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This content was published: May 21, 2012. Phone numbers, email addresses, and other information may have changed.

‘Cuba: The Next Revolution,’ to be screened at Sylvania May 24

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Over the course of this academic year, students, staff and faculty at Portland Community College have had the opportunity to screen a four-part PBS documentary series, “Black in Latin America,” at several campuses. The series has offered attendees the chance to increase their awareness and understanding about the cultures and contributions of people of African descent in Latin America.

Cuban boys wearing their school uniforms.

The final installment in this series – “Cuba: The Next Revolution” – will be shown at the Sylvania Campus on Thursday, May 24, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., in Room 107, ST Building. The screening will be followed by a discussion led by Pedro Ferbel-Azcarate, professor of Black Studies at Portland State University.

“If you’ve meant to get to one of these screenings and discussions this year but haven’t made it, now is your chance,” said Sarah Bentley, Spanish instructor and Service-Learning faculty coordinator at the Sylvania Campus, who helped to organize the event.

“The film, followed by a conversation with Dr. Ferbel-Azcarate, should offer attendees plenty of food for thought – and hopefully, inspiration to want to learn more,” said Bentley.

Narrated by Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., the film addresses how culture, religion, politics and music of this island are inextricably linked to slave labor imported for the highly profitable 19th century sugar industry. It also addresses how race and racism have fared since Fidel Castro’s Communist revolution in 1959.

The event – which is free of charge and open to all students, staff and faculty – is sponsored by the college’s Internationalization Initiative. For more information, contact Bentley at sarah.bentley@pcc.edu.