The Many Shades of Fidel Castro
Originally published by NACLA Yesterday morning, Cubans woke up to the news that the 90-year old leader Fidel Castro had died. It was an event much expected and anticipated, given Fidel’s ailing health and advanced years, but it still took Cubans and the world by surprise. It was a particularly hard blow coming so soon […]
Afro-Cuban Activists Fight Racism Between Two Fires
Originally published by The Nation On May 4, the Network of Afro-descendant Women convened an urgent meeting of activists, academics, and members of organizations fighting against racial discrimination in Cuba. At the meeting, held at the Jurists’ Union Center in Havana, the longtime anti-racism activist Gisela Arandia presented a document calling for government action in […]
Building Child-Centered Social Movements
Originally published in Contexts Eridiana Diaz was a 19-year-old sophomore at the City College of New York when she became pregnant. After her daughter Hailey was born, friends and family helped with childcare for a short time, but she soon found herself without support and unable to complete her studies. She earned only $50 a […]
In Cuba, Will the Revolution be Digitized?
Originally published by The Nation President Obama announced his historic upcoming visit to Cuba—the first in almost 90 years by a US president—on Twitter, meaning that most Cubans would have to learn the news by some other means. Only about 27 percent of Cubans currently have Internet access, and not all of these users can […]
What Do Cubans Think of Normalization With the United States
Originally published by The Nation In late January, the Obama administration announced that it would remove a number of impediments to trade with Cuba by lifting restrictions on the American financing of exports, relaxing limits on shipping goods, and further loosening the constraints on travel. These and other measures have come in the wake of […]
The Repeating Barrio
Originally published by The Nation The urban slums have always been a source of vexation for the Cuban revolution. During the seventies, the revolution attempted to do away with the slum areas of the cities by providing housing, employment, and education to the poorest residents. The 1974 film De Cierta Manera (One Way or Another) […]
Domestic Workers at a Crossroads
Originally published by Dissent magazine By Sujatha Fernandes This August domestic workers and organizers are marking the fifth anniversary of the passage of the New York Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights. The bill, which was won by a coalition of groups in the city after a six-year campaign, was the first large victory for […]
Do Cubans Really Want US Style Internet Freedom?
Originally published by NACLA. By Sujatha Fernandes and Alexandra Halkin This past Wednesday, President Barack Obama made a historic announcement about the normalization of relations with Cuba. Although there had been rumors floating around the streets of Havana, most people on both sides of the Florida Straits were taken by surprise […]
Why USAID Could Never Spark a Hip Hop Revolution in Cuba
Originally published by NACLA. Between 2006 and 2007, I received numerous visits from two State Department officials at my home in Harlem, New York. I had just written a book on Cuban cultural production, with a large section on rap. I was never home when they came, so they left messages with my neighbors, telling […]
Iggy Azalea and the Perils of Reinventing Oneself
Originally published by Huffington Post. Eight years ago a young white girl from the rural northern-Australian town of Mullumbimby moved to Miami. Only 16 years of age, she refashioned herself as a rapper by the name of Iggy Azalea with a black Southern accent and achieved notoriety when her sexually explicit songs went viral on […]
