(From Houston Chronicle 2011, Photo by Joy Sewing)
HAVANA, CUBA - A United States flag is one of many international symbols hanging from the ceiling at Havana's Jose Marti International Airport. Its presence seems peculiar given the historically strained relations the United States has with Cuba.
It was one of things I noticed when I arrived.
I was one of six black journalists visiting Cuba to examine racism in the country on a fellowship sponsored by the Institute for Advanced Journalism Studies. The Institute, which is housed at North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro, N.C., was founded by USA Today columnist and veteran journalist DeWayne Wickham, who has traveled to Cuba for more than a decade and has developed a network of Cuban journalists he now calls friends. Our goal was to interview key players in the areas of art, culture, journalism and politics to discuss the issue of racism, something that is rarely talked about in this country.