April 9, 2009 a seven-member Congressional delegation led by the Congressional Black Caucus leader Rep, Barbara Lee, a Democrat from California met with Cuban President Raul Castro and former Cuban leader Fidel Castro. It marks the first time either of the Castro brothers have met face-to-face with U.S. officials since Raul took over the Cuban presidency from Fidel 14 months ago. I'm convinced Raul Castro wants a normal relationship with the United States," Rep. Lee said after the meeting with the 77-year-old, according to an AP report "He's serious."

Rep. Bobby Rush, another member of the Black Caucus delegation said. "I intend to do everything that I can when we get back to the States to make sure that normalization with our relationship with Cuba is given proper consideration both within the House of Representatives and the neighborhoods of America."

A few days later, President Obama lifted restrictions on visits and money sent to Cuba by Americans with families there — steps he called "extraordinarily significant" for those families, and a show of good faith by the U.S. government that it wants to change the relationship.  

To round off the week Castro told leaders at a summit in Venezuela hosted by President Hugo Chavez. "We have sent word to the US government in private and in public that we are willing to discuss everything, human rights, freedom of the press, political prisoners, everything"

In this sudden whirlwind of Cuban and American positive overtures spearheaded by both the Congressional Black caucus and the first Black President is an irony that simply can’t be ignored. Cuba is rife with racism. It was a factor before the revolution during the revolution and to this day. Under the Batista, who was reportedly Mulatto, racism against dark skin Cubans was rampant. The Economist says that, although the population is now mainly black or mulatto and young, its rulers form "a mainly white gerontocracy".

Undoubtedly Blacks are faring far better since Castro’s revolution. Both Castro and Raul have declared their opposition to racial discrimination.  

“According to anthropologists dispatched by the European Union, racism is systemic and institutional.  Blacks are systematically excluded from positions that tourism related jobs, where they could earn tips in hard currencies. According to the EU study, blacks are relegated to poor housing, complained of the longest waits for healthcare, were excluded from managerial positions, received the lowest remittances from relatives abroad, and were five times more likely to be imprisoned.” Racial Politics in Post-Revolutionary Cuba by Mark Q. Sawyer

Eugene Robinson, columnist for the Washington Post writes, It’s well documented that the work force in Cuba's growing tourism industry –arguably the most privileged class, since waiters and cab drivers receive tips in hard currency, which allows them a standard of living far beyond what is possible with Cuban pesos and government rations -- is disproportionately white.
 “In 10 reporting trips to the island, I have met Afro-Cubans who told me with conviction that they have had opportunities under the Castro regime, especially in health and education,  that would have been unimaginable before the revolution. But I've also heard bitter complaints about deep-seated racism that many black Cubans believe is getting worse.”

Race is a touchy subject in Cuba, and for many years it went all but unmentioned. Raul Castro, who knows the island and its people as well as his older brother does, caused a stir in 2000 when he said that if a hotel were to deny entry to a person because he or she is black, that hotel should be shut down -- an acknowledgment that such things happen. Popular rappers in Cuba's hip-hop underground have made racial grievance a major theme of their daring lyrics. I once interviewed a Cuban scholar whose husband, an officer in the military, pooh-poohed her research into racial discrimination, until he had the experience of being detained and harassed by police for no apparent reason other than his dark skin.