The  Independents of Color - Leadership
Founder Evaristo Estenoz in the center in white jacket and mustache
A color version of this photo is in the Museo de la Revolucion, la Habana
© Gloria Rolando, 2001

The first independent black political party in the hemisphere, the Partido Independiente de Color, is founded in Havana on August 7, 1908 by Evaristo Estenoz (center above and below, left), Pedro Ivonet, journalist Gregorio Surín, and a group of followers. In 1910, the AfroCuban traitor Martin Morúa Delgado proposes a law, the Morúa Amendment, which bans the Independiente de Color as a political party because it is said to be based on race.  He argued that since African born Cubans had been given citizenship and could vote, racial privileges had disappeared and a party based on color was unconstitutional: the Cuban myth of racial equality!  He was supported in this by the miguelista newpaper El Triunfo which initiated the strong anti-black line that the Independientes were crazed rapists favoring a Haitian style revolution.

Los Independientes were made up of many veterans of the Mambi Army, which was itself 80% to 90% of African descent. The Mambises kicked the Spaniards out from Cuba and forced the plantocracy to ally themselves with the Americans to take back Cuba from the Cubans of African descent. When the Independents challenged them again, the plantocracy had over 6,000 eliminated as US troops stood by and US Navy ships were on hand to provide back up. This whole history has long been passed under silence and repressed.

For the first time in the history of Cuba, Gloria Rolando offers the media images of this episode in her film, Raíces de mi corazon. For this, she and her Images of the Caribbean crew were thanked by the assembled public at the premiere in the National Library in February,  2001.

The history of the Party is well documented by Aline Helg, whose book, Our Rightful Share, has also been translated into Spanish in Havana.

  <== Pedro Ivonet, of Haitian descent, one of the principal founders of the party.

The year 2008 will mark the 100th anniversary of the PIC. A National Commission has been set up in Cuba to oversee the commemoration.

See also:

The 1912 Massacre, AfroCubaWeb

Claudio Menendez, PIC President in Matanzas

Rafael Conte, José M. Capmany, Guerra de Razas (Negros contra blancos en Cuba), Imp. Militar de Antonio Perez, Muralla 40, Havana, 1912 [4 PDFs, 4MB total]

Mellen, Jim: Cuban Soldiers in the Spanish-American War, Small Planet

Serafin Portuondo Linares, Los Independientes de Color: Historia del Partido Independientes de Color, La Habana  1950  -  287 p PDF 4.2MB 

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Last modified: January 13, 2008