Martiza López McBean, coordinator of the Red Barrial Afrodescendiente in Matanzas at el Castillo de San Severino, built by enslaved Africans. In this photo, she speaks with a group of largely U.S. visitors that would come to be known as ASERE later in the trip. Photo by Louis Seyler, 2018.

Introduction to Edition 1

by Cindy García Leer en español In June of 2018, I took my daughters to Cuba for three weeks on a preliminary trip to learn more about the everyday life practices of anti-racism. I wanted to understand the contours of racism sixty years after the Cuban Revolution, a revolution that led to the restructuring of…

Resilience and Interreligious Dialogue in Havana

Resilience and Interreligious Dialogue in Havana

By Idelsi Bárbara Alfonso Sandrino Leer en español Translated by: Cindy García, Maxine Nwigwe, and Devon Severson Objective: To describe the preliminary results of the analyzed visions on the treatment of racial issues within the most popular religious expressions in the neighborhoods where the Red Barrial Afrodescendiente coexists. Keywords: Publications, Popular Religiosity   Introduction In…

Cuba. Racial discrimination. A resilient look to the challenges of the 21st century

Cuba. Racial discrimination. A resilient look to the challenges of the 21st century

By Rolando Zulueta Zulueta Leer en español Translated by: Devon Severson Objective: Explain the relevance of addressing the problem of racial discrimination in the current Cuban society. Keywords: Cuba, Racism, Discrimination, Demonized, Marginalized.    Introduction Racial discrimination constitutes a social scourge that, in the case of Cuba, is closely linked to the development of the…

Red Barrial Afrodescendiente, from grassroots communities in anti-racist awareness

By Maritza López McBean Leer en español Translated by: Cindy García, Maxine Nwigwe, and Devon Severson Objective:  To expose the Red Barrial Afrodescendiente’s anti-racist awareness actions in different Havana neighborhoods in a simple and eloquent way. Summary:  The Red Barrial Afrodescendiente Contra el Racismo y la Discriminación Racial  (RBA) was founded in Havana in 2012….

Martiza López McBean, coordinator of the Red Barrial Afrodescendiente, sits with my daughters in sculptor Margarita Montalvo’s home. Photo by Cindy García, 2019. -- Martiza López McBean, coordinadora de la Red Barrial Afrodescendiente, sentada con mis hijas en casa de la escultora Margarita Montalvo. Foto de Cindy García, 2019.

Gratitude and Openings

by Cindy García Leer en español A decolonial feminist publication that strives to be methodologically queer, non-hierarchical, and anti-racist takes time, especially across languages, cultures, and time zones during a global pandemic, a Trump administration that incited an insurrection, a neighbohood on fire after police killed George Floyd, and as Cubans continue to grapple with…

Photograph of beach, ocean, and sky probably taken out of a car window

Meditative Movements

In 2018, during my first trip to Cuba, I, along with a group of US-based scholars, had the honor of speaking at the inaugural Theoretical and Methodological Workshop on Afro-diasporic Studies. This international symposium, hosted by the prestigious institute, Casa de las Americas, brought together scholars, activists and other peoples immersed in afrodescendant contexts. Although I was invited to speak on black visibility, my true desire was to learn.