IDENTIDADES 1 ENGLISH IDENTIDADES 1 ENGLISH | Page 20

engaged in conduct that contradict the norms of socialist morality, is considered to have created a dangerous state.” Practically speaking, this concept is
more frequently applied to blacks—who run a greater
risk of being jailed for up to 4 years—than to whites.
This differentiated treatment when it comes to justice
makes it easier to understand why there are many
more blacks than whites among prison population.
These are some of the obstacles black people face in
Cuba, which contribute to making them the weakest
group in Cuban society today.
Internal migration is another phenomenon worthy of
note. Moving to bigger cities has brought with it settlement populated by blacks; they and their children
generally live in very overpopulated conditions. To
escape poverty, some of them have seen prostitution
and crime as the only way out. Clearly, these excruciating living conditions are not only endured by blacks
and mestizos. Instead, they, like so many others, including whites, endure them. Everyone who inhabits
or survives in places such as these does so because of
limited income, which results in a limited and limiting
way of life. Blacks and mestizos have it worse because
of how hard it is for them to find ways out of this poverty, climb up socially, and improve their lives.

The official debate about these race problems is not
yet a priority at the national level. Neither are there
political proposals for fighting against racism and the
challenges it presents. Cuba’s Constitution acknowledges the rights of all citizens as equals, but complementary laws do not explicitly acknowledge forms of
protection against racial discrimination.
There is a notable difference among black movements
that fight against racial separatism and act as social
defenders. They have managed to get the topic on the
agenda at international forums, on some occasions.
Similarly, activists and intellectuals use the independent press inside and outside the island, and have created new projects and initiatives calling for the restitution of all human rights.
There are groups of people within civil society that
demand that their rights be protected against these violations and ask that there be legal ramifications in
cases of racism. This problem has deep roots; violations due to gender or race are often confused, or conflated, from an institutional point of view.
We should work intensely to research and document
these violations and denounce them, while society is
rejecting racial discrimination.

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