With all the challenges in between has come a change in the horizon. And now it has come to a head.
What
changed? Well, it has been well documented that for the last 50 years
or so an overwhelming majority of black and white Cuban-Americans in
Miami-Dade only voted Republican. Now that assumption is dead. President
Barack Obama took nearly half of the Cuban-American vote in the recent
presidential election.
Not surprisingly, many in Miami's politically
powerful Cuban exile community feel betrayed by their own and are
expressing bewilderment that their daughters, sons, grandsons and
granddaughters would vote for a Democrat. It reminds me of that old
Cuban saying that is at times attributed to Fidel Castro: Para atrás, ni
para coger impulso. Loosely translated, it means, “Not going back,
even to gain momentum.”
Moreover, the Miami-Dade Republican
power-brokers and Mitt Romney advisors refused to see that Cuban
Americans are no longer a monolithic community. For many of the 2012
Cuban-American voters, the United States is the only patria or country
they’ve known and English is their first language.
They’ve learned to
read and write it. Many Cubans pursued or are pursuing higher
education, leaving the cocoon that is Miami-Dade to venture out and
explore the north, the south, the middle and the west of America and,
yes, some have even visited Cuba.
They’ve shared experiences with people
of different backgrounds, culture and political perspectives. Yes, some
even took time to learn about African Americans, their culture,
perspective and politics. And you know what? They survived.
Eventually,
those Cuban Americans return to the cocoon but with a different frame
of reference and, in many cases, a different social consciousness. The
preferred politics are no longer just Republican. The concerns are no
longer just returning to Cuba. These individuals have seen other faces,
experienced other dialogues, listened to other ideas and looked at life
through the eyes of other communities with other challenges.
That
has led them to participate in the dialogues they’ve heard and share the
experiences that they have been part of away from the Miami-Dade
cocoon. They want to participate in the outer community and the
political process that is more democratic-leaning.
Yes, they are
part of the New America, the place everybody wants to come to. There is
no going back to the old Cuban politics of the Old Guard.
Today, Miami-Dade, Florida’s ajiaco — stew — is quietly enjoying a political
transformation. Some Cubans have come to view the Democratic Party as a
friendlier tent, the gazebo that addresses their fears and concerns,
and they are embracing it.
Nearly half of Miami-Dade’s Cuban Americans
voted for Obama, plus over 45,000 who identify themselves as black
Hispanics. And you can be sure that many were black Cubans, including
myself, a lifelong Democrat, who saw the opportunity to vote for change.
A
vote for Obama also represented black and white Cubans’ expression of
solidarity for other minority communities that are also struggling to go
forward in America.
It is their way of saying that we are all in this
ajiaco together, so let’s finish it and progress.
Henry Crespo is
an Afro-Cuban American civic commentator and writer on culture,
politics and social Issues. He may be reached at
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
and
on Twitter @hcresposr
Rosa Reed has worked in senior management
positions in community-based and governmental organizations throughout a
30-year career. She was born in Cuba, grew up in California and is a
graduate of Barry University, with degrees in business administration
and marketing.
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