Black and Cuba was directed by Robin J. Hayens. Dr. Robin J. Hayens comes from an African American, Afro-Caribbean, and Latino background. She has traveled to over 30 countries, published essays in “The Atlantic” and also has a Pulitzer Prize Nominated history book called “Love got Liberation: African Independence, Black Power, and a Diaspora Underground".
(IMDb).
Black and Cuba was released on july 15, 2015. It is a documentary that follows a group of nine students from a reading group at Yale University traveling to Cuba to learn more about the Cuban Revolution. Yale University was founded in 1701 yet groups of African Americans were not allowed to be admitted until 1850. The group of students felt like an outcast in their Ivy League College so they decided to form a black resistance reading group. This group discussed books about the African diaspora. The African Diaspora is a collection of communities that have descended from Africa, that were displaced due to slavery. The students were inspired to plan a trip to Cuba to put into perspective how the revolution has affected that country.
The students quickly began to realize how difficult it would be to pay for a large group to travel to another country. In 1960, President Kennedy imposed the first trade embargo on Cuba. The embargo was still in place in 2002, when the students were planning their trip. During this time, America was the only country to have restrictions on travel with Cuba. The students were granted permission because they were conducting research. They also had to find funding for all the students that wanted to participate. They asked the head of departments for each of their majors and held fundraisers to raise the money.
The students traveled to the capital of Cuba, Havana. They were met by professors of the university and also conducted interviews of people they met. They visited many beautiful places in Cuba, they also got to experience the food and cultural dances. The people of Cuba feel closer to Africans than Amercians. This is due to the fact that the Transatlantic Slave Trade brought millions of africans to the carribean. The influx of slaves brought to the Caribbean is why Cuba’s population is 60% afro-cuban.
The film was very informative and eye opening. It was also very easy to follow, I like that we saw footage from their trip and the students got to explain their experience. It brings into perspective the historical events vs the living experiences of Cubans.
Throughout the documentary, the students were able to find connections between the Cuban experience and the African American experience. The film highlighted the political connections between Cuban leader Fidel Castro and Malcom X that I was not aware of. Cuba granted asylum to many african activists. The film also featured important figures and activists like Che Guevera , Juilus Nyerere, Assata Shkur, and Fred Hampton. The documentary included live footage of these important figures, not only pictures.
This documentary was very enjoyable, I would recommend this to others that are interested in how impactful the Cuban revolution was or even if they just want to learn more about Cuba’s culture. The closing scene of this documentary was very powerful.
The nine students in this documentary did a fantastic job in sharing their thoughts and views about the Cuban Revolution. They brought to light the good and bad things in Cuba. They were very detailed when discussing the Slave Trade and racism.