This book provides a comprehensive analysis of José Martí’s writing about race and ethnic groups and of the influence of his life in the United States (1880–1895) on these topics. Separate chapters cover Martí’s experience with Afro-Cubans in the United States, his writing about blacks in post–Civil War North America, his fascination with U.S. abolitionism, his multiple levels of engagement with Indian groups in the Americas, and his accounts about ethnic groups in late-nineteenth-century U.S. life. A chapter on the challenges of racism describes the racial climate of Martí’s time, how racial ... More

This book provides a comprehensive analysis of José Martí’s writing about race and ethnic groups and of the influence of his life in the United States (1880–1895) on these topics. Separate chapters cover Martí’s experience with Afro-Cubans in the United States, his writing about blacks in post–Civil War North America, his fascination with U.S. abolitionism, his multiple levels of engagement with Indian groups in the Americas, and his accounts about ethnic groups in late-nineteenth-century U.S. life. A chapter on the challenges of racism describes the racial climate of Martí’s time, how racial condescension and stereotyping affected U.S./Cuban relations and how Martí addressed issues such as social Darwinism. Initial chapters present a brief biographical sketch and an overview of what has been written about Martí and race. A key component of this text is the focus on Martí’s famous essay “Nuestra América”(Our America) and how it conveys Martí’s thinking about race, especially through translation. A concluding chapter offers a summary and conclusions.