In brief: Black Political Activism

Black Political Activism and the Cuban Republic
Melina Pappademos
2011, University of North Carolina Press
324 pages, hardback

RATHER than appealing to a monolithic black identity based on the assumption of a shared experience, black political leaders during the Cuban Republic recognised class, cultural and ideological differences within their communities, challenging anachronistic ideas about racial solidarity. In this well researched book, Pappademos demonstrates the oft-ignored intellectual role played by black Cubans in shaping the country’s political process, and argues that black activism was only partially motivated by race.- EC