black activism during the republican period 1902-1933

BLACK ACTIVISM DURING THE REPUBLICAN PERIOD 1902-1933
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Cuba has a long history of revolt forces for the past one and half century. There has been a lot of struggle between the people of color and the whites as the previous sought liberation and recognition as equal citizens. The black activism was a freedom struggle by the black patriots who stood against the white’s segregation towards the Afro-Cuban. The people of color always took account of their action and had been at the forefront in the war on democracy, politics, and labor. The culmination of the campaign was sketched in what is regarded as the anti-racist war against the American neo-colonialism. For so long the blacks had been subjected to too much torture under the Spanish colonists. The black activism during the Republican period was, however, a new form of war where they were fighting their fellow white citizens. According to Helg, this was a fight for equality where the blacks had been termed as second class citizens after fighting for the country’s independence. They had to push for equity while concurrently being accused of antinationalism and racism, an issue that was a heavier burden during the war. This paper assesses how the historians have analyzed, discussed and interpreted the black activism during the Republican period of 1902-1933.
Before the Black activism during the Republican period, Cuba had been struggling with the Spanish Colonists that had invaded the country from early 1492.

However, since they set foot in the state, the likes of Hatey rallied the natives to war. Spanish colonists thus had to struggle from the beginning. The subsequent arrival of the people of color was conditioned by the prevailing history of war and the genocide policy of the natives. For a long time, a new form of authoritarianism was reproduced by the Spanish rulers, a move that continued to negate the view that the Cubans had to worship their oppressors. Eisenstadt views Spanish rulers continued importation of slaves, mainly the blacks, to serve them in the tobacco and sugar industries as a means to dilute the white dominance and create a dispute between the whites and blacks. Then it would be easier to conquer the country. Essentially, most blacks were enslaved in the sugar plantations where they were brought in by force. Individuals who worked in the Tobacco plantations, mainly the whites, were regarded as free men. Only a few of the black farmers from Oriente were free by 1878 although they were exercising small scale farming. There were in excess of 300,000 slaves in the rural areas who were owned by the 26, 358 Spanish colonists. However, with the news that Haiti had revolutionized in 1791, then the fight for the rights in Cuba was sparked. The Creole plantation elites combined with the slaves, and free men to fight for the independence of Cuba. According to Helg, what climaxed in 1868 with the release of the first slaves by Cespedes in a bid to advance revolution using the black military force was the start of the new form of imperialism, the neo-colonialism. By the time the US was intervening the country’s nationalism was already threatened. The freedom that had been long sought had turned into racism, segregation, and discrimination in some systems like the patronato.
The period between 1902-1933 was a time when the Afro-Cuban sought their democratic rights in what was then the white colonialists. After the US had invested too much in the sugar industry, they aimed at receiving the same labor the blacks were providing in what they termed as a pre-ordained expansion and responsibilities. This began with the addition of the imperialist ploy to the Cuban constitution in 1902. After pooling out the US troops from Cuba, President Roosevelt signed a treaty that gave the federal government the right to the military base. Then, they supported Thomas, the Cuban president to have the country annexed by the US. Helg indicates that this is what led to the massive institutionalization of racism and instigation by the American rulers. What the Afro-Cuban failed to understand was that they were facing, even more, problems as they had divided goals.
Papademos asserts that Afro-Cubans responded to the institutionalized racism in the same vigor as the fight aginst the Spanish slave owners. The formation of the party of color (Independent Party for People of Color (PIC)) in August 1908 brought about an organized war under the leadership of Estenoz. This brought in all other blacks who had been in the Directrio. However, the new government declared any organization that was not white based illegal and obsolete. This was ironical in that the amendment was initiated by Delgado, the only person of color in the Senate. According to Papademos, the senator, and other black activists were only self-interested agents who were unwary of the problems faced by their black counterparts. Their interest was to claim political through declaring themselves as the voices of the coherent black community.
PIC started up militant protests after the abolition of the non-white membership organizations. Since they were trained, they went into protests fully armed although the government mobilized vigilante action that killed 3000 of the Afro-Cubans. Part of these were the party leaders. The issue is what was termed as the 1912 massacre. Ironically, the remaining leaders, who had claimed to be fighting for the rights of the blacks worked with the white party cohort for personal socioeconomic gain. After the massacre, these middle class of the Black Cubans emphasized on cultural conformity and education blaming the lower class of the Afro-Cubans for their religion affiliations claiming they were the source of the marginalization. They reorganized themselves in a bid to exert leadership to the entire Afro-Cuban community a move that Pappademos considers as the process of finding public prominence. This includes the Club Atenas that was formed in 1917. Before the massacre, the government had tried to entice the Afro-Cubans into accepting the second class citizenship in the then nationalist-assimilation polarity. Although about 37% of the Cuban voters was made of the blacks by 1907, the state had aimed to solicit patronage from the political forces that were entirely independent of the black people. The massacre was a culmination of the same patronage. The federal government had maintained a close relationship with every other president of Cuba after the massacre so as to monitor the Blacks. They endorsed the middle-class leaders in the racial uplift that challenged the blacks as unfit for Republican leadership.
Thereafter, the elite made sure that they gained access to every integrated patronage. They could marshal and deliver votes as long as they received support from the white leaders. However, the other blacks were able to reorganize themselves through the cultural, social and political clubs. This drew other influential black politicians such as Gomez and Serra who owed their success to the support from the black community. The only profound political leadership since then was that of the 5th president of Cuba, Machado (1925-1933). According to Helg, his leadership was driven by the urge to end the political standoff, corruption and make life his populist declarations. As a result, he initiated major projects to assist the blacks, made high-level black appointments and even designated an anniversary for the death of Maceo, the Black general. His actions were highly regarded by the Afro-origin middle elites.
During the leadership of Machado, another black party, the Cuban Communist Party, was formed. The Black workers began a new movement of organizing labor in the then about to collapse sugar industry, then controlled by the US up to 75%.the first organization of the sugar workers was led by Menedez. This was so advanced and militant that, after Machado was overthrown by a general strike, Blas Roca, the BlackCuban communist leader encouraged the workers to seize the sugar mills and organize the Soviets.
According to Alkalimat, the Republican period was a period when the Afro-Cubans faced a new form of colonialism they had never envisioned. Having fought alongside the whites for the liberation of the country, it was evident for them that they had formed an organization with a common goal. The onset of the American neo-colonists was uncalled for, and it proved a bigger fight for the minority group. However, the period after the massacre can be seen as the first critical step to the continuous process of democratization of the Afro-Cuban. Even what had been seen as hope in Machado turned to be a push for personal benefaction after he manipulated the 1928 electoral process in his favor. As a result, the Republican war was black movement instigated by the black patriots, but the same community became the rivals to the Afro-Cuban republican movements. The Afro-Cuban civics, however, continued to reject the delimited rulings and adopted inclusive governance that could recognize the African identities. The essence that members stuck in opposition to the discourse marked them as incompatible with the modernity and national patriotism. And although they received too much opposition from the elite group, they did not yield their commitments to building a nation that recognizes the black’s role in the colonial war.
The black activism during the Republican period was not a victory for the people of color. Although they were gained control of the sugar industry and overthrew Machado’s government, they faced more fights through the KK and the succeeding governments. As indicated by Randolph, the fight for freedom by the Afro-Cuban has been more psychological and social than a physical. The only problem was the whites’ attitude of superiority that made the blacks subjugated in all manners. This was an indication of the situation in the entire US. The people of color had to fight for constitutional rights such as the right to education, voting, employment and fair treatment in public institutions. This is a fight transpiring to date as the blacks are not yet fully immune from racism.

Bibliography
Alkalimat, Abdul. “The Black Activist.” Journal of the Black Left Unity Network (2010): 1-10.
Eisenstadt, Peter. Black Conservatism: Essays In Intellectual And Political History. 3rd ed. New York: Gerland Publishing Inc., 1999.
Hall, Gwendolyn Midlo and Aline Helg. “Our Rightful Share: The Afro-Cuban Struggle For Equality, 1886-1912.” The American Historical Review (1996): 9-50.
Pappademos, Melina. Black Political Activism And The Cuban Republic. 1st ed. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2011.
Randolph, Lewis A. Rights For A Season. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 2003.
Wright, Micah. 2016. “Review Of Black Political Activism And The Cuban Republic By Melina Pappademos | Academic World History Articles And Essays | Middle Ground Journal”. Www2.Css.Edu.http://www2.css.edu/app/depts/his/historyjournal/index.cfm?cat =7&art=101.