MORE RACISM THAN EVER BEFORE

Can you imagine the reaction if this happened anywhere else but Cuba?

Dec. 3 - These photos were sent to me by a great contributor to The Real Cuba.

They were taken at the Boca Ciega beach, near Havana.

A white woman tourist came to the beach accompanied by a black Cuban male.

They sat on a lounge chair and were chatting. Within a few minutes, a cop showed up and began asking the Cuban black male for his identification.

The cop kept interrogating the Cuban male for several minutes.

Finally, the black Cuban male was forced to leave the beach. No one knows if he was arrested, or just expelled from that public beach for being with a white foreign woman.

Can you imagine the the outrage of the NAACP, Harry Belafonte, Danny Glover, Jesse Jackson, Nelson Mandela and Company if incidents like these happened anywhere else in the world except in Castro's private farm?

In Cuba, the racist and fascist regime of the Castro brothers is allowed to treat Cuban blacks like third class citizens, and none of these hypocrites would say a word.

Is Black America's honeymoon with the Castro brothers finally over?

Dec. 1, 2009 - In a landmark "Statement of Conscience by African-Americans," 60 prominent black American scholars, artists and professionals have condemned the Cuban regime's apparent crackdown on the country's budding civil rights movement. "Racism in Cuba, and anywhere else in the world, is unacceptable and must be confronted," said the document, which also called for the "immediate release" of Dr. Darsi Ferrer, a black civil rights leader imprisoned in July.  

Traditionally, African-Americans have sided with the Castro regime and unilaterally condemned the U.S. which, in the past, explicitly sought to topple the Cuban government. But this first public rebuke of Castro's racial policies may very well indicate a tide change and a more balanced attitude. 

Representing a wide spectrum of political opinion, the document was signed by Princeton University scholar Cornel West; famed actress Ruby Dee; former Essence magazine editor and current president of the National CARES Mentoring Movement Susan Taylor; Bennett College President Julienne Malvaux; UCLA Vice Chancellor Claudia Mitchell-Kernan; Chicago's Trinity Church Emeritus pastor the Rev. Jeremiah Wright; retired Congresswoman Carrie Meek; former Black Panther activist Kathleen Cleaver; former Jesse Jackson presidential campaign manager and current director of the African-American Leadership Institute Ron Walters; movie director Melvin Van Peebles; and former Miami-Dade County Commissioner, Betty Ferguson. More

Link to the actual document of the Afro-American leaders about the racist regime in Cuba

ACTING ON OUR CONSCIENCE A DECLARATION OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN SUPPORT FOR THE CIVIL RIGHTS STRUGGLE IN CUBA

(Courtesy of La Nueva Cuba)

Cuban regime claims accusations of racism are unfounded.  Judge for yourself

Dec. 3 - The Castro regime hit back Thursday at 60 prominent U.S. black leaders who asked for an end to racism in Cuba, with a five-page document signed by writers, artists and journalists who are all part of the Cuban government, calling the criticism an attack on their country's national identity. 

"To say that among us exists a 'callus disregard' for black Cubans, that their civil liberties are restricted 'for reasons of race,' and to demand an end to 'the unwarranted and brutal harassment of black citizens in Cuba who are defending their civil rights' would seem a delusional farce," said the document that was sent by e-mail.

As expected, it accused the U.S. black leaders of being part of a campaign "that is attempting to suffocate our sovereignty and national identity," even though many of those Afro-American leaders had been supporters of the regime. 

The Castro regime statement said the island is not a racist society, saying blacks have opportunities "like never before in our country."

But that's simply another lie put out by Castro's huge propaganda machine for almost 50 years and that now is finally being challenged as it should have been a long time ago.

Imagine the outrage if photos like these would have been taken in Chile under Pinochet; Colombia under President Uribe; Micheletti's Honduras; even South Africa during the apartheid or any other country except Castro's Cuba, where it seems that nothing would cause a public outrage, at least until now:

Cuban police in action. They feel free to undress a young man in the middle of the street, or touch and grab a woman during a public gathering and being able to laugh about it because they know that nothing will happen to them, as long as those being harassed are poor Cubans who are considered second class citizens in their own country.

Another Afro-American talks about the imprisonment of Dr. Darsi Ferrer and racism in Castro's Cuba

Mark Wells, a labor union organizer in Detroit, speaks about racism in Cuba, the imprisonment of Fr. Darsi Ferrer and other black activists in the island and the disenchantment  of Afro-American leaders with Castro's "robolution

H/T Enrique

Is the Afro-Americans' love affair with Cuba's racist dictators finally coming to an end?

Jan. 3 - President Obama has loosened travel restrictions to Cuba. His critics accuse him of harboring socialist sentiments. And he is, of course, a member of the African American intelligentsia -- a group that has tended, for the last half-century, to have a soft spot for the Cuban revolution.

It sounds like the perfect atmosphere for the love affair between black American liberals and the regime of the Castros to fully flourish. Except that it's not.

A group of 60 African American artists and thinkers have launched a rare -- and some say unprecedented -- attack on Cuba's human rights record, with a particular focus on the treatment of black political dissidents. 

In a statement issued in November, luminaries including Princeton professor Cornel West, actress Ruby Dee and director Melvin Van Peebles criticized the Communist government for its "increased violations of civil and human rights for those black activists in Cuba who dare raise their voices against the island's racial system."

It was a far cry from those heady moments in 1960 and 1995 when Fidel Castro visited Harlem, receiving on both occasions a kind of hero's welcome as liberator of the oppressed.  Los Angeles Times

Jamaican academics join those denouncing the Castro brothers' racism

Dec. 5 - Four Jamaican academics who had previously supported the Cuban regime, joined ranks on Friday with leaders of the Afro-American community who are asking the Castro brothers to put an end to the blatant racism in the island.

Rex Nettleford, Barry Chevannes, Rupert Lewis and Mauren Warner-Lewis sent a letter to Cuban dictator Raúl Castro on Friday, saying that as supporters of the Cuban regime they were "surprised at the heavy hand of the State against those who denounced the racial prejudices in Cuba's society."

Those same prejudices, exploitation, oppression and racism have existed during all the time that these academics have supported the brutal Cuban regime, but even if it took 50 years for them to learn the truth, it is better late than never.

The four Jamaican academics also asked the Cuban dictator to release Cuban dissident Dr. Darsi Ferrer, who has been in jail since July for organizing a peaceful march in Havana.

Also on Friday, Cuban dissident Dr. Oscar Elías Biscet, who was sentenced to 25 years in jail for teaching fellow Cubans about Dr. Martin Luther King and his non-violent movement in favor of civil rights, thanked the Afro-American leaders for their support.

Afro-Cubans: A powerless majority in their own country

Dec. 8 - On December 1, 2009 a group of 60 prominent Afro-American leaders (including Princeton University Professor Cornel West; Jeremiah Wright, former Pastor of President Barack Obama; and Susan Taylor, former editor of Essence magazine) publicly condemned the Cuban government long standing policies of discrimination and human right abuses of Afro-Cubans in the island. 

On December 4, Cuba responded: “To say that among us exists a callus disregard for black Cubans, that their civil liberties are restricted and to demand an end to the unwarranted and brutal harassment of black citizens in Cuba, would seem a delusional farce.” The Cuban statement said the island is not a racist society adding that blacks have opportunities “like never before in our country.” 

In March 2009, the Cuba Transition Project at the University of Miami published a report showing glaring abuses against Cuban blacks and inequalities in Cuban society.

Click here to read the report

Begging in a country where everyone is supposed to be equal

Black Cubans are poorer than ever

There are no homeless in Cuba?

"Gracias Fidel! You really came to save us and to stop our exploitation. Now we are all equal."

Not only poorer, but also more exploited than ever

Where is Jesse?

When is Danny Glover coming to see us?

Black Cubans looking for food in garbage cans

No jobs, no hope, no future

Has anyone seen Harry Belafonte?

More discriminated than ever

More reppressed than ever before!

One of the more than 300 prisons in Cuba. As can be seen, most of the prisoners are young and black

Great sports facilities built by Castro for Cuba's youth

And what horrible crime did Dr. Biscet commit, to be sentenced to 27 years in this terrible dungeon?

The Afro-Cuban doctor organized a seminar to teach his fellow Cubans about Dr. Martin Luther King, the American

civil rights leader, and his non-violent forms of protest.

In any civilized country, Dr. Biscet would be commended for following the teachings of Dr. King, a Nobel Peace Prize

winner, but in Castro's animal farm, this is considered a serious crime, and Dr. Biscet was sent to jail for 27 years!!

Have you heard the Black Caucus denounce such monstrous crime?

NO!

Have you heard Jesse Jackson denounce the racist totalitarian regime of Fidel Castro?

NO!

Have you heard Rep. Maxine Waters open her mouth in defense of Dr. Biscet?

NO!

Have you heard Rep. Charles Rangel criticize Castro for sending someone to jail for

following the teachings of Martin Luther King?

NO!

Have you heard the NAACP say a word in defense of Dr. Biscet?

NO!

Have you heard the Rev. Lucious Walker or his Pastors for Peace say a word about

this crime?

NO!

Please contact the NAACP and these Black political and religious leaders and ask them why they are not supporting Dr. Biscet.