In 1961, the Cuban government took over and expropriated the property of all Black mutual aid societies and social clubs, despite the critical role they played in representing the interests, history, and outlook of Black Cubans independently of white structures of power. One of the oldest and wealthiest of these was El Fénix, a society of free Black artisans, merchants, and intellectuals. During slavery and after, they struggled for the advancement of Blacks in a system stacked against them. As a historian, I wanted desperately to know what became of El Fénix’s archives, wealth, and registries. I still wonder. The gathering place itself was transformed by Communist Party-led corporate capitalists into a store selling goods and tourist souvenirs in foreign currency, money in which the vast majority of Cubans were (and still are) not paid. Trinidad de Cuba, June 2001.
