African American Radicals and Revolutionary Cuba from 1959 until the Black Power Years

Abstract

This article sheds light on the relations between certain African American radical activists and Fidel Castro’s Cuba from 1959 until the Black Power movement. Contextualizing these relations within the framework of the non-alignment movement, the article demonstrates that the alliance between the most militant wing of the black freedom struggle and revolutionary Cuba allowed several African Americans to develop leftwing-oriented ideologies—such as socialism, third-world support and anti-imperialism—which inspired the Black Power movement. Finally, the article shows that Cuba represented for some black activists a “bridge” to Africa and Asia due to the important role that the island played in the decolonization process of the sixties and seventies.