The Red Barrial Afrodescendiente: A Cuban Experiment in Black Community Empowerment

In November 2012, a group of Black women across Cuba came together to form the Red Barrial Afrodescendiente (“Afrodescendant Neighborhood Network”, or RBA). Within its group of initiators were educators, academics, artists, writers, scientists, and activists, all who worked at various levels in both governmental and grassroots capacities. The goal of this newly formed network was to form generative discussion opportunities surrounding race, racism, gender, sexuality, and discrimination in Cuba, with a community pedagogy model inspired by Paulo Freire’s method of popular education. Since the humble beginnings of the RBA, the group has grown into a vast network of workers and individuals from various sectors of Cuban civil society, from cultural workers and academics to educators and youth, all involved at varying levels to change the landscape of dominant conversation surrounding discrimination, historical memory, culture, and intersecting identities in Cuba.