1-29-15
- Why did Cuban nationalists have to strip race of its ideological hold on the Cuban population?According to the article, “Rethinking Race and Nation in Cuba,” by Ada Ferrer Cuban nationalists stripped race of its ideological hold as a way to unite the people and develop a national identity rather than exclusion and separation. It was a nationalistic approach to identify Cuban people as Cubans, a way to form a unified identity in a place that needed unity. Unity was important at this time in order to win the war for independence. It was a way to assert the nonexistence of discrimination and the irrelevance of race. Martí said, “always to dwell on the divisions or differences between the races…was to raise barriers to the attainment of… national well-being.”
2. What does the author mean when she says the silence (referring to the
silence of race) is audible, and can even echo loudly at times? Where
did this silence originate from?
silence of race) is audible, and can even echo loudly at times? Where
did this silence originate from?
As racial references disappeared, the traceable-audible-silence appeared. This silence refers to the stripping of the idea of race from Cuba and to identify Cubans as Cubans. However, this silence was challenged and at times was audible and at other times it was not. According to Ada Ferrer, in the article “Rethinking Race and Nation in Cuba,” “The silence of race in Cuban nationalism of the 1890’s emerged out of a long attempt to reconcile the categories of race and nation.” As the nation was struggling for independence from Spain. Many white army insurgents protested the extent and character of black involvement. By “the Little War” there were many black leaders, which some feared would cause a race war. Although, they didn't win the war, “ the nationalist movement had failed to reconcile the categories of race and nation” (Ferrer 64). From this failure the Cubans believed by stripping the nation of race they could attempt to overthrow the Spanish rule. The silence of race was prevalent: no mention of race in hospital records, but at the same time it wasn’t silent when journalistic essays spoke about the “ideal black insurgents” as desirable for the Cuban nationhood struggle. With blacks and mulattos involved in the war there were less claims of it being a “race war,” rather it was a war for Cuba. At the same time, the new racial silence was challenged by the rise of black political activism, which called for reciprocity between former slaves and masters as a call for democracy. The idea of race was silent and audible at the same time.
3. What were Marti’s views on race relations in Cuba and what was the problem with his writing and commentaries?
Martí’s take on race relations was to promote a dissolution of race in favor of the more nationally-supportive ‘Cuban’ self-identification. Martí apparently “denied the existence of races” (Ferrer, 61), which, at first may seem like a positive progression of race relations, but later reveals itself to be problematic considering the relative freshness of the black Cubans’ wounds, both physical and metaphorical. The problem with Martí’s racially-muting view was that it comes off more as a tactical response to the racially-dependent colonial control rather than a genuine and well-developed view on race. To brush racial realities under the rug in such a manner produces a series of issues, the most unjust being the implicit denial of any reason for black Cubans to advocate for themselves in the form of a civil rights movement. If race doesn’t exist, and this view is posed as the view of a nation, then the black Cuban should be expected to not only forget their tortured past but also be perfectly content with how race relations shaped the entire social structuring before it ‘ceased to exist’. This expectation is ignorant, produces more problems, and yet is constructed as a tool for the country’s liberation.
4. How is the production of sugar in Cuba different from the production of tobacco? (Stevie)
Fernando Ortiz author of The Cuban Counterpoint refers to the production of sugar in Cuba as a question of power. Tobacco, however, is described as a matter of intelligence. This is because sugar “… was always a capitalistic venture because… of its size and long term investments” (240). While Tobacco is described as “…a free being…”
The production of Tobacco can be done on a small piece of land that is usually family owned. It requires cyclical work from skilled persons who have specialized in the art of growing tobacco. Usually the farmer and his family who own the land do the work. On rare occasions when the work becomes unnamable, the farmer may hire a small group of workers to help.
Sugar on the other hand required a great deal of help that was often done by imported black slaves. Unlike Tobacco, the sugar cane plant does not grow all year round. This required farmers to live the rest of the year on the money they made in just a few months. Sugar also requires a much larger investment of capital than tobacco making it much more expensive to grow.
Ortiz states at the end of his article how “Tobacco has always been more Cuban than sugar…tobacco is native to the New World, while sugar was brought in from the old world”(242).
5. How do the race relations in Cuba, as outlined in the Moore text, compare
with race relations in the United States during this time period?
with race relations in the United States during this time period?
As Moore mentions in the article “Afrocubans and National Culture” race relations in the time period where Cuba was fighting for independence race varied. The Afrocuban connection to Cuban culture was perceived as a threat by white colonialists or just simply white Cubans. Afrocubans were beginning to take on and influence cultural areas like music and even had their own black societies in which they organized and discussed how to help newly brought slaves to adapt to a new environment. As mentioned above, Afrocubans began to have influence in music, and white conservatives began their constant attempt to erase the African influence in the National culture, due to the fact that they thought this would create a more barbaric than bourgeois /European-based culture. The emancipation of slaves in the United States gave way to racial reaction to differences and opened a door for “violence of “redemption” (Moore, 61) however, in Cuba the emancipation of slaves “saw consolidation of a movement supported by former slave owners and former slaves , led by white and nonwhite officers, and committed to a powerful vision of racial inclusion.”
6. How did the topic of race apply to the fight for independance?
When discussing the fight for independence in Cuba, it is important to mention the two sides that were fighting against the Spanish while at the same time having conflict between one another. The Afrocubans played a central role in the fight against Spain for independence, most of the mulatos that participated in the rebellion went from being enslaved, to be part of free labor, and from colonial to national status. The side that was against the involvement of Afrocubans in the fight for independence were the colonial conservatives, who as mentioned before, were trying to be protective of whiteness and were afraid of giving the Afrocubans the power to become actual “Cuban citizens” and the liberty to expand their culture. By having these differing sides, the Cuban racial identifications influenced the way Cubans fought for independence.
