INTROUDTIONFor hundreds of years, Cuba has experienced severe inequality and slavery on the basis of race. Historically, the Spanish who brought slaves from Africa colonized Cuba from which the Cuban race was built socially and economically. Spanish rulers belonged to the elite while African servants belonged to the lowest social class (Marcus, 2013). From these early days, Afro-Cubans, Cubans with African ancestry, have been labeled solely by skin color, which defines their position in the social hierarchy. Blackness is associated with slavery (Roland, 2011). Therefore, the lighter your skin, the further away you are from slavery. Afro-Cubans who have dark skin realize that, despite being Cuban, their skin color differentiates them from lighter-skinned Euro-Cubans (Marcus, 2013). However, hope begins to emerge for Afro-Cubans when Fidel Castro becomes the leader of the government in 1959. Castro wages a revolution (Marcus, 2013) that dramatically alters the lives of black citizens socially and economically. Over time, globalization, and revolution, meanings and perceptions of race and race relations in Cuba change, particularly in education, employment opportunities, and social status. PRE-REVOLUTION Before the revolution, Cuba operated under a capitalist system (Marcus, 2013), leading to extreme segregation in education, the labor market, and marriage laws. Racism is evident in all aspects and areas of life and black Cubans are racialized. Education systems believe that private schools are only for white citizens (Marcus, 2013). This suggests that whites are considered not only more capable of being educated but also deserving of education, unlike Afro-Cubans who are left… middle of paper… rcus, 2013, p. 44), through various aspects such as socio-economic status, power and social status. Race remains, but racism and racism have greatly reduced compared to the prestige, success and living conditions of Afro-Cubans. REFERENCES De La Fuente, A. (2008). The new Afro-Cuban cultural movement and the debate on race in contemporary Cuba. Journal of Latin American Studies, 40, 697-720.Marcus, A. (2013). Racism as a transnational process. In C. R. Menzies & A. Marcus (Eds.), Anthropology for a small planet (2nd ed.) (p. 37-56). Vancouver, BC: New submissions published. Roland, L. K. (2011). Cuban color in tourism and la lucha: An ethnography of racial meanings. New York: Oxford University Press. Roland, L. K. (2013). T/racing belonging to Cuban tourism. Cultural anthropology, 28, 396-419.