Racial Politics in Post Revolutionary Cuba (review)

When Fidel's 26th of July Movement overthrew the Batista regime in 1959, a socialist government finally emerged in the Western Hemisphere. The academe salivated at the opportunities. With the Revolution came a chance to see if Marxism could ameliorate Cuban racial barriers. The research that followed in Cuba, according to Mark Q. Sawyer, largely corroborated the myth of a racial democracy, not only in Cuba, but throughout Latin America. This "democracy" usually rested upon the higher rates of miscegenation between blacks and whites. How can racism exist among such an interactive population? Moreover, blacks in Cuba had gained credibility for their participation in wars, as well as the July 26th Movement. Mark Sawyer, the author of Racial Politics in Post Revolutionary Cuba, adds to the growing school against challenging the myth of racial democracy.

Sawyer offers his own "race cycles" theory to explain racial progress thus far. The theory is not completely original, however. The author uses a sort of "salad bowl" technique: add one part McAdam et al, a dash of Omi and Winant, mix generously with Sewell to create a blend of the most useful theoretical components. The central tenets of the "race cycles" theory are that racial politics are driven by mechanisms like state crisis, regime change, racial ideology, transnational politics, and endogenous shocks to the system, or influential international events. Due to the conflicting state priorities that arise from such events, each mechanism provides subordinate racial groups with opportunities for gains. These gains are related in "a positive fashion" to the degree of the crisis. When the dust settles, a new racial equilibrium stands. In this way, racial progress is hardly a constant struggle of steady gains, but rather a tumultuous system in which it is achieved more by sporadic jolts. Sawyer believes that previous scholars have too often argued within the perspective of racial inclusion and kept within the framework of linear progress. Through "race cycles," Sawyer aims to correct this rigid line of thinking. Using this system, Sawyer argues, the scholar achieves a more detailed and nuanced perspective. By applying race cycles to Cuba, Sawyer concludes the term "inclusionary discrimination" more accurately applies to the uneasy relationship between blacks and whites in Cuba.

Although the first chapter is thick with theory, the rest of the book pleasantly distances itself from its theoretical underpinnings. Sawyer blends historical, anecdotal survey and secondary source analysis to test "race cycles" in Cuba. Through historical analysis, the first chapter demonstrates fairly clearly that blacks retained structural disadvantages, such as inadequate housing, lack of education, etc. With the success of Castro's revolution, these disadvantages were supposed to disappear. As most are aware, they did not, although they did improve. Castro, the author correctly notes, was at minimum paternalistic toward blacks, however, insinuating they should be thankful to the Revolution for elevating their status in Cuban society. Such interplay deters from the fact that the actions and participation of blacks helped instigate the Revolution and aided in its success.

Sawyer does an excellent service to his case in showing the contradictory nature of Cuban politics through an international scope. The hype of a socialist Revolution excited American black nationalists of the sixties and seventies. Eldridge Cleaver, Robert Williams, Angela Davis, Stokely Carmichael, and Assata Shakur all originally looked to Cuba as an example that could be achieved through revolutionary nationalism. Of course, Castro reveled an opportunity for another chance to racially humiliate the United States, as he had done during his stay in Harlem. "Stokely," he proudly yelled to a visiting Carmichael, "ésta es tu casa!" However, of the five, only Angela Davis has maintained her unequivocal support of racial politics in Cuba. Upon visiting, the other four activists developed skepticisms, if not complete disengagement, with revolutionary nationalism.

The final three chapters take the study into modern Cuba with a fascinating and readable combination of survey and anecdotal research. As Alejandro de la Fuente has shown, recent events have brought entirely new challenges to racial dynamics in...