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8-30-2001

Resist Newsletter, July-Aug 2001

Resist

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Recommended Citation Resist, "Resist Newsletter, July-Aug 2001" (2001). Resist Newsletters. 334. https://digitalrepository.trincoll.edu/resistnewsletter/334 Inside: Organizing for New US/Cuba Policy

ISSN0897-2613 • Vol.10#6 A Call to Resist Illegitimate Authority July/August 2001 From Neocolony to State of Siege The History of US Policy Toward Cuba JANE FRANKLIN control of Cuba to the US government. Cuba converted from a colony of Spain to soon as the 13 colonies won in­ a neocolony of the United States. Among dependence from the British em­ its dictates, the Platt Amendment provided A: ire, the United States began its that the United States could intervene mili­ own march toward empire. In 1808, Presi­ tarily at any time and could maintain ports dent Thomas Jefferson tried to buy Cuba on the island. This amendment was abro­ from Spain. A year later, he wrote to his gated in 1934 except for the US naval sta­ successor, James Madison, that with the tion at Guantanamo, which remains. addition of Cuba and Canada "we should US-approved elections led to US-ap­ have such an empire for liberty as she has CADCIDD proved repression. US troops occupied never surveyed since the creation." Cuba again from 1906 until 1909 and peri­ By 1823, having acquired Florida from PRDTESTA odically sent troops to help quell rebellion. Spain a few years earlier, the United States encuentro agosto 1367 casa de las amencas/ cuba In 1940 the Cuban people created a new had expanded to within 90 miles of Cuba. Alfredo Gonzalez ROSTGMRD Constitution, along with hopes for a peace­ Spain was a dying empire. The United A Retrospective: Cuban Revolutionary PosterS ful transition to democracy. States was on the rise. Secretary of State July 5 • August 31, 2001

(later president) John Quincy Adams de­ CUBAN ART SPACE Batista Dictatorship and Revolution scribed the likelihood of "annexation" 124 West 23rd Street, New York Oty In 1952, a young lawyer was running for within half a century in a statement that Alfredo Gonzalez Rostgaard's poster is Congress in Cuba when General Fulgencio remains the quintessence ofUS policy: "But part of "A Retrospective: Cuban Batista returned from Florida to stage a Revolutionary Posters." Graphic courtesy of there are laws ofpolitical as well as ofphysi­ the Center for Cuban Studies coup financed and supported by the US cal gravitation; and if an apple severed by government. Batista suspended the Con­ the tempest from its native tree cannot gress declared war against Spain, ostensi­ stitution and canceled elections. That choose but fall to the ground, Cuba, forc­ bly to help free Cuba. In US history, this is young man, Fidel Castro, was not allowed ibly disjoined from its own unnatural con­ known as the Spani~h-American War; the to win or lose an election. The Helms-Bur­ nection with Spain, and incapable of self United States emerged with four new ton Act, signed into law by President support, can gravitate only towards the ports- the Philippines and Guam in the Clinton in 1996, specifies that neither Fidel North American Union, which by the same Pacific and Puerto Rico and Cuba in the nor Raul Castro will be allowed to run in a law of nature cannot cast her off from its Atlantic. "free election" that would be certified by bosom." Cubans call this policy "la fruta But Cuban history calls it the US Inter­ Washington. So it's easy to comprehend madura" (the ripe fruit). vention in Cuba's War of Independence. why US talk of "free elections" sounds In 1898, Cubans, waging their Second US troops occupied Cuba for four years. hollow to Cuban ears. Besides, the United War of Independence, were close to driv­ In exchange for removal of the occupation States does not have a record of support­ ing out the colonists from Spain. The US army, Cuba attached the Platt Amendment, ing elections won by someone not stamped government decided the fruit was ripe. Con- a US law, to their Constitution, granting continued on page two

Vol. 10, #6 RESIST Newsletter Page 1 From Neocolony to State of Siege continued from page one On April 6, 1960, a State Department IANDAIIOV& with approval in Washing­ • IIIOMETRES document went even further: "Every pos­ ton (note Guatemala in sible means should be undertaken promptly 1954 and Chile in 1973). to weaken the economic life of Cuba ... to Under Batista, about 85 bring about hunger, desperation and the percent of Cuba's trade overthrow of government." President was with the US. Foreign­ YUCATAN Eisenhower canceled the sugar quota on ers, mainly from the United CHIIJIN4' July 26, 1960. States, owned 7 5 percent ., CARIBBEAN of arable land; 90 percent SEA Permanent State of Siege 0 AYMAN of services like water, elec­ LAND (UK) Desperate to be back in Cuba again, the tricity, and phones; and 40 Map courtesy of the Lonely Planet, www.lonelyplanet.com Eisenhower Administration prepared for, percent of the sugar indus­ and the new Kennedy Administration car­ try. Super exploitation and Batista's dicta­ initiated a campaign to overthrow the Cu­ ried out, the invasion at the Bay of Pigs in torship incited the revolution, led by Fidel ban government. Declassified documents April 1961, leading to a major defeat for the Castro, that finally triumphed on January show that CIA Director Allen Dulles United States. Another plan to overthrow 1, 1959. thought in November 1959 that Fidel Castro the government, Operation Mongoose, The new government began to estab­ would be out of power in about eight was launched in November 1961, leading lish a program of basic human rights: free months. At the same time, he told the Brit­ directly to the Missile Crisis of October health care, free education through the ish ambassador that, in the words of the 1962, the date planned for the downfall of university level, full employment, no land­ ambassador, "he hoped that any refusal by the Cuban government. lords for profits, trade on the basis of full us to supply arms would directly lead to a The order to end all trade with Cuba in equality, internationalism, and an affmna­ Soviet-bloc offer to supply. Then he might February 1962 was part of Operation Mon­ tion of Cuba's African heritage. (By 1840 be able to do something." The US govern­ goose. The Soviet Union and its allies filled in Cuba, descendants of Africans outnum­ ment was deliberately driving Cuba to re­ the vacuum, assuming the 85 percent of bered descendants of Europeans.) ceive aid from the Soviet Union and its allies. Cuban trade that had been part of US-Cu­ In health care, Cuba is recognized as a In December 1959, Dulles recommended ban relations. model. In 1988 the World Health Organiza­ to Col. J.C. King, chief of the CIA's West­ continued on page three tion (WHO) set goals for the year 2000 for ern Hemisphere division, that several ac­ Third World countries. President Castro tions be undertaken against Cuba. All of was then awarded WHO's Health for All those acts continue now in one form or medal because Cuba had already met those another. Some operations that were "co­ standards. Cuba's most recent infant mor­ vert" then are overt now. "Clandestine ra­ tality rate (for the year 2000) was 7.2 deaths dio attacks" are now open broadcasts from for every 1,000 live births, a rate compa­ Radio and TV Marti. rable to those of industrialized countries The "encouragement of pro-US oppo­ and, in fact, less than half the mortality rate sition groups" is now legalized by the in Washington, DC. Torricelli Act of 1992 and the Helms-Bur- Cuba is also recognized as a model in ton Act of 1996 ( with the Helms-Lieberman education. The Literacy Campaign of 1961 bill of2001 upping the ante ifit becomes law). ILLEGIIIMATI AUTIIORlff ~•'fj WA-../~ "'1te 1'161 virtually erased illiteracy. Cuba grants "Thorough consideration," wrote Dulles For information and grant guidelines, write scholarships to thousands of foreign stu­ in December 1959, should "be given to the to: Resist, 259 Elm St., Suite 201 Somerville, MA 02144 dents and has even set up a medical school elimination of Fidel Castro." In August 1960 www.resistinc.org;[email protected] where foreign students, including US stu­ the Eisenhower Administration recruited dents, are studying to become medical doc­ figures from organized crime to assassinate Resist Newsletter is published ten times a year by RESIST, Inc., (617)623-5110. The tors who will serve in deprived areas of Fidel Castro and other Cuban leaders. Cu- views expressed in articles, other than edi­ their own countries. ban Americans trained then by the CIA torials, are those of the authors and do not Perhaps Cuba's most outstanding in­ continue that campaign. necessarily represent the opinions of the ternational achievement was in southern Af­ Declassified documents1 now prove the RESIST staff or board. rica, where Cuban troops contributed to the obvious: the Cuban people themselves RESIST Staff: Robin Carton defeat of South African troops in Angola, quickly became a target. A June 24, 1959, AmandaMatos-Gonz.alez leading in tum to the end of Apartheid State Department memo stated that if Cuba Carol Schachet South Africa, the freeing of Nelson were deprived of its sugar quota privilege RESIST Volunteer: Jean Smith Mandela, and the independence ofNamibia. in the US sugar market, "the sugar indus­ Newsletter Editor: Carol Schachet try would promptly suffer an abrupt decline, Guest Editor: Jan Strout Counterrevolution causing widespread further unemployment. Printing: Red Sun Press But as Cuba began its revolutionary The large numbers of people thus forced Printed on Recycled Paper with Soy Ink government in 1959, the US government out of work would begin to go hungry." ~ -o

Page 2 RESIST Newsletter July/August 2001 From Neocolony to State of Siege continuedfrom page two When the Cuban government did not Despite growing support for ending trade fall, efforts to bring it down turned into a state of siege that has continued to this sanctions, US policy continues to be based day, complete with infiltrations, armed at­ tacks, sabotage, assassinations, bomb­ on a vision of Cuba as an obstacle ings, chemical and biological warfare, brib­ to US global hegemony. ery, constant disinformation, and a travel ban aimed at keeping US citizens from going to see revolutionary Cuba for themselves. istration was to lobby for anti-Cuban policy trade with Cuba. In June 1976, when George W. Bush Sr. in Congress. As a result, three influential Again a green light led to runaway ter­ was CIA director, Commanders of the Cuban Americans have been elected to rorism. Luis Posada became so brazen that United Revolutionary Organizations Congress-two Florida Republicans and a he told investigative reporters that Jorge (CORU) was founded in order to coordi­ New Jersey Democrat. Mas Canosa and other CANF leaders nate terrorist attacks by Cuban Americans. helped finance his bombing campaign in In October, a Cuban passenger jet was After the Fall of the Soviet Union Cuba in 1997, killing an Italian tourist2. blown up, killing all 73 people aboard. Two In 1991 the Soviet Union formally dis­ With Cuba no longer tied to a non-exis­ CORU founders, CIA operatives Orlando banded. Once again, 85 percent of Cuba's tent Soviet Union, opposition to US sanc­ Bosch and Luis Posada, were arrested and trade vanished. This time there was no bloc tions has increased in the United States spent several years in Venezuelan captiv­ of nations to fill the vacuum. For three de­ and around the world. Pastors for Peace ity for that crime. Posada escaped in 1986 cades Washington had called Cuba part of has led a dozen Friendshipment Caravans and has been carrying out terrorism against the Soviet threat. When this could no to Cuba since 1992, defying both travel and Cuba ever since. He was arrested in Panama longer conceivably be true, Washington trade bans by refusing to ask permission City in November 2000 for a plot to set off could have offered to cooperate with Cuba to travel while delivering humanitarian sup­ plastic explosives at the University of in maintaining its health and education plies to Cuba. The UN General Assembly Panama where President Castro planned to systems. Instead the US government es­ has voted overwhelmingly each year, start­ speak. Orlando Bosch was allowed to leave calated its state of siege. ing in 1992, for an end to US trade sanc­ Venezuela and granted permission to stay CANF and its allies in Congress created tions. The vote in the year 2000 was 167 to in the United States by the former CIA di­ the Torricelli Act, shepherded through three (Israel, the Marshall Islands, and the rector who had become President George Congress by then-Representative Robert United States). Bush. Bosch continues to live in Miami Torricelli, a New Jersey Democrat who is But despite growing support for ending among people who call him a freedom now a senator. Presidential candidate Bill trade sanctions and improving relations fighter. Others regard Bosch and Posada Clinton promoted the bill and President with Cuba, US policy continues to be based as two of the most notorious terrorists in George Bush signed it into law in October on a vision of Cuba as an obstacle to US the world today. 1992. Torricelli proclaimed that Fidel Castro global hegemony. Consequently, neither In the late 1970s, Cuban Americans in would fall within months. He announced Cuba nor the United States has been able favor of improving relations organized "El that he wanted "to wreak havoc on that to see what kind of society the Cuban Dialogo," a dialogue between Cubans in island," figuring to starve the Cuban people people might create if allowed to develop the United States and Cubans on the is­ into submission so that they would rise up independently without being under siege land. Immediately terrorism escalated, in­ and overthrow their government. from a superpower only 90 miles distant. cluding assassinations of leaders of El The Torricelli Act essentially restored Dialogo in the US. Omega 7, another Cu­ the conditions of sanctions that were es­ Footnotes ban American terrorist group, was not pros­ tablished in the early 1960s. For instance, 1 Declassified US State Department ecuted for any murders until it made the ships that stopped in Cuba could not come document as quoted by Ricardo Alarcon mistake of killing a Cuban diplomat in New to the United States for six months.thereaf­ in an address before the UN General As­ York City in 1980, an assassination that led ter. Perceiving the green light from Wash­ sembly, November 9, 1999. after a few years to the arrests and convic­ ington, terrorists increased attacks. For 2 "Key Cuba Foe Claims Exiles' Back­ tions of Omega 7 leader Eduardo Arocena example, Comandos L shelled a tourist ho­ ing," The New York Times, front page, July and other Omega 7 members on charges tel and bragged about it on Miami televi­ 12, 1998. that included multiple assassinations, sion, declaring war on tourists as tourism bombings and drug trafficking. became Cuba's main means of survival. Jane Franklin, a noted scholar and In 1981, the Reagan Administration Although the Cuban economy spiraled media commentator who has published founded the Cuban American National downward, it started reviving by 1994. In widely, is the author of Cuba and the Foundation (CANF) as an arm of US policy response, the Helms-Burton law of 1996 United States: A Chronological History toward Cuba, placing Jorge Mas Canosa expanded sanctions. Section 109 mandates (New York: Ocean Press, 1997). For in the leadership. CANF is the wealthiest financial support for "dissidents." Its ex­ more information, see http:// and most influential Cuban American traterritorial segments, Title III and Title IV, ourworld. compuserve. com/homepages/ group. Its main job for the Reagan Admin- have led to resistance by US allies who jbfranklins.

Vol. 10, #6 RESIST Newsletter Page 3 Close But No Cigar ... Yet Working Group Seeks to Change US Policy Toward Cuba MAVIS ANDERSON polls for relaxing sanctions toward Cuba. r-y--,he majority of US citizens want J_ a new US policy toward Cuba. New Legislative Initiatives Many want to end the embargo and Now supporters are faced with reestablish normal relations with our the task of correcting the financ­ neighbor Cuba. An encouraging ing shortcomings oflast year's leg­ small step was taken last year with islation, as well as moving both the the passage of the FY2001 agricul­ debate and the actuality concern­ ture appropriations bill. Language ing US/Cuba policy beyond sur­ in this bill attempted to update US/ face actions to a comprehensive and Cuba policy to make it appropriate deep change in policy. This task is to a post-Cold War reality; yet the made more challenging in the con­ United States is long past due in A Cuban woman relaxes in a Havana doorway. text of a Bush Administration that crafting a new comprehensive, hu- Photo by Lauren Draper owes a great deal to the Cuban manitarian, and effective policy to- Americans of South Florida for the ward Cuba. We are still waiting for role they played in the presidential the Bush Administration to issue regula­ on sanctions imposed on Cuba were over­ election results. tions that would put the new policy into whelming victories in favor of a positive However, the unexpected change in Sen­ effect. It may be a long wait. change in US policy toward Cuba. How­ ate Party line-up and the resolve of the In fact, during the previous congres­ ever, those victories were stolen in majority of members of Congress to change sional session, supporters of a change in backroom deals among Republican leaders policy have garnered hope among advo­ US policy toward Cuba lost a previous vic­ and in conference committee maneuvering. cates for a new US/Cuba policy. Already tory. In October 2000, the agriculture ap­ The will ofa few members ofCongress with during this session of the 107th Congress, propriations conference committee voted special interests and with power subverted more than 20 Cuba policy bills have been to allow the first US sales of food and medi­ and overturned the will of the majority in introduced, the great majority of them call­ cine to the Cuban government in nearly 40 Congress-and the will of the US people, ing for an easing of the embargo against years. But the bill that was finally signed the majority of whom have repeatedly ex­ Cuba. The most significant and most into the law by then-President Bill Clinton pressed their desire in a variety of national continued on page five prohibits the extension of both US govern­ ment and private US financing to Cuba for its purchases. Any sales to Cuba would Bridges to the Cuban People Act have to be on a cash-only basis, or with The most significant, far-reaching ini­ * Removes travel restrictions on US citizens; financing and credits arranged through iative to change United States policy to­ * Authorizes funds for scholarships for Cu­ third-country sources. Cuba, for its part, ward Cuba is the "Bridges to the Cuban ban students to study in the US during FY has expressed its intention to refrain from eople Act." It reforms US policy toward 2002-2005; any purchases from US producers under Cuba by: increasing humanitarian trade * Lifts annual prohibition on remittances by these discriminatory terms, which apply to between Cuba and the United States; ex­ Americans to Cuba ( current restrictions no country in the world except Cuba. Very panding people-to-people contacts; giving limit remittances by US persons to $300 significantly, the bill signed into law also he President the authority to waive Titles per quarter to any single Cuban house­ prohibits future expansion of the catego­ I, II, and IV of the Helms/Burton Act; and hold); ries of US citizens allowed to travel to Cuba repealing the codification of the embargo * Allows Cuban medicines not made in the by codifying into law the current travel re­ included in the Helms/Burton Act. You can US but found to be beneficial to Ameri­ strictions, taking away the power of the find the text of the bills (S. 1017 and H.R. cans to be imported under appropriate President to modify these travel restric­ 138) on the web athttp://thomas.loc.gov. FDA requirements ( e.g., meningitis B vac­ tions. (The sale of medicine to Cuba has Additionally, the Bridges legislation has cine); already technically been legal, but with hese components: * Allows US products substantially intended strict licensing provisions and end-use * Authorizes the unrestricted sales of food, for use by children to be exported to Cuba monitoring that severely discourage US farm equipment, agricultural commodities without restrictions. pharmaceutical companies from applying and medicines; A current list of cosponsors of the for licenses.) * Removes restrictions on vessels carrying Bridges Act in both the House and Senate Votes earlier in the year 2000 in both the such legal exports to Cuba that otherwise is available on the Latin America Working House of Representatives and the Senate could not re-enter US waters; Group (LAWG)website at

Page 4 RESIST Newsletter July/August 2001 Close But No Cigar ... Yet continued from page four undermine and endanger, rather than em­ our desire to respond to humanitarian broadly supported of these bills is the power, Cuban dissidents. It would not bring needs, by restoring the freedom of travel "Bridges to the Cuban People Act" (see about democratic change in Cuba; instead, to US citizens, by removing agricultural box on page four). it would inflame tensions within Cuba and sanctions that unfairly punish US farmers Additionally, many members of Con­ between the US and Cuban governments. and ranchers, and by making Cuba's gress are clear about the centrality of the groundbreaking medical technology avail­ issue of freedom to travel. Representative Time to Move Ahead able for import. We need this bill passed. Howard Berman (D-CA) offered a "freedom It is time for the United States to de­ to travel" amendment to the State Depart­ velop a new policy approach toward Cuba ment Authorization bill in the House Inter­ that would benefit both the Cuban people Mavis Anderson coordinates the Cuba national Relations Committee. The amend­ and the American people. The new Bridges program of the Latin America Working ment would have removed travel restric­ legislation does just that. The United States Group (LAWG), a coalition ofmore than tions from all economic embargoes cur­ should extend the hand of friendship to 65 national religious, human rights, rently in force, including Cuba. It was de­ our Cuban neighbors. In addition to bridg­ grassroots, and development organiza­ feated by a decision from International ing the gap between our peoples, this leg­ tions. For more information, contact Relations Committee Chairman Henry Hyde islation benefits Americans by honoring LAWG at www.lawg.org. (R-IL), who ruled that the travel language was not germane to the State Department bill, even though ( or especially because) Sister Cities Make Links the votes were there to pass the measure. This language from Congressman Berman LISA VALANTI nity: local government, businesses, and a is expected to be introduced again as a free­ wide variety of citizen volunteers ( and civil standing bill or as an amendment to an­ f the organizations working towards society or non-profit organizations)." other legislative vehicle, and additional bills Othe normalization of US-Cuba rela­ Formed in March of 1999, USCSCA is a removing travel restrictions may be intro­ tions in the United States, the US-Cuba Sis­ nationwide, community led, diverse grass­ duced in various places in the Senate. ter Cities Association (USCSCA) is the roots organization that empowers people In opposition to these positive bills, only US organization facilitating direct with a unique opportunity to become 'citi­ Senator Jesse Helms (R-NC) and Represen­ signed bilateral agreements of mutual co­ zen diplomats' and tum personal desires tative Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL) have in­ operation between elected officials from the for improved US-Cuba relations into con­ troduced the so-called Cuban Solidarity US and Cuba. USCSCA's goal is simply to crete action. USCSCA represents the si­ Act(S. 894andH.R.1271)thatwouldpro­ include Cuba in what are considered con­ lenced vast majority of the US public whose vide Cuban dissidents with direct aid from ventional US/sister city relationships. interests are not reflected in US policy. the US government. While upon initial con­ We believe it is insupportable to exclude As the result of sister city relationships, sideration this approach may seem like an the Cuban and US peoples from the ben­ Cuban veterinarians are being trained to effective way to expeditiously bring about efits inherent in traditional international use acupuncture in large animal pain relief democratic change in Cuba, it in fact would people-to-people sister city exchange pro­ through the Seattle sister cities organiza­ likely have the opposite effect. If Cuban grams, solely on the basis of political bias tion. A Cuban artist painted a mural in Phila­ dissidents were to receive direct financial and punitive economic measures as en­ delphia as part of that city's mural project. support from the United States, they would forced by the US government. Pittsburgh concentrates on cultural and be viewed in Cuba as puppets of the US Our fraternal organization, Sister Cities academic exchanges including the Univer­ government, further marginalizing them International, defines such relationships as sity of Pittsburgh's Semester-at-Sea. within Cuban society and giving them less " ... a broad-based, officially approved, 'Mutually beneficial' is a key concept legitimacy than they currently have. long-term partnership between two com­ in the proposals USCSCA supports. We This is the view expressed by the major­ munities, counties or states in two coun­ recognize Cuba as a sovereign and inde­ ity of dissidents themselves in response tries. A sister city, county or state·relation­ pendent nation, and thus respect and work to Senator Helms' initiative. Providing di­ ship becomes official with a signing cer­ with Cuba's existing laws and government. rect aid to Cuba's internal opposition would emony of the top-elected officials of the Sister Cities provide tangible mechanisms also possibly endanger individual dissi­ two local jurisdictions, following approval for every community to stand up and be dents. It would strengthen the Cuban by the local city councils ( county commis­ counted, and to refuse to be disenfran­ government's argument that all dissidents sions or state legislatures), as appropriate. chised from national policy making. Our are foreign-inspired subversives, and it Sister city partnerships have the potential local sister city affiliates, linked through could provoke the Cuban government to to carry out the widest possible diversity USCSCA, have become a visible nation­ crack down on internal opposition. The ofactivities ofany international program, wide constituency for change in US policy. result would be the further closing of including every type of municipal, busi­ spaces that exist within Cuban society. This ness, professional, educational and cultural Lisa Va/anti is the president of US-Cuba approach by Senator Helms and Represen­ exchange or project. Sister city programs Sister Cities Association. For more tative Diaz-Balart represents a misguided, are also unique in that they inherently in­ information, contact USCSCA, ineffective political strategy that would volve the three main sectors in a commu- www.uscsca.org; [email protected].

Vol. 10, #6 RESIST Newsletter Page 5 Che Called it Socialismo con Pachanga Cuban Music Celebrates Cultural Struggle TYDEPASS ing "socialismo con pachanga" (a popular Cuban dance rhythm). ike its neighbor across the Florida Lstraits, Cuban society was shaped by "Permiso que Uego Van Van, permiso!" 500 years of European conquest, racist ex­ Since 1962, Cuban musicians and art­ ploitation and periodic violence in defense ists have enjoyed an unprecedented level of white supremacy. But oppression also of government support as employees of breeds resistance. In Cuba, the mountains the Ministry of Culture. In the late 1970s, of Oriente sheltered the palenques, or the curriculum of the free national music strongholds of the cimarr6n, communities schools expanded to include jazz and tradi­ of escaped slaves living in defiance of the tional Cuban music forms, widely promot­ white man's authority. Thus, from the be­ ing what one popular entertainer termed ginning, "the fear of the blacks" became a "the music of the people, of the poor bar­ recurring theme in the island's history­ rios ... music that comes from below." Mu­ explaining both the longevity of Spanish sicians with sufficiently large followings colonial rule, the disastrous domestic poli­ are dispatched as cultural ambassadors cies of subsequent US-dominated regimes Photo courtesy of Global Exchange, serving Cuba's foreign and domestic policy. and the flight of Cuba's white, professional www.globalexchange.org Cuban performers have proven their value class in the early 60s. These same mountains But this celebration of national identity by attracting new export dollars (in over­ were birthplace to successive struggles for doesn't mean that racism has died in Cuba. seas concert tickets and compact disc independence and blistering dance music. To be sure, the Revolution has delivered sales), stimulating expanded cultural ex­ Before the Revolution, the island's white on its early promises of food, land, health change and the growing tourist economy. elite disparaged and attempted to suppress care, housing, education and employment, More importantly, Cuban bands are un­ the music of the barrios. But even as white equitably distributed to all-through ra­ dermining the flip-side of the economic Cubans pursued European culture and the tioning if necessary. Likewise, many out­ embargo of Cuba, the information block­ Cuban variant of "Jim Crow," new dance lawed African cultural forms found space ade imposed on the American people. Regu­ rhythms, instruments and social venues to assert themselves openly as part of lar visits from Los Van Van, Cubanismo, the emerged as acts of cultural resistance Cuba's social reconstruction. And, finally, Afro-Cuban All-Stars, Cuban rap crew among the darker masses. Indeed, depend­ Cuba's numerous acts of material and tech­ Orishas, and various artists of Buena Vista ing on the range of opportunities pre­ nical support, solidarity toward struggling fame demonstrate the potential of a kind of sented, the anti-racist struggle in Cuba was nations in Africa and Latin America and dance-beat diplomacy by bringing Cuba's as likely to be waged on the dance floor as leadership role among the non-aligned na­ story directly to the American people. on the battlefield or a picket line. tions are well documented. Nevertheless, As Temple University scholar Robin In Cuban music, the spirit of constant and despite Fidel's confident prediction in Moore has observed, "What was once renewal and improvisation is expressed in 1966, the color line did not disappear with banned [Afro-Cuban music] is now Cuba's the notion of sandunguera, the combined the end of class privilege in the socialist state. pride and glory." word-form for salt and pepper, signifying "The Cuban revolution, with all its de­ Los Van Van, Cuba's premier dance the fusion of opposites. Like most Cuban­ fects, was never divorced from the dis­ band, is renowned for its high-energy based bands, Los Van Van describes its course and symbolism of Africa," observes sound, improvisational lyrics and wildly music as a melange of styles and traditions: Pedro Perez Sarduy, a noted Afro Cuban enthusiastic international audiences. "Timba con rumba y rock. Mambo con journalist. "The revolution has impacted Breaching the 40-year US embargo in 1997, conga y pop." On the track "Somos greatly on race relations and eradicated Los Van Van's annual visits surge cross­ Cubanos" ("We are Cubans"), the band major inequalities." However, he also rec­ country like an elemental force thrilling celebrates a progressive race-conscious­ ognizes "the persistence and recent resur­ audiences with hard-driving, non-stop, ness, recounting the "discovery" of their gence of often unexpected-at times two-hour-plus dance sets. beautiful island, the extermination of the subtle, at times blatant-racism." But on the last date in a 26-city concert indigenous population and the importation Cuba's revolution is an ongoing pro­ tour in 1999, the crowd surrounding the of a labor force from Africa. Over time, the cess of change rooted deeply in its history Miami Arena had not come to dance. In a song says, blacks mixed with the Spaniards and traditions-again, a fusion of appar­ confrontation orchestrated by a group of and a new people were born: a "tasty mix," ent opposites. When asked by journalists Bay of Pigs veterans, some 3,500 Cuban­ the mulata criolla. The chorus proudly if Cuba would adopt the Soviet or Maoist Americans ofMiami's exilado community proclaims "Somos Cubanos, Espanol y variant of socialism, Che Guevara report­ defied riot police to pelt concertgoers with Africanos." Dangerous stuff. edly countered that Cuba was construct- Continued on page seven

Page 6 RESIST Newsletter July/August 2001 Che Called it Socialismo con Pachanga continued from page six Pushing Past Miami's Cultural Vise minishing the political clout oflocal reac­ eggs, bottles, stones and threats as they Miami hardliners view Cuban-based tionaries. exited the arena. At the end of the evening, dance bands as little more than vehicles In the last few years Cuba has made the toll was 11 arrests, with no serious in­ for pro-Castro propaganda. Employing a major advances on the cultural front. Mu­ juries-though the concert promoter re­ vicious brand of vintage anti-Communism sic industry insiders estimate that the Latin­ ported a $50,000 loss on the evening. sweetened with a generous dose of race­ Caribbean market is worth about $16 bil­ Foreshadowing its role in the Elian baiting "the Miami mafia" reasserted their lion annually; and some are suggesting that Gonzalez affair, the local political establish­ political control of Little Havana. Ironically, Miami's traditional place as Latin entertain­ ment decried the violence, but waffled on blanqueamiento, the failed, pre-revolution­ ment center in this hemisphere is in jeop­ attributing blame. Police reports confirmed ary policy for "whitening" the Cuban popu­ ardy. Keen to make a buck while the market that protesters had marched to the arena lation through selective European immigra­ is hot, promoters in most major US cities from an anti-Castro documentary film, but tion, has achieved in exile, what it never are booking Cuban bands as fast as they that didn't deter Miami mayor Alex Penelas could on the island. Today, in Miami-Dade, can sign them. Attempting to predict the from asking the White House to deny fu­ you're either anti-Castro, or silent-and in future of US relations with Cuba, one can ture visa requests for the band. Citing a this insular and segregated community, only say el cheque no me ha llegado-the concern for public safety, the city attorney there are no "black" Cubans. check is in the mail. even pursued a court injunction against The sense of Miami as hostile territory Los Van Van. Finally, turning reality on its still looms large and Cuban headliners are Ty dePass is a community organizer, head, Penelas suggested that "Castro sym­ not eager to accept bookings there. But anti-racist activist, popular educator pathizers" posing as demonstrators had the anti-Castro front in Little Havana may and journalist. Ty serves on the Boston actually provoked the disturbance. be showing signs of wear as old leader­ organizing committee for the Black The strategy of mob intimidation evi­ ship dies off and time, circumstances and Radical Congress, the Board ofResist dently had its desired effect on another .economics combine to shape a new gen­ and is active in progressive education popular black musical ensemble based in eration of Cuban-Americans. In addition, reform struggles. "My fathers father was Havana when the Buena Vista Social Club last year the US Supreme Court struck down born in Santiago de Cuba, " dePass says, immediately cancelled its scheduled Miami a 1996 Miami-Dade county ordinance im­ "my wife in la Habana. No naci en Cuba, Beach concert, reluctant to experience more posing sanctions on any entity doing busi­ pero Cuba vive en mi-/ wasn't born in of the same. ness of any kind with Cuba, seriously di- Cuba, but Cuba lives in me. " Cuban Americans Suffer US Policy The Cuban American Alliance Seeks a New Course for US-Cuba Policy DELVISFERNANDEZ ation over hostile confrontation. which money may be sent to their families. In addition to the trade embargo and A mericans across party lines and geo­ travel restrictions, US policy also includes The Cuban American Alliance r\.graphical areas continue to push for the Cuban Adjustment Act. This act ex­ In 1995 the Cuban American Alliance changes in US-Cuba policy. Well over two­ empts Cubans from general U.S. immigra­ Education Fund (CAAEF) was founded to thirds of Americans believe they should tion policy and grants Cubans who reach strengthen ties among Cuban American be free to travel and to sell food and medicine U.S. soil a work permit, welfare assistance, organizations and U.S. organizations that to Cuba (according to a poll conducted last residence rights, and (in due course) full advocate for changes in U.S.-Cuba policy. April by the Rasmussen Research Institute U.S. citizenship rights. This policy stands In particular, the Alliance seeks to lift all of Raleigh, North Carolina for the Wash­ in sharp contrast to what awaits millions of restrictions on travel and humanitarian ington-based Cuba Policy Foundation). De­ undocumented immigrants arriving on U.S. trade with Cuba outside ideological con­ spite major opinion shifts in Congress shores from other countries in the hemi­ straints and within the dynamics of the along with increased American support for sphere, who face deportation, extended le­ CubanAmerican community. The Alliance's changes in US trade and travel policy, Cu­ gal action and may never have the oppor­ sphere of action includes congressional ban Americans continue to bear the brunt tunity to become US citizens. visits, family linking, and engagements of of a policy that divides loved-ones and But the privileges granted to Cubans mutual benefit between Cubans and Ameri­ deprives them of basic necessities oflife. have a sinister side in the destruction of cans. Board and Advisory Council mem­ Notwithstanding threats of fines and families and the imposition of draconian bers assist in the establishment of sister­ jail, almost 200,000 Americans last year trav­ laws that many find impossible to obey. city projects, cultural and sports ex­ eled to Cuba. More than 130,000 of these Once in the US, Cubans are restricted to a changes, community programs, visits by travelers were Cuban Americans. Despite single visit to Cuba every 12 months under Cuban professionals, student exchange threats of ostracism from friends and com­ the excuse of dealing with a compelling fam­ programs, ties between Cubans and Afri­ munity functions, five Bay of Pigs veter­ ily emergency. They are also limited as to can American organizations, and fund rais- ans returned to Cuba, opting for reconcili- the amount of and the frequency with continued on page eight

Vol. 10, #6 RESIST Newsletter Page 7 Cuban American Alliance continued from page seven ing events for medical projects. CAAEF endorses these citizen ex­ US/Cuba Labor Exchange changes. Last year alone, nearly 200 aca­ NALDA VIGEZZI demic exchanges flourished across the U.S., over 100 Cubans participated in U.S. pro­ he US/Cuba Labor Exchange offers fessional conferences, and high school Tworkers from both countries an oppor­ students from both nations held debates tunity to learn about each other by bring­ in Havana and Washington, D.C. In gen­ ing US labor delegations to Cuba, and by eral, the Alliance forges engagements that organizing speaking tours of Cuban trade seek to promote understanding and human unionists to the US. In addition, we have compassion between the people of our two organized and participated in national and nations. CAAEF works within the confines international trade union conferences in of U.S. law and is respectful of the sover­ solidarity with Cuba. eignty and independence of Cuba. The Since its founding in 1991, the US/Cuba Alliance has travel and export licenses from Labor Exchange has organized more than the U.S. Treasury and Commerce Depart­ 30 delegations to Cuba. Participants have US/Cuba Labor Exchange delegation joins ments for our project, La Familia, designed included rank-and-file workers, union offi­ a rally in Havana, Cuba. Photo courtesy of the US/Cuba Labor Exchage to establish bonds of friendship and sup­ cials and members, community activists, port with the Asociacion Cubana de students, academics, and "ordinary" tional labor conferences scheduled to co­ Limitados Fisico Motores - the Cuban Americans interested in learning more incide with International Workers' Day. Association for the Disabled (ACLIFIM). about Cuba from a labor perspective. As The Labor Exchange has observed two only a small minority of working people in Congresses of the CTC. The CTC Congress, Challenges and Opportunities the US are unionized, it is critical that we which culminates on May Day, is the ve­ Today, we face new challenges as a re­ include the "not yet organized" in our del­ hicle for outlining and approving the Union sult of the George W. Bush presidency. egations. We have organized delegations priorities for the next five years. At this Advocates of Cuba-policy change have for specific groups- such as teachers and year's Congress, the ideaofexpandingpaid been more on the defensive, trying to safe­ artists- and convened a religious/labor maternity leave from 6 months to one year guard a modicum of progress of the last delegation for the visit of Pope John Paul II. was proposed. It became law that same two years. Although strides have been The visits of the US/Cuba Labor Ex­ week. Labor Exchange delegates will be able made at the grassroots level, our work in change delegations have included facto­ to bring back their experience ofthis process Congress has had little impact on current ries, joint venture enterprises, farming and to their communities as an example of the trade and travel restrictions. The agricultural enterprises, as well as schools, power of workers and the CTC. President's promises of"Cuba Libre," plus hospitals, daycare centers, etc. Each visit For 10 years, the Labor Exchange has the nominations of policy hardliners such includes a substantive meeting with Cu­ helped American workers to gain an un­ as Otto Reich, John Negroponte, and Roger ban Trade Federation ( CTC) officials and derstanding of both the Cuban reality Noriega, taken together with Senator an opportunity to talk with workers about and of the role ofunions in a socialist soci­ Helms $100 million proposal for "Cuban their jobs, union activity, politics, and any ety. This knowledge helps with the struggle dissidents" presaged a period of hostility other topic of mutual interest. These visits we face every day in the US: problems im­ based more on Cold War nostalgia than on are indeed a cornerstone of the idea of ex­ peding unionization, problems in enforc­ the realpolitik of the present. change; both groups (US and Cuban) have ing labor laws, problems of racism. We have But in spite of many setbacks, hope a chance to question and learn from each had the opportunity to interact with trade looms in the future. With the falling out of other in both formal and informal discussion. unionists from all over the world, to better Senator James M. Jeffords from the Repub­ Delegates have attended international understand the common struggles all work­ lican Party and the ensuing new correla­ conferences oflabor activists organized by ers face. Upon our return to the US, we tion of forces building in the Senate, the the CTC, including conferences for women work within our communities and the labor President will be forced to steer Cuba policy unionists and conferences to learn about movement to change US policy towards to a more centrist position and away from and combat neoliberal globalization. These Cuba. We have given interviews, published right wing extremists. On our part we must meetings have given US participants an op­ articles and mobilized Americans to chal­ also steer our work in a more proactive di­ portunity to meet Cuba trade unionists, to lenge the US government's Cuba policy. rection to bring an end to a policy deemed interact and exchange experiences and strat­ We have introduced resolutions within the as morally and ethically unacceptable by egies with unionists from around the world, AFL-CIO calling for an end to the blockade. religious leaders and people of conscience. and to meet and learn from other delegates from various parts of the United States. Naida Vigezzi is the Northeast Coordi­ De/vis Fernandez is the president of the The Labor Exchange has brought del­ nator of the US/Cuba Labor Exchange. Cuban American Alliance Education egations to Cuba each year for the May For information, contact POB 39188, Fund (CAAEF). For more information, Day activities which include not only the Redford, Ml 48239; www.geocities.com/ contact [email protected]. massive May Day march, but also interna- us-cuba-labor.

Page 8 RESIST Newsletter July/August 2001 Challenging an Immoral Law IF CO/Pastors for Peace Sponsors US/Cuba Friendshipments

REV. LUCIUS WALKER, JR. supplies, including food and medicines. As will attempt to deliver much needed health­ people of faith and conscience, we believe related products manufactured in Cuba but Tn 1988, a passenger ferryboat in Nica­ it is our duty to expose this immoral policy. not available in the US. US law bans most lragua carrying members of the Interreli­ The first caravan began with simple aid: products made in Cuba from entering the gious Foundation for Community Organi­ 100 caravanistas carried Spanish Bibles, US without a license, which are rarely zation (IFCO) and 200 Nicaraguan civilians powdered milk, children's medicines, bi­ granted. Through this act of reciprocal soli­ was brutally attacked by Contras. Two pas­ cycles and school supplies. The US gov­ darity, we will help address some of the sengers were killed and 29 wounded--in­ ernment had never seen a direct grassroots detrimental effects the US blockade has cluding me, then serving as IFCO's direc­ challenge to the blockade, and they re­ had upon the people of the United States. tor. In response to this violent act of terror­ sponded with force. CNN aired photos of ism, IFCO announced the formation of Pas­ US Treasury officers as they assaulted a Rev. Lucius Walker, Jr. is the Executive tors for Peace, an action/education project Catholic priest who was carrying Bibles to Directorof/FCO/Pastorsfor Peace. For designed to support the daily victims of take to Cuba. Our emergency response net­ more information about IFCO/Pastors unjust and immoral US foreign policies. work, and the CNN coverage, prompted for Peace, the US/Cuba Friendshipment IFCO/Pastors for Peace offers con­ thousands of calls to Washington from Caravans, or the Cuba Medical School cerned people in the US an opportunity to across the US, and the caravan was allowed Scholarship Program, contact: IFCO/ build a "people-to-people foreign policy" to cross. Pastors for Peace, 402 W. 145th Street, that is based on justice and mutual respect. In 1993 and 1996, the US Treasury offi­ NY, NY 10031; [email protected]; Its caravans utilize the delivery of humani­ cials seized aid destined for Cuban www.ifconews.org. tarian aid as an organizing tool to educate churches and hospitals- a little yellow the US public about the genocidal effects schoolbus and 400 computers for an island­ of the US government's policies upon wide medical information network, respec­ Cuba~ School of many Third World nations. IFCO/Pastors tively. In response, caravanistas waged Medicine to Train US for Peace has organized nearly 50 caravans hunger strikes to call national and interna­ to Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, tional attention to free the aid. In both Doctors Without Cost Chiapas, Mexico, Honduras, and Cuba, cases, with the help of thousands of sup­ delivering tons of life-giving aid and in­ porters, justice prevailed and the caravan IFCO/Pastors for Peace has assumed volving thousands of US and international delivered the little yellow school bus and the responsibility to begin recruitment activists from a rich diversity of faith per­ the computers - without a US Treasury for the Cuban medical scholarship pro­ spectives, backgrounds and experiences in license. Successive caravans have deliv­ gram. Cuban President Fidel Castro active efforts to change US foreign policy. ered increasingly sophisticated medical and made an offer to an IFCO-facilitated educational equipment and supplies. Congressional Black Caucus delegation Caravans Challenge Cuban Embargo Having realized that the US/Cuba in June 2000 to provide free medical In 1992, IFCO/Pastors for Peace began Friendshipments cannot be stopped from training for young people of color from organizing US/Cuba Friendshipments as a delivering their cargo to the Cuban people, low-income, working class, and medi­ direct challenge to the immoral 41-year old the US government has been forced to find cally underserved communities in the US. US economic blockade of Cuba. Using other ways to stop the work of IF CO/Pas­ The first group of eight US students non-violent civil disobedience, the group tors for Peace. Beginning in 1998, the US began their studies in Cuba in April does not seek a US government license to Treasury Department tried to seize IFCO 2001, with additional groups following deliver aid to the Cuban people. Since 1992, bank records in an attempt to shut us down in June and August of this year. The 12 IFCO/Pastors for Peace caravans have - a blatant McCartheyite invasion of pri­ intent of this scholarship offer is to help delivered 2,165 tons of life-giving aid to vacy and a violation of the separation of the US fill the dramatic need for health Cuban schools, churches, and hospitals - church and state. After a spirited campaign, care in some of its most medically ne­ without a US Treasury department license. IFCO/Pastors for Peace won the legal battle glected and impoverished areas. We believe that to send aid, as a gesture of and the US Treasury Department dropped Students must make the life-long solidarity to our brothers and sisters in its demand for IFCO records. commitment to provide medical service Cuba, we should not have to ask the per­ The US blockade is a double-edged to these areas upon their return to the mission of their enemy. Furthermore, the sword: denying both Cubans and North US. Cuba is offering 500 full scholar­ US government uses licensing as a ploy to Americans access to goods and materials ships per year for students from under­ legitimize a harsh and inhumane policy produced in both countries. In a bold new served communities in the US to study which endangers the lives of the Cuban gesture, the 12th US/Cuba Friendshipment, medicine-free of charge-in Cuba people by denying them access to vital upon its return from Cuba on July 12, 2001,

Vol. JO, #6 RESIST Newsletter Page 9 US Women's Movement for Cuba

CINDY DOMINGO AND women's move­ JAN STROUT ment to normal­ ize relations with l\ .,fany women's visions and values- Cuba due to sev­ 1 VLn the US and globally- have paral­ eral factors: the leled the priorities of the Cuban Revolu­ US government tion: an emphasis on human development, blockade's deep­ alternatives to violence and the end of pov­ ening cruelty to erty and discrimination, and providing the Cuban women material conditions for full social, cultural and children in and political participation. Specifically this violation of in- includes the right to health care, housing, ternational law; '; education (through university level), paid growing domes­ US and Cuban activists stand in solidarity against the Boycott during maternity leave and subsidized childcare. tic support in a delegation to Cuba. Photo by Lauren Draper Reproductive health services in Cuba are many sectors to free upon demand. Women are the major­ end the economic embargo in trade and Cuba have significantly increased the lead­ ity of Cuba's doctors, teachers, scientists, travel; increasing global consciousness by ership of women of color and working class researchers and represent 4 7% of the labor US women's movements; and the hard-line women to educate their own and the force(" From Beijing to 2000," the Federa­ resistance to normalizing relations by the broader communities about the need to dis­ tion of Cuban Women). The Cuban Consti­ old/new Bush Administration. mantle the US blockade. tution outlaws discrimination on the basis "I came to Cuba to see for myself the Women's International League for Peace of gender, race and sexual orientation. disparity people are suffering here due to and Freedom (WILPF), founded in 1915, is Cuba has made significant gains with US foreign policy. So it was very neces­ the oldest and largest international regard to the status of women, measured sary for me to come on this delegation, but women's peace organization working to against the international standard of the even more necessary, to return and edu­ prevent war by addressing the root causes Beijing Platform for Action from the Fourth cate the public and try to remove the veil, of violence and social injustice and advo­ United Nations World Conference on remove the big sleep that people are facing cating the transfer of resources from the Women. These gains are more surprising in the US." -Donna O'Donovan, univer­ military to human needs. A close relation­ when contrasted with the economic dev­ sity student, Cape Cod, MA. ship has developed between the US sec­ astation due to loss ih trade and aid from tion of WILPF and the Federation of Cu­ the former Soviet bloc countries and the Women's Delegations Challenge Policy ban Women (FMC). 40-year-old US economic blockade. The Collaborations at national and local lev­ For nearly l0years, WILPF, Hermanas, enormous gains to advance the status of els among feminist groups have begun to and, in 1999, LELO, have co-sponsored Cuban women in the last 40 years due to make inroads for change. Hermanas: Sis­ delegations to Cuba. The ultimate goal of the efforts of the Cuban Revolution are terhood in Central America and the Car­ women's delegations to Cuba-and the rarely known or understood-given the ibbean formed in 1988 to organize women organizing which accompanies them-is to information blockade in the US maintained locally to experience first-hand the impact normalize relations between these two sov­ by both government and corporate-con­ of women's leadership in Nicaragua dur­ ereign nations and to build an inclusive trolled media. ing the Sandinista Revolution. In 1990, and progressive women's movement in the The gains do not tell the whole story, Hermanas began organizing women to US. Campaign actions aim to empower di­ however. The rush to develop tourism to travel to Cuba. Annual women's delega­ verse women in the US and other parts of recover foreign currency in the wake of tions bring medical supplies and women's the world to participate in and develop just Cuba's economic crisis has brought im­ information to Cuba, and help educate US and peaceful international relations, deepen mense social costs- includingjineterismo. communities about the human effects of global women's solidarity and use a Jineterismo, or an exchange of goods and US/Cuba policy. woman-to-woman citizen diplomacy model services by young Cuban women with in­ Another organization that connects to craft methods to normalize relations be­ ternational tourists and businessmen, is a Cuban and US-based women's groups is tween the US and Cuba. term used to describe the return of prosti­ the Northwest Labor and Employment Law "What's great about traveling to Cuba tution. Until recently, coverage by most Office (LELO), based in Seattle. Founded is to see so many women in leadership. This feminist and alternative media on in 1973, LELO is a community-based orga­ is empowering to women here in the US, jineterismo has either overshadowed or nization led by and for low-income work­ especially those of us working in the do­ failed to report the vast majority of Cuban ers of color and women workers to address mestic violence movement." -Emma women's lives. issues of economic and racial justice. Their Cata e Asian & Pacific Islander Women Now it is crucial to build a US-based EveryWoman's delegations to China and continued on page eleven

Page JO RESIST Newsletter July/August 2001 US Women's Movement for Cuba

continuedfrom page ten grantee), and is co-chair ofWILPF's (www.cubasolidarity.com). For more and Family Safety Center, Seattle, WA. Cuba Action Committee (www. wilpf org) information, contact Jan Strout, and the National Network on Cuba [email protected]; (206) 547-0940. Building a Movement and Sisterhood In conjunction with organizing annual delegations, Hermanas, LELO and WILPF, separately and together, have designed Cuba Resources educational tools and activist media, ad­ vocated to change legislation, helped start The resources belo~ a~d those at the end of each article, provide a partial list of the US-Cuba Sister Cities Association. res~w~ces and orgamzatwns for those interested in activism to change US/Cuba policy. These groups have brought thousands of Thzs zs by no means an exhaustive list but can serve as a starting point. dollars of humanitarian aid in medicines and National Organizations 10012; (212) 614-6464. Legal strat­ information with a focus on women. This National Network on Cuba, PO Box egies to advance and protect rights work to build a US women's movement for 225303, San Francisco, CA 94112; guaranteed by the US Constitution, Cuba will be deepened through a widely www.cubasolidarity.com. More than including the right to travel to consultative, geographically and demo­ 80 organizations and individual Cuba. graphically diverse educational process. members working to end the US Global Exchange, 2017 Mission Street, A national advisory committee with blockade. #303, San Francisco, CA 94110; women from LELO, Hermanas and WILPF Americans for Humanitarian Trade with www.globalexchange.org. Cuba are spending a year to invest in this pro­ Cuba, www.ahtc.org. Business, Campaign; Reality Tours; Language, cess. Women's Roundtables on Cuba fa­ policy and government advocates Music & Dance/Bicycle Trips. cilitated by 40-50 local organization; are who support trade in food and medical Marazul Tours, Inc., 725 River Road, creating alliances and networks between supplies. Suite 55, Edgewater, NJ 07020; (800) women from different sectors, including: Center for Cuban Studies, 124 W. 23 rd 223-5334; www.marazultours.com. women's rights organizations; social and Street, New York, NY 10011; Provides licensed travel to Cuba. economic justice organizations; Cuba soli­ www.cubaupdate.org. Maintains the National Lawyers Guild, Cuba Subcom­ darity groups; media; progressive philan­ Art Space Gallery, distributes books mittee, 606 Wisconsin Avenue thropies; and parliamentarians. Responses and videos, travel program, Cuba #1706, Milwaukee, WI 53203; to "Your Ideas" questionnaires to extend Update publication. aheitz,[email protected]. Legal advice and the outreach process are gathered elec­ International Action Center, 39 W. 14th support for travelers. tronically and by mail to increase geo­ Street #206, New York NY 10011; graphic representation. www.iacenter.org. Multi-issue orga­ Media The Women and Cuba National Leader­ nization working to end US sanc­ Afrocuba Website, ship Summit (to be held later this year) will tions against Cuba, Iraq. www.afrocubaweb.com. expand on the results of the Roundtable MADRE, 121 W. 27 th Street #301, New Information on race in Cuba, discussions and "Your Ideas" question­ York, NY 10001; www.madre.org. Afrocuba culture and politics. naires. The Summit will call women to ac­ International women's human rights Black Radical Congress, Columbia tion from across the country to determine organization with Cuba program. University Station, PO Box 250791, the vision, values and a three-to-five year US-Cuba INFOMED, PO Box 450, New York, NY 10025-1599; comprehensive plan to create just and Santa Clara, CA 95052; www.igc.org/ www.blackradicalcongress.org. peaceful relations with Cuba. cubasoli/. Solidarity organization Analysis of Cuba, political prison­ "Why women? Why have we chosen with Cuba's national health care ers, domestic as well as international Cuba? This is a strategic moment-after system. issues. Beijing, during this huge escalation against Venceremos Brigade, PO Box 7071, Compafiero, [email protected] Cuba. It is a chance for us to play a historic Oakland, CA 94601; stas _ [email protected]. Cuba Information Access on current role. It is also a way for us to increase our Organizes educational and work trips events. power as women. That is an important to Cuba. Cuba Poster Project, [email protected]. thing for ourselves, for the Cuban women Washington Office on Latin America Documentation and dissemination of for women in the whole hemisphere and 1630 Connecticut Avenue NW ' Cuba's post-revolutionary poster art. for women in the two-thirds world." - #200, Washington, DC 20009; ' NACLA Report on the Americas Marilyn Clement, co-organizer, De Hermana www.wola.org. Latin American Bi-monthly independent publication a Hermana (Sister to Sister Project of policy analysis and advocacy with that frequently reports on Cuba; 4 7 5 WILPF /Global Exchange/Hermanas/Madre). focus on Cuba. Riverside Drive, Suite 454, New York, NY 10115; www.nacla.org. Cindy Domingo is a member of the Travel to Cuba La Revista Cubana de Musica Board of the Labor and Employment Center for Constitutional Rights, 500 Music from Cuba in English & Span­ Law Office (www.lelo.org). Jan Strout is Broadway #600, New York, NY ish; www.cubaweb.cu/tropicana. the co-founder ofHermanas (a RESIST

Vol. JO, #6 RESIST Newsletter Page 11 (]RANTS

RESIST awards grants six times a year to organizational capacity through member­ sought to enhance the lives of GLBT groups throughout the United States en­ ship outreach in affected neighborhoods. individuals. The group advocates for the gaged in activism for social and economic protection and promotion of civil rights justice. In this issue of the Newsletter we Youth Force Coalition (including state bias crime legislation), list a few grant recipients from our June 13 5 7 5'h Street and builds a statewide network of infor­ 2001 allocation cycle. For information, Oakland, CA 94607 mation on GLBT issues and events. contact the groups at the addresses below. RESIST's $3,000 grant will support YFC is a coalition of38 youth and 10 UGLW's monthly newsletter, a website, a Kingsport Citizens Committee adult-ally organizations founded after the speaker's bureau, and social activities for a Cleaner Environment "Critical Resistance: Beyond the Prison and networking. 13 75 Dewey Avenue Industrial Complex" national conference Kingsport, TN 37664 in 1998. YFC seeks to build and sustain a Nevada Empowered www.kingsportcitizens.org strong regional base of youth power to Women's Project decrease spending on the prison system 1101 Riverside Drive KCCCE formed in August of 2000 to and increase public support for educa­ Reno, NV 89503 oppose efforts to grant Willamette Indus­ tion and other resources needed to re­ [email protected] tries air quality permits necessary for its duce the rate of incarceration. expansion in downtown Kingsport. RESIST's $3,000 grant for general For five years, the NEW Project has Through coalition work with other envi­ support will fund collaborative cam­ existed as Nevada's only group that ronmental groups, KCCCE alerted the paigns, organizer trainings, workshops organizes low-income women statewide. local media to Willamette's true pollution and other outreach work. Initiated in response to national welfare record and contracted with an air quality reform, the Project began through out­ consultant to model the effects of further United Gays and Lesbians reach at housing councils, churches, expansion. KCCCE put grassroots pres­ of Wyoming, Inc. welfare offices, and Head Start offices. sure on city decision makers, state regu­ PO Box 6837 The group focuses on bringing tradition­ lators and Willamette officials to enforce Cheyenne, WY 82003 ally disenfranchised women to the table current air quality regulations. KCCCE www.uglw.org to discuss challenges they experience in hopes to have Willamette install air qual­ striving for economic independence. ity monitors in key locations in the city For 14 years, UGLW, the only statewide RESIST awarded the NEW Project and reduce its sulfur dioxide emissions. gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender $3,000 for general support as it strives to RESIST's $3,000 grant will build (GLBT) organization in Wyoming, has give Nevada women a voice .

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Tewa Women United Join the Resist Pledge Program Route 5, Box 298 We'd like you to consider Yes/ I'll become a Santa Fe, NM 87501 becoming a Resist Pledge. RESIST Pledge. Tewa Women United started in 1989 to Pledges account for over I'll send you my pledge of $__ every month/two months/ provide educational and empowerment 30% of our income. quarter/six months (circle one). training activities for residents of the six By becoming a pledge, you help Tewa speaking Pueblos in northern New guarantee Resist a fixed and dependable [ ] Enclosed is an initial pledge Mexico. The group's activities focus on source of income on which we can build contribution of $___ . environmental justice, the prevention of our grant-making program. domestic violence, alcohol abuse, and In return, we will send you a monthly [ ] I can't join the pledge program teen suicide, peer support for Indian pledge letter and reminder along with now, but here's a contribution of your newsletter. We wiH keep you up­ $___ to support your work. women, and the strengthening of Tewa values (including in relation to the forces to-date on the groups we have funded Name ______and the other work being done at of acculturation). For five years the Address ------Resist. City/State/Zip ______group has held annual gatherings to So take the plunge and become a Resist address the nuclear contamination of Pledge! We count on you, and the Phone ______Pueblo lands arising from their proximity groups we fund count on us. to Los Alamos National Laboratory. Donations to Resist are tax-deductible. Tewa Women United received a grant Resist • 259 Elm Street • Suite 201 • Somer.ville • MA • 02144 • of$3,000 for general support . ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Page 12 RESIST Newsletter July/August 2001