Martyrs of February 24th Scholarship 2026: Home

Lars Schoultz offers a comprehensive chronicle of U.S. policy toward the Cuban Revolution. Using a rich array of documents and firsthand interviews with U.S. and Cuban officials, he tells the story of the attempts and failures of ten U.S. administrations to end the Cuban Revolution. He concludes that despite the overwhelming advantage in size and power that the United States enjoys over its neighbor, the Cubans' historical insistence on their right to self-determination has been a constant thorn in the side of American administrations, influenced both U.S. domestic politics and foreign policy on a much larger stage, and resulted in a freeze in diplomatic relations of unprecedented longevity.

Millions of words have been written about the Cuban Revolution, which, to both its supporters and detractors, is almost universally understood as being won by a small band of guerillas. In this unique and stimulating book, Stephen Cushion turns the conventional wisdom on its head, and argues that the Cuban working class played a much more decisive role in the Revolution's outcome than previously understood. Although the working class was well-organized in the 1950s, it is believed to have been too influenced by corrupt trade union leaders, the Partido Socialist Popular, and a tradition of making primarily economic demands to have offered much support to the guerillas. Cushion contends that the opposite is true, and that significant portions of the Cuban working class launched an underground movement in tandem with the guerillas operating in the mountains. Developed during five research trips to Cuba under the auspices of the Institute of Cuban History in Havana, this book analyzes a wealth of leaflets, pamphlets, clandestine newspapers, and other agitational material from the 1950s that has never before been systematically examined, along with many interviews with participants themselves. Cushion uncovers widespread militant activity, from illegal strikes to sabotage to armed conflict with the state, all of which culminated in two revolutionary workers' congresses and the largest general strike in Cuban history. He argues that these efforts helped clinch the victory of the revolution, and thus presents a fresh and provocative take on the place of the working class in Cuban history.

The recent retirement of Fidel Castro turned the world's attention toward the tiny but prominent island nation of Cuba and the question of what its future holds. Amid all of the talk and hypothesizing, it is worth taking a moment to consider how Cuba reached this point, which is what Antoni Kapcia provides with his incisive history of Cuba since 1959. Cuba In Revolution takes the Cuban Revolution as its starting point, analyzing social change, its benefits and disadvantages, popular participation in the revolution, and the development of its ideology. Kapcia probes into Castro's rapid rise to national leader, exploring his politics of defense and dissent as well as his contentious relationship with the United States from the beginning of his reign. The book also considers the evolution of the revolution's international profile and Cuba's foreign relations over the years, investigating issues and events such as the Bay of Pigs crisis, Cuban relations with Communist nations like Russia and China, and the flight of asylum-seeking Cubans to Florida over the decades.  The collapse of the Soviet Union between 1989 and 1991 catalyzed a severe economic and political crisis in Cuba, but Cuba was surprisingly resilient in the face of the catastrophe, Kapcia notes, and he examines the strategies adopted by Cuba over the last two decades in order to survive America's longstanding trade embargo. A fascinating and much-needed examination of a country that has served as an important political symbol and diplomatic enigma for the twentieth century, Cuba In Revolution is a critical primer for all those interested in Cuba's past--or concerned with its future.  

In ADRIFT, Alfredo A. Fernandez recounts the saga of the 1994 refugees, tracing the origin of the crisis to the pervasive turmoil produced in Cuba by the 1989-1991 collapse of the USSR and the resulting cut-off of Soviet economic subsidies. During this period, U.S. immigration policy flip-flopped, making the journey to American life for Cubans ever more precarious. In tracking 1994's crisis through ensuing years of global political fallout, Fernandez presents a compelling international gallery of heroes, rogues, survivors, diplomats, and traitors.

From Key West to New York City to Chicago and L.A., Cuban Americans have been a people searching for freedom, preserving the memories of the island they left behind, and determined to make their mark on their adopted country. This illustrated companion to the television show brings four colorful centuries of Cubans in America alive for the very first time, conveying with photographs and powerful words their roots, their struggles, and their distinctly Cuban voice. Racing for the American dream yet touched by a pervasive sadness for a lost land, America's Cubans have become part of the fabric of their adopted country, even as they remain uniquely Cuban. In this breathtaking panorama of one people touching two worlds, entertainers Gloria Estefan and Andy Garcia, Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Oscar Hijuelos, baseball stars Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez and Jose Canseco, and many others give testament to the diverse contributions Cubans have made to America. Book jacket.

A brilliant musician. A young woman in love. A determined free-thinker who risked everything for his cause. This compelling book tells the stories of the personal journeys and struggles of three Cubans and how their lives have been shaped by Fidel Castro's influence over nearly half a century. It begins in 1959 with the triumph of the Cuban revolution, a euphoric event that sets the stage for dramatic changes in the years to come. Their experiences come alive in a narrative filled with childhood pranks, secret plots, and wrenching family decisions. Eloy Gutiérrez Menoyo was a rebel commander who fought on the side of Castro's forces during the revolution, then later turned against the government and spent twenty-two years in Cuban prisons. Once free and living in Miami, he began a controversial effort to seek changes in Cuba through dialogue with Castro. He later surprised his family and friends by deciding to move back to Cuba in an attempt to start a new opposition movement. Paquito D'Rivera was just a boy when Castro and his rebels rolled into Havana. His career as a saxophonist and clarinetist prospered in the years that followed, but seeking greater personal freedom, he eventually defected. Separated from his family, he settled in New York City. It took him many painful years to be reunited with his son. While Paquito has achieved stardom in the jazz world, he also longs at times for the island he left behind. Nancy Lledes was a child of the revolution, born in the early years of Castro's rule and taught to respect the socialist system. Her parents believed in those ideals, and while Nancy was growing up she never imagined leaving Cuba. But she fell in love with a man who opposed the system. And for him, she abandoned her homeland and left behind all that she knew. Together, these three tell a remarkable story in a unique age filled with upheaval, sharp divisions, and yet, hope. Spanning nearly five decades of life in Cuba and in exile, this wide-ranging history is also an intimately personal narrative.

The story of Brothers to the Rescue and the Cuban refugees they flew to safety, told in collaboration with founding member José Basulto There was a time in Miami when it seemed impossible to go through a week without news coverage of the men, women, and children escaping Cuba and being pulled off of makeshift rafts in the middle of the Florida Straits. One out of four did not survive the dangerous journey; the others barely hung on with little food and water. Many of the lucky ones were saved by a group of volunteers who called themselves Brothers to the Rescue (BTTR). Seagull One presents the never-before-told story of the men and women of nineteen nationalities who came together to fly in rickety Cessnas over the water between Cuba and Florida to search for balseros--rafters fleeing Communist Cuba. It is a fascinating account of how José Basulto, a Cuban exile and Bay of Pigs veteran, founded BTTR with the humanitarian mission of saving the lives of the desperate souls willing to brave the ocean in pursuit of freedom. "Seagull One" was Balsuto's radio call sign. The group's tactics were sometimes controversial, including protests against both the Cuban and U.S. governments, yet the organization managed to save over 4,200 people they would seldom, if ever, meet. Seagull One also records the infiltration of two spies, one who was a double agent working for the FBI. Together these two volunteers collaborated with the Castro government in planning the shoot-down over international waters of two unarmed Cessnas flying a humanitarian mission on February 24, 1996. The cold-blooded murder of four innocent men (three American citizens and one legal resident) led to significant changes in U.S.-Cuba relations. Over one hundred people were interviewed for Seagull One, including pilots and recuees. Lily Prellezo brings their stories to life against the backdrop of BTTR's steadfast rallying cry for change from within Cuba. Basulto, along with a community of volunteers, strived to offer their brothers and sisters across the Straits of Florida the mantra that had spearheaded the organization seventeen years ago: El cambio soy yo. I am the change.

The essays in Cubans explore different topics but share a similar endeavor-to reveal the complex interrelationships among the Cuban people, their homeland, the exile community, and American government and society. The Cuban experience in America and other countries has proven disappointing and remarkable; disappointing because a homeland was lost and attempts to retrieve it turned into a nightmare, remarkable because refugees settled in their new countries and soon flourished, particularly in the United States, in many aspects of society."

"A remarkable achievement. The most comprehensive, synthetic, and systematic appraisal of the Cuban Revolution to date."--Jorge Duany, author of Blurred Borders   "Passionate and balanced, Luis Martínez-Fernández guides the reader expertly through the seemingly endless twists, turns, and detours of the Cuban Revolution."--Gustavo Pérez Firmat, author of Life on the Hyphen   This is the first book in more than three decades to offer a complete and chronological history of revolutionary Cuba, including the years of rebellion that led to the revolution. Beginning with Batista's coup in 1952, which catalyzed the rebels, and bringing the reader to the present-day transformations initiated by Raúl Castro, Luis Martínez-Fernández provides a balanced interpretive synthesis of the major topics of contemporary Cuban history. Expertly weaving the myriad historic, social, and political forces that shaped the island nation during this period, Martínez-Fernández examines the circumstances that allowed the revolution to consolidate in the early 1960s, the Soviet influence throughout the latter part of the Cold War, and the struggle to survive the catastrophic Special Period of the 1990s after the collapse of the U.S.S.R. He tackles the island's chronic dependence on sugar production that, starting with the plantations centuries ago, continues to shape Cuba's culture and society today. He analyzes the revolutionary pendulum that continues to swing between idealism and pragmatism, focusing on its effects on the everyday lives of the Cuban people, and--bucking established trends in Cuban scholarship--Martínez-Fernández systematically integrates the Cuban diaspora into the larger discourse of the revolution. Concise, well written, and accessible, this book is an indispensable survey of the history and themes of the socialist revolution that forever changed Cuba and the world.

Spanning the history of the island from pre-Columbian times to the present, this highly acclaimed survey examines Cuba's political and economic development within the context of its international relations and continuing struggle for self-determination. The dualism that emerged in Cuban ideology--between liberal constructs of patria and radical formulations of nationality--is fully investigated as a source of both national tension and competing notions of liberty, equality, and justice. Pérez integrates local and provincial developments with issues of class, race, and gender to give readers a full and fascinating account of Cuba's history, focusing on its struggle for nationality. This third edition features the latest research on Cuba, including a new chapter on post-Cold War Cuba that covers the years 1995 through 2004. The political chronology has been revised and updated and the extensive bibliography has been both condensed, where necessary, and expanded to highlight the scholarship of the past decade. The book now features photographs throughout and five maps.