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My parents are from Cuba. I’m native FL.
This plus whiteness. My dad’s a Viet-vet; mentioning he was Cuban instantly absolved him of the sin of being an outsider. He was a wetback to both whites and Blacks until they discovered he was anti-commie Cuban. https://twitter.com/nataliemorales/status/1324083909404090374
This plus whiteness. My dad’s a Viet-vet; mentioning he was Cuban instantly absolved him of the sin of being an outsider. He was a wetback to both whites and Blacks until they discovered he was anti-commie Cuban. https://twitter.com/nataliemorales/status/1324083909404090374
Cubans who came here early were largely white, pro-Batista (a mestizo dictator w pro-US mob ties!), and hate socialism more than fascism. They were pro-US and feel the US saved them. They were the token refugees. The example of the “American dream.”
They see any criticism of apple pie, flag-waving, jingoistic patriotism as attacking the country that rescued them. They drank the kool-aid of civil rights activists being portrayed as socialists. They see Bernie as Castro. They see Biden (Obama and Clinton, too) as socialist.
If you want an idea of what Miami Cuban politics are like then pick up a copy of Joan Didion’s Miami. She covers how die-hard divisions of Cuban refugees can be. We’re talking literally blowing each other up!
(BTW: The only US terrorist attacks by refugees was by Cubans.)
(BTW: The only US terrorist attacks by refugees was by Cubans.)
And you can add in quite a few Venezuelans and Nicaraguans with them. Cubans served as the example of the Hispanic model minority in the US. We cling to that because we’ve been given privilege since before we got here from the US. And colonial racism.
Remember that only 3% of Africans stolen and shipped to the Americas landed in the US. The transatlantic slave trade is a Latin American history. We didn’t have the one drop rule, but we did have the Casta system. That ensured white supremacy and colorism as a rule.
Slavery was not officially abolished in Cuba until 1886.
1886!!!
That’s only 23 years before my abuela was born!
You lump us together as Latinxs but bet that we call ourselves white if it’s advantageous to us.
1886!!!
That’s only 23 years before my abuela was born!
You lump us together as Latinxs but bet that we call ourselves white if it’s advantageous to us.
Now imagine you were the blanquito/a (white one) in Cuba and you come here, likely to the South, in the middle of the civil rights movement. You’re gonna side with the white folks if they let you.
And that’s still in them now.
And that’s still in them now.
