Ethnic Nationalism and Caribbean social reality
Name
Institution
One of the scholars who has conducted in-depth comparative historical studies on various countries’ nationalism is Liah Greenfeld. Greenfeld conducted comparative sociologic and historical studies in five different countries and their paths to modernity in a period of four hundred years (Greenfeld, 1996). In her theory, which assumes a sociological approach, asserts that the creation of national distinctiveness in European countries after 1500 was a reaction by the main elites in each nation to the “identity crisis”(Greenfeld, 1996). The crisis was experienced when the traditional social order ended, paving the way to a modern social order shaped by nationalism’s promoters. The modernity that arose due to this process was one in which all nations, whether liberal or authoritarian, describe themselves using specific versions of the understanding of “national sovereignty.” (Greenfeld, 1997) The various forms this individuality crisis took and the diverse social environments under which national philosophies were expressed created distinct forms of nationalism.
Historically the U.S. and Cuban have had a close association with African-Americans as well as Afro-Cubans sharing common bonds in the struggle for civil liberties and equality in their particular countries. According to their national, social, and political institutions, their environments shape individuals, African-Americans, and Afro-Cubans fashioned distinct civil liberty platforms (Bamikole, 2007). Cuba’s colonial heritage from the Hispanics came from social, political, cultural, and economic equality between 1930 and 1960. Citizen’s liberties are distinctively national, or at times constitutional hence the civil rights, as defined by the state, represented the shared views of the people who lead the nation. The Civil Rights are often based on the freedom from discrimination on the basis of nationality, gender, race, religion, and protection from brutality examined within a national context (Ryan, 1972). Nationalism can thus be defined as an umbrella description that subsumes connected attributes of national identity, consciousness, and collectivities of a country. It constitutes a set of philosophies and sentiments, forming the conceptual framework of a country’s distinctiveness. Such national identities often comprise several coexisting and overlapping attributes such as religion, occupational, estate, linguistic, tribal, gender, and territorial (Ryan, 1972).
Cubans established diverse non-political avenues of pursuing socio-economic rights and to the attainment of social mobility. Initially, the individualist approach prevailed whereby educated Afro- Cubans attained above-average achievement despite societal hurdles. Then followed the collective approach, which mobilized the Afro-Cubans to collectively influence the political landscape ( Herbeck, 2017). The political elite encouraged blacks to associate themselves with major political parties to promote their welfare within the party system. About Two decades after racial conflicts that lead to the passage of the Morua Law, joint approaches to nationalistic issues involved cultural as well as non-political undertakings whose objectives were not challenging the state. The Cuban Nation had come of age by the 1930s from its formation in 1902 ( Herbeck, 2017). As a result, the new generation of citizens born after independence got interested in national sovereignty and development. Jointly patriotism and nationalism kindled Cubans’ cravings of all walks of life, pushing them to look for solutions to persistent problems. At the time, racial issues, though important, was not dominant to their nationalist scheme. The pressing issues included socio-economic and political development, cultural, educational, imperialism, and issues on sovereignty.
The distinction between Patriotism and nationalism highlights the role of ethnic and racial differences in shaping the national agenda in Cuba by clarifying the connection between the citizen and the country or Patria. Nationalism could arise from a connection with the Patria, which can be positive or negative(Bamikole, 2007). Further, Nationhood may be linked to either one’s immediate community ( Patria chica) such as ethnicity, or local religious community, or the broader community ( Patria grande), the country. In this sense, nationalism is an organization glued together by psychological ties, formed for useful, political, social, or economic reasons. National unity depends on nationalism that promotes common objectives leading to corresponding needs and undertakings. Therefore several nations can be present in one country. In countries like Cuba, made up of varied social groups, patriotism or distinctiveness with the country could assume negative connotation when specific groups feel blocked from pursuing their welfare by the law or social order. Besides, a particular group of people who do not associate themselves with the dominant culture could form its distinct ethnic or social nationalism due to a negative reaction to patriotism similar to African-Americans in the US.
In Cuba, the inescapable power and prominence of patriotic nationalism thwarted ethnic or social nationalism of all forms. Afro-Cubans evaded Black Nationalism using all possible means. The Morua Law enacted in 1910, outlawed one race political groups, and the racial conflict of 1912 is attributed to this scenario( Herbeck, 2017). Besides, the wider psychological effect also contributed significantly. The Hispanic business philosophy had engendered a hierarchical socio-economic class, having racial overtones, fashioned a multifaceted social hierarchy that paved the way for Afro-Cubans social mobility. Thus several Afro-Cubans achieved considerable social mobility. This division facilitated the Afro-Cubans’ social mobility before its abolition, which prohibited the merging of black and mulatto cognizance in the twentieth century. Although theoretically, the mulatto were descendants of blacks and whites, mulato comprised a class perception instead of a racial one. In the 1930s, a number of Afro-Cubans to influential positions in Cuba (Henry, 2002). The few socially mobile group of Afro-Cuban middle class, including their subsequent generational label as the “Cuban first,” appeared to show that racial differences were not obstacles to social mobility or achievement in Cuba as it was in the United States (Greenfeld, 1997).
Between the late 1920s and 1950s, Afro-Cuban promoters advocated for a combined nationalism, evading separatist ideologies. As a result, Marcus Garvey, born in Jamaica, recommended separation as a way out for racial conflict in the Americas; Cubans barely noticed. Although Cubans dismissed Garvey’s idea as impractical, his associations drew the attention of several African-Americans as well as West Indians and a number of migrants to Cuba ( Herbeck, 2017). Afro-Cubans resisted the formation of a separatist movement or even a return to Africa. Rather they formed non-political associations seeking to promote cultural as well as economic progress. Garvey was an adamant capitalist with ideas reflecting the feelings of the majority of African-Americans (Henry, 2002). In Cuba, racism was clearly unpatriotic. No public official dared to approve any prejudice. Salvador Garcia Aguero urged Cubans to be responsible for unpatriotic activities and called upon the government to implement its antidiscrimination laws enshrined in the 1940 Constitution and enforce anti-discrimination offenders’ fines.
Therefore Cuba serves as a perfect example of how the political elite and nationalists can help shape a country’s nationalism in a positive manner devoid of any form of racial, religious or other prejudice. Despite having similar historical roots with the USA, Cuba has succeeded in evading the separatist approach to nationalism, which is still bedeviling efforts to achieve social cohesion in the US. Nationalists such as Aguero should be remembered and commended for their efforts in shaping Cuba’s nationalism as we know it today (Herbeck, 2017). Besides authorizing sanctions and laws, they observed that that legal intervention alone would not amend the problems. They thus went further and instituted Education, coupled with a national conversation that would promote relations among Cubans. As a result, Afro-Cubans collaborated with other Cubans in creating Cuban nationalism and enhancing consciousness.
References
Bamikole, L. O. (2007). Creolization and the Search for Identity in Caribbean Philosophy. Caribbean Quarterly, 53(3), 70-82.
Greenfeld, L. (1996). Nationalism and modernity. Social Research, 3-40.
Greenfeld, L. (1997). The Political Significance of Culture. Brown J. World Aff., 4, 187.
Henry, P. (2002). Introduction: The General Character of Afro-Caribbean Philosophy. In Caliban’s Reason (pp. 15-34). Routledge.
Herbeck, J. (2017). Architectural authenticity: constructing literature and literary identity in the French Caribbean (Vol. 47). Oxford University Press.
Ryan, S. D. (1972). Race and nationalism in Trinidad and Tobago: A study of decolonization in a multiracial society. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.