Solidarity in Cuban Citizenship Education: A Key Aim or an "Idiosincracia (Idiosyncrasy) of Being Cuban"?

• In Event: Moving Toward Complexity: Examining Constructions of Diverse Identities Within African, Caribbean, and U.S. Academic Institutions

Abstract

Cuba’s 1959 Revolution sought to bring social and economic equality to its people. Revolutionary leaders called for Cuban citizens to express solidarity with the Revolution’s ideals and reforms in multiple ways. As the Revolution became a metaphor for justice, citizens’ acts of solidarity became a symbol and mechanism of their commitment to justice. Since this deeply transformative era, much of Cuba’s social and economic landscape has changed. Growing gaps in wealth have caused citizens to question the meaning of civic life. Cubans must now weigh their personal needs against those of the larger public sphere. This study explores how parents, teachers and young people define and operationalize solidarity today, and it focuses on how solidarity is inculcated formally and informally.

Author

• Ru Dawley-Carr, Minnesota State University - Mankato