Ever since the Cuban Revolution challenged the Monroe Doctrine by asserting a right to independence and mutuality between the United States and Cuba, no effort has been spared to gain control of the island. The National Endowment for Democracy, which has long pursued regime change in Cuba in the guise of democracy promotion, has recently "discovered" Cuban black people and manipulated the discourse of nonviolent civil disobedience to charge Cuba with racism. In 2009, an open letter from the esteemed Abdias do Nascimento and a document signed by 59 respected U.S.-based public figures of African descent became part of this effort. This process was enhanced in 2013 with visits to the United States by Afro-descendant Cuban dissidents and the increase of the reward for the capture of Assata Shakur, an exiled political activist currently living in Cuba. The original charge was countered by Cuban artists and writers and by U.S. Afro-descendants in support of Cuba’s history of mobilization against discrimination and racial prejudice. If there is one way in which Cubans are taking to heart what Fidel Castro once called "the monopoly of knowledge," it is combining the full-throated struggle against racism with the objective to improve socialism at all levels of society.

Desde que la revolución cubana desafió la doctrina Monroe al afirmar el derecho a la independencia y la reciprocidad entre Estados Unidos y Cuba no se han escatimado esfuerzos para tomar control de la isla. El National Endowment for Democracy, que durante mucho tiempo ha buscado un cambio de régimen en Cuba, recientemente ha "descubierto" a los cubanos negros y manipulado el discurso de la desobediencia civil no violenta para acusar a Cuba de racismo. En 2009, una carta abierta del estimado Abdias do Nascimento y un documento firmado por 59 respetadas personalidades de origen africano en los Estados Unidos se convirtió en parte de este esfuerzo. Este proceso se ha intensificado con visitas a los Estados Unidos de disidentes cubanos afrodescendientes y un aumento en la recompensa por la captura de Assata Shakur, una activista política exiliada que vive en Cuba. La imputación original ha sido debatida por escritores y artistas cubanos y por afrodescendientes estadounidenses que apoyan la lucha histórica cubana contra la discriminación y los prejuicios raciales. Si hay una forma en la que los cubanos están tomando en serio aquello que Fidel Castro llamó "el monopolio del conocimiento" es combinando la lucha contra el racismo con el objetivo de mejorar el socialismo a todos los niveles sociales.