Our Rightful Share: The Afro-Cuban Struggle for Equality, 1886-1912 (Paperback)

~ (Author) "The official abolition of slavery decreed on 7 October 1886 by the Spanish Cortes (Parliament) did not represent the watershed that many in the Spanish..." (more)
Key Phrases: independiente leaders, independiente protesters, black brujo, Liberation Army, United States, Santa Clara (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Aline Helg's assiduously researched study . . . is one of the first substantive works in English on this topic.

The Historian

An extremely important book. It is an impressively researched, well-thought out, and well-written study.

American Historical Review

An important contribution to the body of historiography on race relations and politics in Cuba.

Slavery and Abolition

Our Rightful Share represents admirably exhaustive research, excellent analysis, and impressively balanced conclusions.

Franklin W. Knight, The Johns Hopkins University

A major contribution to the literature on race, culture, and politics in the post-emancipation Americas.

George Reid Andrews, University of Pittsburgh

Product Description

In Our Rightful Share, Aline Helg examines the issue of race in Cuban society, politics, and ideology during the island's transition from a Spanish colony to an independent state. She challenges Cuba's well-established myth of racial equality and shows that racism is deeply rooted in Cuban creole society.

Helg argues that despite Cuba's abolition of slavery in 1886 and its winning of independence in 1902, Afro-Cubans remained marginalized in all aspects of society. After the wars for independence, in which they fought en masse, Afro-Cubans demanded change politically by forming the first national black party in the Western Hemisphere. This challenge met with strong opposition from the white Cuban elite, culminating in the massacre of thousands of Afro-Cubans in 1912. The event effectively ended Afro-Cubans' political organization along racial lines, and Helg stresses that although some cultural elements of African origin were integrated into official Cuban culture, true racial equality has remained elusive.

Product Details

• Paperback: 375 pages
• Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press (February 20, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807844942
• ISBN-13: 978-0807844946
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #646,722 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent source for folks/scholars interested race and cuba, September 19, 1999

By	"fernandoreals" (El Barrio NYC) - See all my reviews

Aline Helg does an excellent job of outlining for her readers the conditions in Cuba, 1886-1912, which became the foundation for the rise and fall of the Partido Independiente de Color en Cuba. This organization, among the first Black parties in the new world, is a vital part of the historty of cuba as well as the history of africans in the americas. The book is written in a clear and concise form that makes it easy to grasp/follow and enjoyable, while simultaneously being highly informative. Helg's book is the answer for those interested in this segment of history and its implication on race in contemporary Cuba. It is the only answer for spanish-impaired folks who do not have access to Tomas Fernandez Robaina's El Negro en Cuba until it is translated. Enjoy the read, Prof. T.R.L. Patterson's students at SUNY Binghamton sure did.

1.0 out of 5 stars A flawed marxist mirror of a sad event, October 18, 2009

By	Laurence Daley (Corvallis, OR USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

*Aline Helg 1995 Our rightful share: the Afro-Cuban struggle for equality, 1886-1912/ The University of North Carolina Press ISBN-10 0807844942, ISBN-13 978-080784494

I view this book as badly flawed, and accepts far too readily the present propaganda of the Castro government, exaggerates casualties, and minimizes the terror that these "Partido de Independientes de Color" inflicted on the Cuba population Black, White and Brown in their efforts to ethnically clean the area so that they could set up an independent state. It completely rejects or ignores the mixed race composition of the Cuban armed forces (including its leadership). In all probability a more rational measure of casualties the death toll was probably closer to 300 than the quoted thousands.


Although the repression was abhorrent, still one has to understand the anger that most Cubans felt at this attempt by those mainly of Haitian descent to destroy what had cost so much Cuban blood in the then recent Wars of Independence. A more balanced presentation of these sad events is needed.