Cuban Revolution in America: Havana and the Making of a United States Left, 1968–1992 (Justice, Power, and Politics)

Cuba’s grassroots revolution prevailed on America's doorstep in 1959, fueling intense interest within the multiracial American Left even as it provoked a backlash from the U.S. political establishment. In this groundbreaking book, historian Teishan A. Latner contends that in the era of decolonization, the Vietnam War, and Black Power, socialist Cuba claimed center stage for a generation of Americans who looked to the insurgent Third World for inspiration and political theory. As Americans studied the island’s achievements in education, health care, and economic redistribution, Cubans in turn looked to U.S. leftists as collaborators in the global battle against inequality and allies in the nation’s Cold War struggle with Washington. By forging ties with organizations such as the Venceremos Brigade, the Black Panther Party, and the Cuban American students of the Antonio Maceo Brigade, and by providing political asylum to activists such as Assata Shakur, Cuba became a durable global influence on the U.S. Left. Drawing from extensive archival and oral history research and declassified FBI and CIA documents, this is the first multidecade examination of the encounter between the Cuban Revolution and the U.S. Left after 1959. By analyzing Cuba’s multifaceted impact on American radicalism, Latner contributes to a growing body of scholarship that has globalized the study of U.S. social justice movements. "Cuba's grassroots revolution prevailed on America's doorstep in 1959, fueling intense interest within the multiracial American Left even as it provoked a backlash from the U.S. political establishment. In this groundbreaking book, historian Teishan A. Latner contends that in the era of decolonization, the Vietnam War, and Black Power, socialist Cuba claimed center stage for a generation of Americans who looked to the insurgent Third World for inspiration and political theory. As Americans studied the island's achievements in education, health care, and economic redistribution, Cubans in turn looked to U.S. leftists as collaborators in the global battle against inequality and allies in the nation's Cold War struggle with Washington. By forging ties with organizations such as the Venceremos Brigade, the Black Panther Party, and the Cuban American students of the Antonio Maceo Brigade, and by providing political asylum to activists such as Assata Shakur, Cuba became a durable global influence on the U.S. Left. Drawing from extensive archival and oral history research and declassified FBI and CIA documents, this is the first multidecade examination of the encounter between the Cuban Revolution and the U.S. Left after 1959"--Publisher's description Cover......Page 1 Title......Page 2 Title - Serie......Page 3 Title - Complete......Page 4 Copyright......Page 5 Dedication......Page 6 Contents......Page 8 Figures......Page 10 Acknowledgment......Page 12 Introduction......Page 18 1. Venceremos Means “We Will Win ”: The Venceremos Brigades, Cuba, and the U.S. Left......Page 44 2. Missiles, in Human Form: Cuba and the Specter of Foreign Subversion in America......Page 92 3. Revolution in the Air: Hijacking, Political Protest, and U.S.-Cuba Relations......Page 140 4. Joven Cuba inside the Colossus: The Antonio Maceo Brigade and the Making of a Cuban American Left......Page 170 5. Assata Is Welcome Here: Black Radicalism, Political Asylum, and the Diplomacy of Exile and Freedom......Page 216 Epilogue. Unfinished Revolutions......Page 282 Notes......Page 290 Bibliography......Page 334 Index......Page 352 Cuban revolution in America -- Venceremos means "we will win": the Venceremos Brigades, Cuba, and the U.S. Left -- Missiles, in human form: Cuba and the specter of foreign subversion in America -- Revolution in the air: hijacking, political protest, and U.S.-Cuba relations -- Joven Cuba inside the colossus: the Antonio Maceo Brigade and the making of a Cuban American Left -- Assata is welcome here: black radicalism, political asylum, and U.S.-Cuba diplomacy -- Unfinished revolutions When a popular revolution prevailed on America's doorstep in 1959, it provoked the wrath of the American political establishment but fueled intense interest within the multiracial American Left. In this groundbreaking work, Teishan Latner contends that as Americans studied Cuba's achievements, Havana in turn looked to the US Left as a collaborator in the global battle against inequality and imperialism Cuba's grassroots revolution prevailed on America's doorstep in 1959, fueling intense interest within the multiracial American Left. Teishan Latner contends that in the era of decolonization, the Vietnam War, and Black Power, Cuba claimed centre stage for a generation of Americans who looked to the insurgent Third World for inspiration.