Che Guevara and race

On July 17, 1952, age 24, in his personal diary, Che Guevara wrote^[1]: "The blacks, those magnificent examples of the African race who have conserved their racial purity by a lack of affinity with washing, have seen their patch invaded by a different kind of slave: The Portuguese. These two races now share a common experience, fraught with bickering and squabbling. Discrimination, and poverty unite them in a daily battle for survival but their different attitudes to life separate them completely: the black is indolent and fanciful, he spends his money on frivolity and drink; the European comes from a tradition of working and saving which follows him to this corner of America and drives him to get ahead, even independently, of his own individual aspirations."

Thirty days later, after visiting Miami, Guevara complained to friends about "white discrimination against blacks" that he had witnessed. ^[2]

In early February 1957, Julio Zenon Acosta, an illiterate black man who fought alongside Che, was killed. Since Che tried to help teach him the alphabet he referred to him as his "first pupil" and the kind of "noble peasant" who made up the heart and soul of the revolution^[3].

Guevara pushed for racially integrating the schools in Cuba, years before they were racially integrated in the Southern United States.

Guevara's friend and personal bodyguard, who accompanied him at all times after 1959, was Harry "Pombo" Villegas, who was black. Pombo accompanied Guevara to the Congo and to Bolivia, where he survived and now lives in Cuba. Of note, Pombo speaks glowingly of Guevara to this day^{[citation needed]}.

When Guevara spoke before the U.N. in 1964, he spoke out in favor of black musician Paul Robeson, in support of slain black leader Patrice Lumumba (who he heralded as one of his heroes^{[citation needed]} ), against white segregation in the Southern U.S., and against the white South African apartheid regime.

Guevara was also heralded by Malcolm X during this trip to NY and in contact with his associates to whom he sent a letter, and later on behalf of his actions in Africa - praised by Nelson Mandela and the Black Panther's Stokely Carmichael.

When Guevara ventured to the Congo, he fought with a Cuban force of 100 blacks including those black Congolese fighters who he fought alongside against a force consisting partly of white South African mercenaries. This resembled the fight in Cuba, where Che's units were also made up of mostly mulattos and blacks.

Later Guevara offered assistance to fight alongside the black FRELIMO in Mozambique, for their independence from the Portuguese.

In August 1961, Guevara attacked the U.S. for "discrimination against blacks, and outrages by the Ku Klux Klan", which matched his declarations in 1964 before the United Nations, where Guevara denounced the United States policy towards their black population, stating:

"Those who kill their own children and discriminate daily against them because of the color of their skin; those who let the murderers of blacks remain free, protecting them, and furthermore punishing the black population because they demand their legitimate rights as free men — how can those who do this consider themselves guardians of freedom?"

References

1. ^ Jon Lee Anderson, "Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life.", pg 92
2. ^ Jon Lee Anderson, "Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life.", pg 94
3. ^ Jon Lee Anderson, "Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life.", pg 231