Mother and I pose for a photo before we leave Cuba. When I was a 15-year old going through my awkward teens, I desperately wanted to be an American. I had gone through the horrors of living in Jim Crow Oklahoma when I first came to the U.S. as a seven-year …
BIG SUGAR AND THE BLACK HEADACHE: Cuba in 1803 was dominated by expanding sugar production. Slavery played a part in this growth as did the relentless focus on improving the island’s sugar technology. Sugar was Cuba’s most important export, along with tobacco and coffee. All three agricultural products required many …
October ushers in Hispanic Heritage Month, so it’s a good time to study the Spanish American War and its impact on Cuba. I reflected on this as I watched the Ken Burns PBS special on the Roosevelt family; it kicked off with Teddy Roosevelt and his adventure in Cuba as a Rough Rider. …
