artists and Race in the U. S. and Cuba. Reflections after more than a half century of liberation and civil rights  6/1/2018 Scielo: "Contrastes y similitudes en la obra de algunos artistas afro-cubanos y afro-americanos que toman como motivo el tema raza para reflejar las diferencias que se manifiestan en la sociedad a la que pertenece. Artistas negros en ambos países toman la racialidad como tema, con diferente impacto social. En Cuba, las voces de los artistas parecen tener mayor correlación con la imagen política que la que la sociedad tiene de sí misma. Algunos artistas también se sienten cómodos comentando la situación de los Estados Unidos a través de su obra. Los trabajos de los artistas afro-cubanos que critican la sociedad estadounidense y su política parecen ser más favorablemente recibida internacionalmente que las protestas artísticas de los afro-americanos que tratan temas raciales. La visibilidad y volatilidad de las relaciones raciales en los Estados Unidos disminuyen irónica y efectivamente el impacto del arte que critica estas condiciones. Los artistas de la diáspora africana en ambos países utilizan las potencialidades del arte para aumentar la concientización y, en última instancia, realizar cambios sociales progresivos."

Rapper Nitty Scott Premieres Single ‘No Toques Mi Pelo’ at Havana Afro-Diaspora Event  5/17/2018 Latino USA: "For locals, the song did seem to resonate though most of the lyrics were in English and Spanglish. The connection crossed language barriers, pointing to a global shared experience of blackness. Some of the lyrics in the song included the line “not your princesa” (“not your princess”) and other statements that celebrated Afro-Latina womanhood and stood up for black women who have to constantly defend themselves against non-consensual touching of their hair. “She has a wonderful flow, and even though it was in English, you understand a lot,” said Damarys “Hezfi-ba” Benavides, an Afro-Cuban hip-hop artist. “She connected with the crowd a lot, I loved it.”"

The Puerto Rican Who Inspired The Collection of Black History  2/20/2018 Al dia: "Schomburg proudly defined himself as an Afro-Puerto Rican, the son of a black mother from St. Croix and a Puerto Rican father of German ancestry. (In 1560 Puerto Rico had 15,000 Africans and only 500 whites.) Schomburg was very active in the liberation movements in Puerto Rico and Cuba – then colonies of Spain at the time he moved to NYC."

We Are Not Hidden: Race in Cuba  2/19/2018 Pulitzer Center: "Castro and the Revolution promoted the concept of la cubanidad, or "one Cuban identity"—thus, essentially erasing Cuba’s rich racial history from the overall narrative. Forty-nine years later, Fidel’s brother, Raúl Castro, performs the inverse of his actions." [This was not an idea of Fidel's, but based on Cuban Republican thinking exemplified by Marti, a hero on both sides of the Florida Straights. This thinking was inherited from the French Republic and is found across Latin America. Fidel did not erase any history, how could he? His approached had a lot of merit and worked pretty well until the special period in the 90's, producing many Black doctors, engineers, scientists and other professionals. He finally admitted it was not working around 2000 at the time of the Malcolm X Conference. Cuban realities are complex and require a great deal of investigation to begin to understand them. This young journalist (photo) needs to hone her reporting skills and interview a broader cross section of people other than those associated with US paid dissidents.]

In Cuba, There Isn’t a Movement for Black Thought, or Black Pride. It Doesn’t Exist.  2/19/2018 Pulitzer Center: “In Cuba, there isn’t a movement for Black thought. It doesn’t exist,” Alcántara said. He, along with other Cubans of color, acknowledge that the lack of Black pride in Cuba is related to Cuba’s cultural structure of associating Blackness with something that is ugly and undesirable. There is some desire in Cuba, as well as in other parts of Latin America and the Caribbean, to “adelantar la raza” or whiten the race. [Many half truth here, the author needs to perfect her reporting skills and interview more people! "Alcántara" (actually his maternal name and not one you would normally use) works with US paid dissidents and is hardly a major source on Black culture in Cuba.]

Oakland group hopes film will aid sainthood effort of Mother Mary Lange  2/19/2018 The Catholic Voice of Oakland: "A Cuban filmmaker, whose mother was educated by the Oblate Sisters of Providence, is researching a film focusing on the Sisters' time in Cuba. The Sisters arrived in 1900, and left in 1961, after Fidel Castro came to power. A group of Bay Area people who don't want to see Mother Lange's legacy lost to history is working to help provide funding for "Sisters of Hope," Gloria Rolando's film project. Rolando spent a month at the convent in Baltimore researching alongside Kathy Knecht, the Sisters' archivist."

African Americans, National Liberation and the Vietnamese Revolution, Reject the Pentagon War Machine  2/2/2018 Global Research: "Robert F. Williams had been the president of the NAACP chapter in Monroe, North Carolina when he advocated and practiced armed self-defense against the Ku Klux Klan. Williams’ refusal to categorically accept the nonviolent approach to civil rights later resulted in his expulsion from the NAACP in 1961. Eventually he was forced to leave North Carolina amid an attempt to frame him on false kidnapping charges of a white couple. After being transported out of North Carolina by supporters, Williams eventually settled in Cuba and later the People’s Republic of China. He spent time as well in North Vietnam addressing radio broadcasts to African American GIs, exposing the racist and imperialist character of the war."

For special month, snapshots of African American Catholic history  2/1/2018 Crux: "In 1829, several women living in Baltimore, all Haitian refugees, took the initiative to educate children at home. The archbishop supported them in their efforts to start the Oblate Sisters of Providence, with the first superior being Elizabeth Lange, born in Cuba of Haitian parents."

One of History's Foremost Anti-Slavery Organizers Is Often Left Out of the Black History Month Story  1/31/2018 Time: "At the end of the Civil War, Henry Garnet expressed his disappointment at what he considered to be premature celebrations of the end of slavery. Rev. Garnet urged abolitionists to retool their anti-slavery organizations to fight slavery’s continuing existence in nations such as Cuba and Brazil. At the height of Reconstruction, Garnet insisted that African Americans tie their struggles for the passage of equal-rights legislation with the Cuban liberation struggle against Spanish rule. In 1872, the popular minister helped to organize the Cuban Anti-Slavery Committee, which formed branches throughout Florida, Louisiana, New York, California and other states. The committee launched a national movement to demand that the United States extend support to the Cuban patriots fighting for independence from the Spanish Empire. At a mass meeting held in Philadelphia in 1877, Rev. Garnet expounded on the theme that the work of slavery abolitionism was incomplete. “If the veteran abolitionists of the United States had not mustered themselves out of service,” he argued, “I believe that there would not now have been a single slave in the Island of Cuba.” Rev. Garnet continued, “We sympathize with the patriot of Cuba not simply because they are Republicans, but because their triumph will be the destruction of slavery in that land.”"

The hidden history of black nationalist women’s political activism  1/30/2018 The Conversation: "As I demonstrate in my new book, “Set the World on Fire,” black nationalist movements would have all but disappeared were it not for women. What’s more, these women laid the groundwork for the generation of black activists who came of age during the civil rights-black power era. In the 1960s, many black activists – including Ella Baker, Fannie Lou Hamer, Robert F. Williams, Malcolm X and Stokely Carmichael – drew on these women’s ideas and political strategies."

Miami Latinos Have Avoided Electing African American County Mayors, But That Could Finally Change  1/29/2018 Remezcla: "In 1983, Puerto Rican Miami Mayor Maurice Ferrer won his sixth consecutive two-year term against Cuban-born Xavier Suarez after a campaign that began to uncover the growing tensions between Miami’s Cuban majority and the Black minority. Many Black voters campaigned for Ferrer, resentful of the “Cuban takeover” of the city. Suarez’s supporters, in turn, were found holding signs that simply urged, “Cubans, vote Cuban.” As Luke wrote, only one Black county mayoral candidate has gotten a close chance at the seat: Arthur Teele, Jr. in 1995. Teele won a majority of the Black vote, but barely gained any Latino neighborhoods, while his opponent, Cuban born Alex Penelas, garnered 90 percent of the Latino vote come election day."

"The Art of Journey" at the Montclair Art Museum, Feb 22  1/26/2018 Ben Jones: "Join us for the showing documentary of “The Art of the Journey: The Ben Jones Story”. New Jersey-born Artist, Activist, Professor Ben Jones has used his art to bring awareness to the plight of people throughout the world, with a strong concentration on the struggles of the people of Cuba."

Dee Dee Bridgewater en Cuba o “esto es absolutamente fantástico”  1/22/2018 D'Cuba Jazz: "Como una de las tantas oportunidades que regala el Jazz Plaza, la tres veces ganadora del Granmy, *Dee Dee Bridgewater*, cantó en La Habana. La artista quien, dicen los que saben, tiene una de las mejores voces de la historia del jazz, trasladó la sala Avellaneda del Teatro Nacional de Cuba hasta el cuadrante sureste de los Estados Unidos, donde nacieron los ritmos que ella representa."

Black Rights and Anti-Racism, From Hampton Roads To Cuba  11/16/2017 New Journal & Guide: "This past October, I was privileged, as a professor, to represent NSU for a groundbreaking post-graduate seminar in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Latin American Council for Social Sciences (CLACSO). Students from 15 Latin American countries and the United States debated the most salient issues of black activism, equal rights and citizenship in the hemisphere. Every Cuban advocate for a public debate on the resurgence of anti-black racism since the crisis-ridden 1990s has heard of Norfolk State. Over a period of six years, more than fifty NSU students have traveled to Cuba for study abroad programs in which these issues were studied in historical and contemporary perspective."

Preocupación de afrodescendientes en Estados Unidos  9/28/2017 Juventud Rebelde: "Casi dos tercios de los afroestadounidenses se declaran preocupados por la presidencia de Donald Trump, según una encuesta que reseñó AFP. Solo un cinco por ciento de los entrevistados dijo que espera que sus decisiones políticas afecten positivamente a la población negra, mientras que el 64 por ciento dijo que el impacto será negativo. El 84 por ciento manifestó que sienten que el país ha tomado una orientación errónea. El sondeo se dio a conocer tras las críticas reiteradas de Trump a los jugadores de fútbol de EE. UU. que se arrodillan durante la ejecución del himno para protestar por la injusticia racial; la mayoría de ellos, negros."

Harlem to Havana: Langston Hughes Helped a Nation Connect to Its African Roots  9/2/2017 NBC: "Perhaps, most importantly, Hughes was in contact with the Latino Jose Antonio Fernandez de Castro, a journalist who “loved Negro Cuba” and aided Hughes’ interactions with Afro-Cuban artists and writers. In 1930, Hughes met the Afro-Cuban Nicolas Guillen who, inspired by Hughes, would go on to write verse that reflected the rhythms of Afro-Cuba and later become known as the island’s National Poet."

Race and Politics: Independent Party of Color in 1900s Cuba  8/24/2017 Blacks in America: "Despite their essential role in the Cuban independence struggles, the Afro Cuban population remained at the lower end of the economic and social structures when Cuba gained its independence from Spain. As a result, Afro Cubans began asking the government to make political positions available in proportion to the Afro Cuban regional and local populations. As requests for stronger political representation continued to be made, Evaristo Estenoz and Gregorio Surin founded the Partido Independiente de Color (The Independent Party of Color) in Havana in 1908."

Black Lives Matter in Cuba  8/21/2017 teleSUR: "Many of these same doctors then went to Haiti, the Western Hemisphere’s first free black republic, where today there are several hundred Cuban doctors and specialists providing free health care to 4 million people. After the deadly 2010 earthquake, Cuba health professionals arrived within 72 hours as some of the first responders. The United States, on the other hand, sent thousands of marine soldiers to the island."

Miami beauty queen competing in Washington embraces Afro-Cuban-American identity with natural hair  8/19/2017 ABC: "Miss Black Florida USA is among the Afro-Latinas in South Florida who are joining a natural hair movement. The African-American natural hair movement is rooted in a defiance against a painful racist history and is tangled up in a fight for equal rights. Embracing their natural hair is a transition that goes beyond style choices or fashion trends. Diaz, who is an Afro-Cuban-American beauty queen from Miami's Little Havana, said her choice is about redefining beauty pageants and self awareness."

AmeriCuba: U.S. music made in Cuba  8/5/2017 On Cuba: "AmeriCuba is the record that Havana Maestros presented to the general public. Ten themes that, according to Torres, seek to create an understanding between the music made in the United States and the Cuban rhythms, by combining instrumentalists of the stature of Amadito Valdés (percussion) and Emilio Morales (piano) with very well-known pieces like “Stand By Me” by Ben E. King."

Una Habana para Nat King Cole  8/3/2017 Desmemoriados: "La expectación por su inminente llegada a La Habana tenía orígenes diferentes: Martin Fox, dueño del cabaret Tropicana, sabía que haber logrado contratar al cantante más popular en Estados Unidos en ese momento, representaba además de un remarcable esfuerzo económico, un escalón superior en el camino ascendente del cabaret más exitoso entonces en toda Cuba."

IU students learn dance, culture in Cuba  8/3/2017 Indiannapolis Recorder: "More than 2,000 creatives — from artists and musicians to actors and magicians — take over the streets of Cuba each year during a colorful celebration known as the Festival del Caribe. Last month, a group of 11 Indiana University students, along with faculty members and alumni, traveled over a thousand miles to be among the crowd. These scholars didn’t come as spectators or tourists; they came with the goal of learning new moves and showcasing their skills on a global stage."

Africana Institute Trip to Cuba August 3  7/26/2017 Essex Community College: "A contingent from Essex County College, through a trip sponsored by the College’s Africana Institute, is heading to Cuba for a week-long educational experience. Led by Africana Institute Director Dr. Akil Khalfani and Professor Ladylease White, a total of 15 travelers will embark to Cuba on August 3."

Romanticising Cuba, neglecting Zim, Venezuela  7/21/2017 Herald, Zimbabwe: "Thanks to an article entitled “African American and Cuba’s First Experiment in Tourism: The Joe Louis Commission in Post-Revolutionary Cuba” written by University of California-Riverside historian Ralph Crowder, Africans everywhere had the opportunity to learn that the former heavyweight champion led a delegation of 71 journalists, that were a who’s who of the National Newspaper Publishers’ Association (NNPA), which is the umbrella organisation for so-called African American newspapers."

8 Things To Know About Assata Shakur And The Calls For Her Return From Cuba  6/26/2017 Essence: "Many prominent Black thinkers and leaders have also maintained her innocence. Angela Davis, for example, has said that Shakur is a little threat to the U.S. government: "Assata is not a threat. She is innocent," she has said. "People really don't know the details and are not aware of the extent to which [Shakur] was targeted by the FBI and the COINTEL programme.""

Venezuela Is Under Attack for Asserting That Black Lives Matter  6/23/2017 teleSUR: "Chavez was the first president in the Americas to openly acknowledge and embrace his Indigenous and African heritage. The privately owned Venezuelan media often referred to him with racist slurs. In 2005, Chávez declared that, "hate against me has a lot to do with racism. Because of my big mouth and curly hair. And I'm so proud to have this mouth and this hair, because it is African." That same year, Chávez created the Presidential Commission for the Prevention and Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination in the Venezuelan Educational System."

‘We Cannot Remain Silent’: Cuban Women Slam ‘Ignorant’ Trump  6/22/2017 teleSUR: "Recognizing human rights abuses in the United States, Cuban women cited Charleena Lyles, a pregnant Black woman who was killed by two police officers."

Fate of Annual HBCU Cuba Programs Unclear  6/22/2017 Afro: "Wickham told the AFRO that once the federal government rolls out the new regulations he will ensure the trips he leads to Cuba adhere with the new policy. Until then, he said, those trips will continue until the administration tells him his groups cannot go as journalists and/or educators."

Cuban Government: We Will Never Return Assata Shakur to U.S.  6/21/2017 All Black Media: "Gustavo Machin, the deputy director of American affairs at the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told Yahoo News that he has no intention of returning Joanne Chesimard, more notably as Assata Shakur, to the United States. “I can say it is off the table,” Machin said."

Trump Demands Cuba Return Assata Shakur  6/17/2017 All Black Media

Trump Talks Cuba, but All I Heard Was ‘Assata Shakur’ and All I Saw Was a ‘Blacks for Trump’ Sign  6/16/2017 The Root

Meet Daymé Arocena: Cuba’s Jazz Phenomenon Fusing Salsa, Hip-Hop And Neo-Soul  6/16/2017 Vibe: "Daymé Arocena is a singing drum. Her mouth blooms a litany of ethereal chants, a sacred devotion as impeccable as her white assembles against her molasses skin—traditional garb in the Afro-Cuban religion of Santeria. She moves in the world the way she moves on any stage: swaying hips and wagging fingers, building a quiet momentum that emerges a thunderclap woman, who carries both Celia Cruz and Aretha Franklin in her heart."

Fears of Black Political Activism in Cuba and Beyond, 1912–2017  6/15/2017 The Weekly Challenger: By Devyn Spence Benson - "When I arrived in Havana on April 6, 2013, a number of people I talked to (all well-educated revolutionaries) immediately compared Zurbano’s public critique to the formation of the PIC in 1908. Incredibly, these Cubans suggested that Zurbano’s article meant that he wanted to start his own black political party! That was not and is still not the case, but repeatedly linking Zurbano to the PIC illustrates how many Cubans still fear that any critique of the revolution by a black Cuban is a radical position that threatens national unity and is thus a cause for alarm."

US Ben Jones to Exhibit at Fine Arts Museum  6/2/2017 Prensa Latina: "U.S plastic artist Ben Jones will exhibit his inedit work at the Fine Arts Museum of Cuba from next Juliy 21, the institution announced. According to its office of Public Relations, the artist has just arrived at this capital to prepare his first personal exhibition here, scheduled to be in site until October 23 in the Transitional Room of the fourth floor of the Universal Art building."

Norteamericano Ben Jones expondrá en Museo de Bellas Artes de Cuba  6/2/2017 Prensa Latina: "El artista norteamericano de la plástica Ben Jones expondrá obras inéditas en el Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes de Cuba a partir del próximo 21 de julio, anunció hoy esta entidad. De acuerdo con la oficina de Relaciones Públicas de la institución, el creador recién vino a esta capital para preparar su primera exposición personal aquí, prevista para ocupar hasta el 23 de octubre la Sala Transitoria del cuarto nivel del Edificio de Arte Universal."

Jimmy's world shines light on Afro-Cuban culture of Matanzas  5/21/2017 Pittsburgh Post Gazette: "Next we walked down Matanzas’ narrow, tatty streets to Jimmy’s neighborhood. He lived in Barrio La Marina, a neighborhood near the Bay of Matanzas. It is a place where butchers walk their pigs through the streets, domino players huddle, neighbors break out in spontaneous dance celebrations and friends gather for community soup, everyone contributes something to the shared pot."

‘AfroRazones’ Compilation Traces the Legacy of Black Resistance From Havana to the Bronx  5/21/2017 Remezcla: "Beyond the high-level quality of AfroRazones, however, is the importance of archiving the methods of collaboration, cultural production, and the discussions that emerged throughout the process of sharing knowledges in recording sessions and workshops. In this sense, AfroRazones offers a model example of representation and cultural exchange, but also of archiving the process of building bridges between Black resistance movements. In that way, we are armed not only, as the project has described, “with the wisdom of our ancestors,” but also with the music industry tools to support Afro-Cuban artists’ continued prosperity in the digital age."

Los mejores momentos del Día Internacional del Jazz en La Habana  5/1/2017 Vistar: "El inicio no pudo ser mejor: descubrir a Will Smith como anfitrión de la noche fue, tal vez, una de las sorpresas más agradables para los cubanos. “El jazz ha sido la voz de la libertad para millones de personas de todas las edades, etnias y credos, porque llega hasta el alma y se conecta con el espíritu de toda la humanidad”, dijo Will Smith en una de sus intervenciones."

Quincy Jones en Cuba por celebración del Día Mundial del Jazz  4/29/2017 Cuba Si: "El legendario músico estadounidense Quincy Jones relató hoy cómo venció los prejuicios en su país sobre las capacidades de las personas negras y cumplió su sueño de componer para el cine."

NAACP Releases Report Card: Florida Failing in Key Categories  4/23/2017 Blogging Black Miami: "The Diversity Matters Initiative examined the records of targeted cities, counties, school districts and private corporations statewide. The NAACP Florida State Conference examined their records on employment, advertising and spending with minority, women and veteran-owned businesses. The NAACP Florida State Conference conducts this review annually, proposes recommendations and releases its findings to the public."

Artists from Los Angeles collaborate with Cubans for exhibit that will come to Miami  3/29/2017 ABC: "Women's rituals of Vodou and Santeria intrigue Shaina Lynn Simmons. She said black women in New Orleans and Havana have plenty in common. The CalArts Center for New Performance graduate student from New Orleans said she finds the strong cultural resistance during the African diaspora fascinating. The actress is working on "Afro Futuro," a collaboration with Cubans that she described as "a photo, video and live performance installation that explores the mythologies and realities of black women and Afro-Cuban women.""

In memoriam: Professor Mark Sawyer, a champion for access and diversity  3/28/2017 UCLA: "His first book, “Racial Politics in Post-Revolutionary Cuba,” published by Cambridge University Press in 2006, earned critical acclaim and garnered major prizes in his field, including the Ralph J. Bunche Award from the American Political Science Association and the W. E. B. DuBois Award from the National Conference of Black Political Scientists."

Cuba Caribe Festival  3/28/2017 SF Chronicle: "The 13th Cuba Caribe Festival of Caribbean dance and music, which runs nine days from Thursday, March 30, to April 7, will include seven world premieres, master classes, film screenings, lectures and celebrations at Brava Theater and Museum of the African Diaspora. The theme of this year’s festival is “Manos De Mujeres,” and it will look at the role of women in our society — a fitting topic. Thursday’s opening-night panel discussion is called “Movers and Shakers: Bay Area Women Making a Difference in the Arts.” "

Students examine Cuba in Black Studies  3/16/2017 The Pheonix, Swathmore: "On Monday, March 13th, Social Sciences Associate Professor and Department Chair at the State University of New York Empire State College Nadine Fernandez spoke in McCabe Library to community members about race in Cuba. Her speech focused on the history of race among Cuban populations in relation to the family unit and relationships. In the audience were students taking Professor Nina Johnson’s Blacks in Diaspora, the directed reading course of the Black studies department this spring semester. This course also participates in the college’s Experiential Learning Program this semester as it culminates with a trip to the island. The course explores Black identity in Cuba in relation to the migration of Black people and their social movements."

Everybody Wants To Be A Bruja But They Ain’t Really Bout That Life  3/6/2017 Negra with Tumbao: "… there’s a certain amount of accountability and responsibility that comes with being a “witch” and I can assure you that it isn’t always pretty. Typically, witches were the first to be killed when Europeans invaded Africa."

To the Memory of Malcolm X: Fifty Years After His Assassination  2/21/2017 Black Agenda Report: "Malcolm X was prominent among a large layer of Black intellectuals and activists including W.E.B. DuBois, LeRoi Jones (later known as Amiri Baraka), Robert F. Williams, William Worthy and many others who welcomed and defended the Cuban Revolution, which was coming under increasing US attack."

NY event celebrates life of Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro  2/20/2017 The Militant: "Hundreds of people packed the Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Cultural Center here in Harlem Feb. 4 to celebrate the life and political contributions of Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro, who died Nov. 25."

African Roots of Cuban Culture  2/17/2017 Center for Cuban Studies: "This exciting trip takes you across country where you’ll see much of the lovely island. Starting in the northeast, then traveling south and west across the country to explore how African customs, religion and people have contributed to la cubanía. You’ll meet artists, dancers, musicians, as well as learn about Santería and other religious practices. You’ll learn about the influence of religious iconography, and the significance it plays in the country and how these elements have survived throughout the years. You’ll meet and interact with scholars, artists, researchers, and writers who have dedicated their work to researching Cuba’s African roots and visit landmarks in Afro-Cuban history."

Black soldiers focus of Virginia War Museum display  2/15/2017 Daily Press: "Take the Spanish-American War. The 1898 conflict in Cuba and the Philippines lacked the grand scale of the two world wars that would follow. Still, African-American troops distinguished themselves and deserved a greater share of the praise for one famous battle. A new corner display at the War Museum pays homage to those "Buffalo Soldiers" of the Spanish-American War. Its centerpiece is a rare uniform tunic."

Talking about race: Davidson College professor discusses complexities of ethnic issues in Cuba  2/8/2017 Grand Valley Lanthorn: "Spence Benson said this colorblind, ‘raceless’ attitude was appropriated from the 19th century and had been used to negate individuals’ experiences with racism in the past. “That same ideology has been used to silence black activists when they tried to speak up,” Spence Benson said. “How radical can ‘racelessness’ be if it’s been used to silence Afro-Cubans who spoke up for themselves?”"

Residents of Harlem NY Pay Tribute to Fidel Castro  2/6/2017 PL: "Cuban Permanent Representative at the United Nations Anayansi Rodriguez expressed gratitude here for the tribute paid by New Yorkers to revolutionary leader Fidel Castro in Harlem. ‘The whole work of his life, dedicated to forge that better world we believe is possible, multiplies on you, in your firm solidarity with Cuba, and reaffirms our commitment to being faithful to the legacy of Fidel,’ Rodriguez said at the event, held at the Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Educational Center."

My Seven Day Itinerary for Cuba  1/28/2017 AfroBuenaventura: "I don't usually plan an entire itinerary for trips. But I did for this trip to Cuba, because frankly, I was afraid of things going wrong."

A Film Series Honors Black Women Directors  1/27/2017 NYT: "Like any good revolutionary, [Sara] Gómez doesn’t mince words: When she discusses patriarchy, she brings out the literal wrecking ball. She isn’t always subtle, but her approach in “One Way or Another” is complex and pleasurably dialectical."

SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER GALLON SALUTES THE ARTS VIA RECOGNITION OF CURRENT MIAMI-DADE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS AND ALUMNI INVOLVED THE CRITICALLY-ACCLAIMED FILM ‘MOONLIGHT’  1/25/2017 Blogging Black Miami: "Miami-Dade County School Board Member Dr. Steve Gallon III will present an agenda item and resolution at the Board’s upcoming monthly meeting recognizing several current and former students who were involved in the critically-acclaimed film, ‘Moonlight’ that chronicles the life of a young Black male from childhood to adulthood as he struggles to find his place in the world while growing up in Miami’s renowned Liberty City neighborhood."

Cuba Failed Me in 5 Ways  1/25/2017 AfroBuenaventura: Fail 4: Afro-Cubans Were Not Hard to Find

Cuba, America, Black Fine Lines, Magic Mind and the Real: The Spiritual Renaissance of Jules Arthur in Cuba  1/7/2017 Huff Post: "As Cuba was my number one destination, I just went on the journey of my dreams. Cuba represents my thirst for historical crossroads that had huge impacts on world history when people set out for new lands. To answer the question “what was I looking for?” Cuba excites every nerve I possess about diving deep into rich roots and culture. There is a notion that states artists have a duty to speak about his or her times."

How Oscar Favorite ‘Moonlight’ Subtly Illuminates the Erasure of Miami’s Black Cubans  1/6/2017 Remezcla: “Lotta black folks in Cuba but you wouldn’t know it from being here [in Miami].” Juan is referring to the fact that black Cubans tend to be invisible in Miami, and in the United States in general, their voices and experiences drowned out by the very vocal and largely white, anti-communist exile community."

BMe Community Giving Away Over A Quarter Million Dollars to Black Men Doing Positive Works in the Community  1/3/2017 Blogging Black Miami: "BMe Community wants to reward unsung "Black Men's Genius" in Miami. From now until February 21, black men who share their remarkable stories of creating opportunities for others will have a chance to become BMe Leaders."

PRESUMED CUBAN: African American Tourists Mistaken for Afro Cuban  1/2/2017 African American - Latino World: "Interestingly enough, once Cubans realized that I was not Cuban, whatever racism they initially wanted to exhibit was immediately withheld. And the black Cubans immediately saw me as a well-to-do American first, and a black man second.

Links on/Enlaces en la AfroCubaWeb

African-American Artists and Abstraction
exhibit in Havana, 2014

Black Florida

Black Lives Matter and Cuba

Diasporic Commonalities: Common History and Future of the Afro-Cuban & Afro-American Communities. Riviera Beach, FL, 4/26/14. Organized by Alberto Jones.

Jay-Z and Beyoncé go to Cuba: the exiled plantocracy reacts & Jay-Z raps, 4/13

Assata Shakur, 11/12

Black and Cuba

Special Report: Cuba in Black and White, Institute for Advanced Journalism Studies, 2011: a non-profit dedicated to developing Black American journalists reports on Cuba with DeWayne Wickham, Tonyaa J. Weathersbee, and many others.

Goodbye Manning Marable, 4/6/2011 (en español), Gisela Arandia

Acting on Our Conscience Briefing Sheet: roadmap for Diaspora support of Miami-backed dissidents, 1/6/2010

Acting on Our Conscience: a Declaration of African American Support for the Civil Rights Struggle in Cuba, 11/30/09

African Americans and Cuba's First Experiment in Tourism: The Joe Louis Commission in Post Revolutionary Havana, 1959-1960 6/1/2009 Black Past

Nine African American columnists visit Cuba: February, 2000

National Black Chamber of Commerce, Travel to Cuba, position paper, 2000

"Why Black Cuba Is Suffering," a report from TransAfrica, 7/99

Lisa Brock and Digna Castañeda Fuertes: Between Race and Empire : African-Americans and Cubans Before the Cuban Revolution, 1998

The Cuban Revolution in Transition: Black Reflections on Race, Politics, and Culture in Cuba Today, 11/1/97

The Congressional Black Caucus and Cuba

TransAfrica increases the dialog between AfroCubans and African Americans

People

Americans

Lisa Brock, Kalamazoo College

Leslie Cunningham, Harlem in Havana

Marvin Dunn

James Early, Smithsonian

Soffiyah Elijah, director of the Correctional Association of New York

Ben Jones, artist

Manning Marable

Cornelius Moore

Nurudafina Pili Abena, musician

Margaret Ross Martin, journalist

Assata Shakur, activist

Askia Toure, poet

Kwame Toure, activist

Tonyaa Weathersbee, journalist

Robert F. Williams

Cubans

Gisela Arandia, scholar

Digna Castañeda Fuertes

Tomas Fernandez Robaina, scholar

Gloria Rolando, film maker

Books

The Trayvon Martin in US: An American Tragedy, by Emmanuel Harris II (Editor), Antonio D. Tillis (Editor). Includes Afro-Latin perspectives.

Between Race and Empire: African-Americans and Cubans Before the Cuban Revolution
Edited by Lisa Brock and Digna Castañeda Fuertes

Organizations

Black Lives Matter Caribbean Cultural Center, NY	Ingathering:The Literary Journal of Arts & Letters from the Black Diaspora in the Americas, Chicago
Centro Martin Luther King, la Habana	Kwame Touré Work Study Institute and Library
Institute for Advanced Journalism Studies, DeWayne Wickham	Percussion Artists Workshop (PAWS), LA
Sociedad Marti-Maceo, Tampa: AfroCubans in Tampa	le Ijuba Yoruba, Miami, Inc.
Stage of the Arts, Inc.: Matanzas in LA	Organization of Africans in the Americas, Washington, DC
TransAfrica Forum	Black Cuba Forum: AfroCubans in Miami, recipient of NED funds
Harlem in Havana	Jig Show
The African Diaspora Alliance, Baltimore - Cuba