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believe we all have similar stories, our struggle
may be different but it is the same struggle. The
story of the oppressed has been re-told enough
from the eyes of the oppressor, it’s time we make
our ancestors proud and tell their story, give them
voice and give our community the consciousness
they need to evolve out of struggle to victory.
My ancestor spirits stirring, I was excited to hear
of the return of our Cuban friends for AfricAmericas II in September 2014, with events at the City
of Asylum, La Roche College and Carnegie
Mellon University. It was nice to reuinite with
scholars and civil activists Leonardo Calvo Cárdenas, Juan Antonio Madrazo Luna, Juan Antonio Alvarado, Rafel Campoamor and to meet
Eleanor Calvo Martínez and Veizant Boloy González as well as performing artists David Escalona and Raudel Collazo. But it was sad to hear
that Manual Cuesta Morúa could not make this
trip as he was on restrictive movement in Cuba.*
Themed “We Are the Root of Change”, a central
event was a panel discussion at LaRoche College
featuring Cuba’s Invisible Children (in photographs) and film The Other Cuba.
Discussions and Reflections
Discussion points included the rise of migration
from rural areas toward to the larger Cuban cities
and how those of African descent are socially excluded, especially when it comes to availability of
housing. I was surprised to hear that when people
move from their original community to another
area (settlement), they are considered illegal
squatters: “undocumented”. Being undocumented, they cannot receive government help. To
me this is another tactic of being under an oppressive government. Why would a government treat
its own citizens as illegals? How can the people’s
needs be marginalized? The need access to clean
water, good housing, employment to provide for
a family.
There are similar examples in American history,
including the period when the government forced

Native Americans onto reservations and took
children from their parents. The children were
moved to cities in order to assimilate them into
the “American” way of life: a way to erase their
culture, their ethnicity. A tactic of control, along
the same lines of the institution of slavery: as Africans were bought to America, those in power
first took away their family/community unit, then
names, religions, and language. To this day, this
erasure of culture has a detrimental effect on the
way Blacks live in America, on how we think and
treat each other and on how we deal with our oppressors. Something we call the “slave mentality”
is still alive and kicking.
During one discussion, it was mentioned that the
Cuban government was starting to acknowledge
racism within its country. But from the list of
things that need fixing in Cuba, it is evident that
the activists face a long road and difficult fight for
changes.
But each person spoke with such conviction and
determination, I have no doubt all the small advances they have achieved have helped the larger
populations in ways they could not even image.
They reflect the theme ‘e are the root of change.’
Their fight will be handed down to their children
to continue, as we see in the father/daughter team
of Leonardo Calvo Cárdenas and Eleanor Calvo
Martínez. Eleanor came for the first time in 2014;
it was very meaningful to see a woman as part of
the Cuban delegation.> The longevity in their
dedication to change the politics and society in
Cuba is commendable.
In addition to these and more discussions, artists
Raudel Collazo and David Escalona added something very special to AfricAmericas II.
I strongly believe it’s the poets and musicians
who are called to be the griot and protectors of
communities’ history, to share and pass it on to
the younger generations, and to make sure the
world knows the truth. I was honored to interview
Raudel and David on one of their last days in the
U.S. I call these men “warriors”.

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