The Socialist Palenque: Cuba, Assata Shakur, and the Diplomatic Politics of Exile and Freedom
This presentation will explore the ties of solidarity that African American activists forged with revolutionary Cuba amid the upheaval of the 1960s, as well as the lingering impact of these encounters upon both the US radical imaginary and US–Cuba relations.
Focusing on Cuba's provision of political asylum for Black Liberation Army activist Assata Shakur, as well as Black Panther Party leader Eldridge Cleaver and lesser-known Americans who arrived on the island as airplane hijackers, the presentation will examine the nexus between the Cuban Revolution, US Black radicalism, and political protest movements during the "long" 1960s era.
Teishan Latner is Research Associate at the UCSB Center for Black Studies Research. He received his PhD in history from UC Irvine and was a Postdoctoral Fellow at New York University's Center for the United States and the Cold War in fall 2014. His book manuscript, titled "Irresistible Revolution: Cuba and American Radicalism, 1968–1992," is under contract with the University of North Carolina Press.
Contact
Contact Diane Fujino, CBSR director or Mahsheed Ayoub at 805-893-3914