Black and Cuba

Students Explore Race and Society in Cuba

Black and Cuba follows street-smart Ivy League students who are outcasts at their elite university, as they band together and adventure to Cuba to see if revolution is truly possible. Intent on sharing their experiences, the students film their journey through the streets of Havana and Santiago. They observe the literal signs of revolution as well as moving hip-hop performances. A stirring block party at a racially integrated housing project impacts the travelers in surprising ways. Candid, spontaneous encounters with AfroCubans highlight similarities between African American, Latin, and Cuban experiences. Although Cuba declared racism illegal after 1959, the travelers' new friends describe recent experiences of racial profiling, police misconduct and employment discrimination.

The students also see the positive benefits of Cuba's social safety net. AfroCubans enjoy access to public education, health care and homeownership in a manner that remains out of reach for many of the students' neighbors and family members in the US. Despite seeing the realities behind the myths of color-blindness and social mobility, the students return home empowered with renewed hope. With cutting-edge style and humor, this inspiring documentary illuminates how racial equality is an international human rights issue. Due in part to the US government's restrictions on travel and trade with socialist Cuba since 1962, many Americans are unaware the island's population is 60% Black.