untitled (Proclamation of the Rights of Indians, Women, and Blacks), Osvaldo Cabrera Del Valle

“The right of Black and Native peoples to the ‘full dignity of Man;’ The right of women to civil, social, and political equality; the right of the aged to a secure old age.” Each print from this series corresponds to a line from Fidel Castro’s “Declaración de la Habana.” Adopted by the General Assembly of the People on September 2, 1960, the declaration condemned United States imperialism throughout Latin America, defended Cuba’s diplomatic relations with all socialist countries, and proclaimed the rights of Black and Native peoples, workers, peasants, women, and all those who were oppressed and exploited. The Declaración de la Habana also decried racism in the United States and extended a hand in friendship to the people of North America, a stance that both delegitimized the United States government and linked the liberation of Black people and Afro-Latinos across regimes and national borders. Here, Cabrera Del Valle boldly foregrounds three faces before a home for the elderly, positioning women, Black people, and Native people in recognition of each other, and charging them with the duty to fight for all of their rights in solidarity. When read in concert with the Declaración de la Habana, Cabrera Del Valle’s composition echoes the antiracism and anti-imperialism that characterized Fidel Castro’s revolutionary government and the new socialist state. Written by Mica Mendez