ju st o u t ▼ jun* 1 7 . 1 0 9 4 ▼ 15
IT’S A QUEER THING
he evening of April 25, 1994, is one I
shall never forget. It was about five
days into my two-week journey with
the Venceremos Brigade to the island
of Cuba. That evening, I was struck
by feelings of peace and despair at the same time.
All 140 members of the brigade had been working
alongside Cubans to process tobacco that day. We
had talked of many things in the tobacco bams,
and I was beginning to get a sense of how Cuban
society operates. It was
not until that evening,
though, that a funda­
mental difference be­
tween U.S. and Cuban
society hit me.
For people of Afri­
can descent living in the
Western Hemisphere,
Cuba is often considered
“holy ground.” It was to
the island of Cuba that
most African people
were brought in captiv­
ity to the “new world.”
Serving as a cruel Ellis
Island for these African
people, Cuba is where
black ancestors were
killed, buried, bom and sold. Enslaved people
would be brought to Cuba to be processed and
then sent to other parts of the Americas.
It was in the spirit of this history and in
memory of these African ancestors that a bonfire
was lit by African American members of the
brigade that evening, and the African national
anthem was sung.
During this event, painful declarations that
had been made at a prior brigade meeting came
flooding back on me. I was not alone in this flood.
Amina and Andrea at the 1994 May Day parade. Pinar del Rio, Cuba
The flames of the bonfire leaping into the sky
seemed to sear and cleanse the wounds that living
in the United States had inflicted on so many. That
there are so many homeless living on the streets in
this country and that drugs are tearing whole
sectors of the population apart was acknowl­
edged. That the vast majority of men in U.S.
prisons are African American and that so many
African American women are raising their chil­
Many people o f all races are working hard to
dren on their own was said. And that poverty,
AIDS, a lack of health care, discrimination, rac­
the race wars in our country
ism and hatred pervade parts of this society was
▼
also offered up. It was this collective pain that the
bonfire addressed.
by Howard N. Dana
T
PHOTO BY HOWARD N DANA
HAVANA
JOURNAL
PARTII
Cleansing old
wounds
bring peace to
am never able to see the United States so
clearly as when I leave its borders and “look
back” on my nation. The clarity and perspec­
tive that distance, and a change in culture, allows
one is profound.
I was profoundly moved that evening to see
again the degree to which race and race relations
hinder us from realizing a truly free and demo­
cratic society.
I believe we, as a nation, are obsessed with
race. I see it as one of the greatest causes of pain
in our society and as a major stumbling block.
Being in Cuba allowed me to see, by contrast,
where we could go with regard to race relations in
the United States. While I do not believe Cuban
society is perfect, and I do acknowledge funda­
mental differences such as population size, and
geography, I think we can learn a tremendous
amount by looking at how Cubans coexist.
1
he Cuban populace is made up of Latino
Cubans, African Cubans, and people of
mixed Latino and African Cuban descent,
Campesinos in Pinar del Rio, April 1994
or mulattos. From what I could tell, the population
is nearly a third of each, with maybe slightly
had been lifted off my chest. I was very aware that
fewer mulattos. While I am sure some racism
I was in a society much freer about racial issues
exists in Cuba, as it does everywhere, the ease
than
the one I live in, in Portland, Oregon. For me
with which Cubans of all races interact was re­
to be able to physically feel such racial freedom
freshing to see. But possibly the greatest gauge of
could
only have been a fraction of what people of
how well Cuban society is inclusive to all comes
color in the brigade were feeling.
better from obsen ing my fellow brigade mem­
This particular Venceremos Brigade was made
bers. As a white “American,” I felt as if a weight
levels of society and within the government.
Interracial couples are not given a second thought,
and there is no segregation in cities and towns
along racial lines. 1 cannot even begin to imagine
what this must have been like for my friends of
color. I know it felt great to me.
Cuba operates under a socialist system, in
which the thinking is that Cubans are Cuban first
and black or Latino or gay or lesbian second. In
many ways they would argue that a person would
not be called “African Cuban.” He or she would
be “Cuban African.”
I kept wondering if this does not take away
from the difference between cultures living to­
gether, or if this integration might result in such
a melting of individuality that cultural diversity is
lost. At least outwardly, this did not seem to be the
case. There was plenty of evidence that both
African and Latino cultures were treated with
honor and, at cultural events each was repre­
sented with enthusiasm. One only needs to look at
Cuba’s rich dance history to see how Cuban
culture has been enriched by its mixed heritage.
n the United States the response of cultural,
ethnic pride as an answer to the theory of “the
melting pot” has seen a rise in the acknowledg­
ment and celebration of people’s diversity. It has
put the mark of a truly pluralist society on this
country. But at what cost? I am not suggesting
that we discontinue celebrations of Cinco de
Mayo, or Chinese New Year, or Chanukah, or
Lesbian, Gay, Bi Pride. But I wonder whether we
are getting closer to or further away from the kind
of unified diversity I got a glimpse of in Cuba.
What we see on the news, and what we witness in
our own cities and in our neighborhoods, sug­
gests that we are very far from the goal of har­
mony. I do, however, think many people of all
races, myself included, are working very hard to
bring peace to the race wars in our country. I have
no answers for how we will bring this peace
about. I have been given hope that it can happen.
It may not happen in our lifetime, but, as can be
seen in small comers of this world, it is possible
and well worth the effort.
I
T
up of about one third people of color, primarily of
African and Mexican descent. As we talked about
race issues, it became clear that some had never
known such a freedom from racial tension as they
were experiencing, for the first time in their lives,
in Cuba. The Cubans were very welcoming.
African Cubans and mulattos could be seen at all