Fidel Castro - Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem (1995)

Speaker 1: Next, Cuban President Fidel Castro. Last night, he addressed a crowd of about 1,200 at the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem. It's the same church where he spoke in 1960. Fidel Castro is in the U.S. for the 50th anniversary of the United Nations General Assembly, where he also spoke on Sunday.

Harold: Submit it. This, this is the difficult part because— hold it, hold it, listen. The Comandante wants to hear the program. He's going to speak. You know that. But he wants to see what the people are presenting for him. So you've got to give us that kind of respect. This is his personal request. Don't blame me. And in a perfect segue, We have, I mean, we have so many fantastic people here. One section there is all in the communication, in the war for communications. One of the things, one of the arenas where we have been able to win is on radio based on the fact that the continuous programming on Cuba on a consistent basis has come from WBAI.

Speaker 1: Marwa Osman, Gerard White, Sally O'Brien.

Harold: And one of the people who were who was very instrumental in keeping that going is the next presenter, a sister who we call our ambassador from the African community to Cuba, the author of Fidel and Malcolm X: Memories of a Meeting. NGO representative, member of the National Association of Third World Journalists and of WBAI, Sister Rosemary Mealy.

Speaker 1: ¡Viva Cuba libre!

Rosemary Mealy: ¡Viva Cuba libre! Down with the blockade! And to Harlem. It's our day. To the people of Harlem, to our distinguished guests, our brothers and sisters, and to the great, most honorable Comandante el Jefe Fidel Castro. Today, today I was listening to the news media giving some descriptions of all the international guests which had arrived in this city, and the mayor of this city said that there was a certain international guest— as a matter of fact, 2 he named— who would not be welcome in New York City. But of course, here we can attest to the fact that Cuba is welcome in Harlem and in New York City. Brothers and sisters, brothers and sisters, I am to go to take a brief historical backtrack. And let us begin, because there are many of you who are here tonight who know this history better than I do, but when we were in the process of documenting this history, you came forward and allowed us to understand the symbolic character and the nature of Fidel's first visit to Harlem when he was greeted at the Hotel Theresa only a few blocks away. And as I reminisce today when they said that he was not welcome downtown, we again are showing them that he is always welcome uptown. Brothers and sisters, in 1960 through 1961, the United States government imposed an economic blockade of Cuba that is to continue today. On Sunday, September 18th, 1960, Cuban Premier Fidel Castro arrived in the United States for the 15th General Session of the United Nations. He was greeted at the airport by thousands of well-wishers who wanted to follow the Cuban delegation from place to place. The United States government imposed a travel restriction on our guests, the same way in which today they have imposed a travel restriction that they cannot travel within a 25-mile radius of the United Nations. But fortunately, Harlem was— is within that radius. If we reminisce, after Fidel and the delegation refused to accept the unreasonable financial demands by the management of the Midtown Shelburne Hotel downtown, he moved uptown to Harlem, to 125th Street, where thousands of people on Monday, September 19th, 1960 greeted him the same way in which he was greeted tonight. History does repeat itself. On Tuesday, on Tuesday, September 20th, the Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev paid a visit to Fidel at the Hotel Teresa. And then on Wednesday, much like what is happening here tonight, the Fair Play for Cuba Committee hosted a reception for Fidel and the entire Cuban delegation. And then on Thursday, September 22nd, the delegation hosted the employees of the Hotel Teresa because, can you believe it, they even refused to invite the delegation to all the elaborate occasions and things that they had set forth for other delegations to the United States. So Fidel said, okay, come on to the Hotel Teresa, and he set up an incredible incredible buffet for the entire employees of the hotel. Wasn't that a thrill? And then, and then on Saturday, September 24th, 1960, the Harlem branch of the Communist Party of the United States, under the leadership of the former political prisoner Ben Davis, held a rally in Harlem Harlem, where thousands and thousands came to see the Cuban delegation and to be in solidarity with the revolution. And then on Sunday, September 25th, President Abdel Nasser of the United Arab Republic visited Fidel at the Hotel Teresa. And then on Monday, as we saw today, September 26th, 1960, Fidel addressed the United Nations General Assembly for 4 and a half hours.

Speaker 1: And then—

Rosemary Mealy: and then on Tuesday, September 27th, was an early afternoon. And who came up to Harlem but one of our greatest African leaders, Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana. And at the hotel, he also received visits of, of India's Prime Minister Nehru and the Foreign Secretary Menon, and he also received the Bulgarian leaders And then in the morning of September 28th, he paid a courtesy call to Nasser at the United Arab Republic, and that evening they left, returned back to revolutionary Cuba. And brothers and sisters, that was one of the most important historical events in our history, history that we are attempting to document and to share, because As my brother here has stated, when Africa called, Cuba answered. But we want to say, and we want the people of Cuba, and we want Fidel to know that there are historical ties that unite us as people, because Fidel and the revolution and the July 26th movement was able to carry forth those dreams of Malcolm. They were realized for Cuba, but we are still to struggle for them here. And in closing, you all know that Fidel is also a lawyer, and we have many lawyers here with us that are struggling And Ilan will mention those, and next year I hope to be there too so that I can continue. But we will only use law as Fidel used law in the service of the people, because Fidel said when he was imprisoned by Batista and he defended himself, he said, history will absolve me. And we know that today those words are just as true. Viva Cuba libre!

Speaker 1: Viva Fidel!

Rosemary Mealy: And long live the solidarity between the peoples of Harlem and the peoples of Cuba. Gracias.

Harold: Before we go to the welcome from the Cuban community in the U.S., we'd like at this particular time to have, Reverend Calvin Butts give a response from the church, particularly in regard to our honored guest, Reverend Calvin Butts.

Calvin Butts: Thank you very much. Grace be unto you and peace from God and from our Lord Jesus Christ. Hear me, the Abyssinian Baptist Church in the city of New York has been here for 187 years. We were born out of racial segregation in America. We were told that blacks, African people, could not worship God with whites, Europeans. We decided that we would establish for ourselves a church where we can determine for ourselves with whom we will worship, and having done so, made the determination that all are welcome in this house of God. We've been led by many strong and visionary pastors. Among them was a man named Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Adam Powell Jr. was a visionary and a man who in the '50s decided that as the so-called, so-called Third World nations were emerging, He would go and stand with them in solidarity, the only representative from this nation to do so. Adam Clayton Powell Jr. recognized the rising tide of revolution in the world. He was a close confidant of many who struggled to liberate oppressed people and break the yoke of colonialism. Early on, Adam Clayton Powell recognized the power and the strength of a man in Harlem called Malcolm X and invited him to this very place to speak to our community. Here in the Abyssinian Church, Adam Clayton Powell Jr. welcomed Emperor Haile Selassie, and here he was presented with the cross of the Ethiopian Church. Here we've had the privilege of welcoming the likes— the venerable and honorable Michael Manley of Jamaica, the great and distinguished Leopold Senghor, and many, many other distinguished heads of state. So for those of us who ask— for those who ask the question, Why would we welcome Fidel Castro tonight? We answer, it is in our tradition to welcome those who are visionary, who are revolutionary, and who seek the freedom of all of the people around the world. In, in In the year 1984, Dr. James Cone, the father of liberation theology, led a delegation of theological scholars to a conference in Cuba. There we had the privilege of meeting with Cuban scholars to talk about liberation theology and the revolution. While we were there, the president of Cuba, Fidel Castro, welcomed us with open arms. He allowed us to tour the entire island of Cuba. He allowed us to move freely through the streets, in the hotels, in the schools, to talk with the citizens and the children and the seniors. There we could witness and judge for ourselves the power of the revolution. When we discovered that we had been there— time moves so quickly— 3 or 4 days, Jesse Jackson showed up. Jesse was there, and the president of Cuba, Fidel Castro, welcomed him, even smoked a cigar with him. But most importantly, my beloved brothers and sisters, on that great day, Fidel Castro went to church.

Luis Miranda: Yes.

Calvin Butts: We were allowed to meet with him, and so I asked him, I said, Mr. President, everybody was so happy to see you in church. Do you believe in God? He said, I like church. He said, he said, there is a God, but it's a God of justice and truth and equality and I said, well, why, why, why do they think you don't like church? He said, because all the priests were corrupt in Cuba, so I ran them out. And then Jesse preached a sermon, and Jesse Jackson said, the island belongs to God. The water around the island belongs to God. And he was looking at the president. He said, the people belong to God. I got nervous. I said, Jesse, take it easy. But the president listened, and then he spoke with power, and you could see that the people of Cuba bonded with him. It is no mistake, beloved, and I take this time to apologize to so many who could not get in. But you know that security is tight. You know that he must be protected. You know that these inconveniences are to be expected because we have one of the great leaders of the world with us today.

Speaker 6: And so—

Calvin Butts: And so we welcome you. We welcome you, Mr. President. To all of your delegation, to all of you, my beloved brothers and sisters, we welcome you in solidarity. And most importantly, and I take my seat, you know, somebody said that there's going to be a big banquet, a huge celebration, and all of the heads of state were welcome but one. And it's amazing. Because I said to you that in the house of God, all are welcome. And listen, the one who would not accept the president must live under the judgment, because when he arrived in the house of God, nobody closed the door on him. And so therefore, beloved, God bless you. Welcome to the Abyssinian Baptist Church, where we believe in truth and in justice and equality, and where we join with you in saying, Cuba yes, blockade no.

Speaker 1: God bless you.

Harold: To take a spiritual page from the Bible, since the mayor didn't see fit or had the intelligence to understand when he was in the company of heroes, Who would you rather have come to Harlem, Fidel or Giuliani? We invited Fidel. We disinvite Giuliani. At this particular time, we'd like to get a response from the Cuban community, and that has to be done of course, by Luis Miranda, La Casa de las Américas. And from Miami, Andres Gomez from the Antonio Macio Brigade.

Luis Miranda: What a house, Harold. Comandante Fidel Castro, Reverendo Botz y demás miembros de esta iglesia, vecinos de Harlem, neoyorquinos y compañeras y compañeros todos.

Speaker 6: Comandante Fidel Castro, Reverend Botz and other members of this church.

Luis Miranda: Neighbors of Harlem, New Yorkers, compañeras y compañeros, en esta excepcional noche nuestra presencia en esta sala es continuación y producto del trabajo a favor de la justicia social y las demás causas De los pobres, de los oprimidos, realizadas por el sector radical de la inmigración cubana y latinoamericana se genera en Estados Unidos y en especial en la ciudad de Nueva York.

Speaker 6: In this exceptional night, our presence in this hall is continuation and product. Of the work in favor of social justice and other causes of the poor and the oppressed taken on by the radical sector of the Cuban migration in the United States as well as other Latin American migrations in the United States and especially in the city of New York.

Luis Miranda: José Martí, apóstol de nuestra nacionalidad y quien vivió los más fructíferos años de su vida en Nueva York, fue guía de esta lucha hace más de 100 años.

Speaker 6: José Martí, apostle of our nationality and who lived the most fruitful years of his life In the city of New York was guide of this struggle more than a hundred years ago tonight.

Luis Miranda: Hoy en la inmigración cubana en Estados Unidos, el trabajo a favor de estas sagradas causas es la responsabilidad de un día mayor número de cubanos. Papel principal ha tenido la Casa de las Américas en Nueva York y en Miami la Brigada Antonio Maceo y la Alianza de Trabajo de la Comunidad Cubana.

Speaker 6: Today, in the Cuban migration in the United States, the work in favor of these sacred causes has been the responsibility of an ever-increasing number of Cubans. Principal role in it has been played by Casa de las Américas here in New York City and in Miami by the Antonio Maceo Brigade And the Alliance of Workers of the Cuban Community.

Luis Miranda: Esta noche también queremos rendir tributo a todas las innumerables Cantidad de hermanas y hermanos, compañeros afroamericanos en esta comunidad y en todo el país que luchan por lograr la liberación no solo de su propia comunidad, sino de todos los pobres. No importando su raza, sexo o nacionalidad.

Speaker 6: Tonight, we will also want to give tribute to the innumerables compañeras and compañeros, Afro-American compañeras and compañeros in this community and throughout the land that struggle to obtain the liberation not only of its own community but of all the poor, no matter their race, sex, or nationality.

Luis Miranda: Esencial también reconocer el aporte de los demás sectores nacionales, muchos aquí presentes, a favor de estas causas y por consiguiente a favor de la defensa del pueblo cubano.

Speaker 6: It is essential as well to recognize the work Of the other national sectors, many present here tonight in favor of this same causes, and therefore in favor of the defense of the Cuban people.

Luis Miranda: Comandante, anoche usted nos dijo. Que en septiembre de 1960, cuando visitó a Harlem hace 35 años, su discurso a la Asamblea General fue de 4 y media horas de duración, más o menos. Un récord en las Naciones Unidas. Y Collaría, el discurso que pronunció en las Naciones Unidas tan solo de cinco minutos.

Speaker 6: Comandante, last night you told us that in September 1960, when you visited Harlem 35 years ago, your speech to the General Assembly. Was the longest ever made in that hall, more than four and a half hours, and that today you would make in the General Assembly the shortest, only five minutes long.

Luis Miranda: Quisiermos comandarte que en esta noche usted hiciera un discurso. Aún más largo del que hizo en 1960, para así poder compartir más tiempo con usted y tenerlo más tiempo entre nosotros.

Speaker 6: Comandante, we would wish that tonight you will make an even longer speech than you made in 1960 in the General Assembly. So, to have you— to have more time with you and to be able To share you more among us all.

Luis Miranda: Viva Cuba Libre!

Speaker 6: Viva!

Fidel Castro: Abajo el bloqueo!

Rosemary Mealy: Abajo el bloqueo!

Fidel Castro: He says that he can speak now.

Harold: We're going to change the program slightly. We have come here tonight to hear a world figure that we love and respect. We have come here tonight to show our solidarity with the Cuban Revolution, because it— because the Cuban Revolution The Cuban Revolution has shown solidarity with us. The Cuban Revolution has opened its doors to those who have had to flee from persecution in the United States. The Cuban Revolution has provided more medical assistance throughout the world than the entire World Health Organization of the United Nations. The Cuban Revolution has shed blood in Africa for the African people. I had the honor in 1976, along with the late Brother Irving Davis, of flying from Conakry, Guinea, on a Soviet air float carrying Cuban compañeros to fight in Angola. And we saw the work that they did there, not just because they went to fight, but all of the life they brought forth from dealing with children, bringing children into the world, to saving lives because of their medical help. So it's not just about how much blood has been spilled in combat, but also the giving of life. And the Cubans gave their lives to help the lives of Africans. In 1990, we had the opportunity to hear Fidel Castro talk about the Battle of Cuito Caneval. The deciding factor of the Angolan War and liberation of Southern Africa. Brothers and sisters, comrades and friends, I give to you the hero of the struggle of people throughout the world, Comrade Dorothy Fidel Castro!

Fidel Castro: Queridos, queridos, o mejor dicho, queridísimos.

Speaker 1: Dear, or rather very dear friends.

Fidel Castro: Algunos de los que me precedieron, ¿no?

Speaker 1: Some of the speakers who preceded me.

Fidel Castro: Fue Ali o fue Bob. Decía que algunos se preguntaban.

Speaker 1: I said that some of them were wondering.

Fidel Castro: ¿Por qué me recibían en esta iglesia?

Speaker 1: Why was it that I was being welcomed in this church? And he told very interesting stories of the day they took me to the other church. I should speak about that too tonight.

Fidel Castro: Pero yo, pero es que no solo algunos de ustedes.

Speaker 1: But it happens that not only some of you. But I was also wondering why I was being welcomed like this. It is that I myself, while I was getting dressed to come here tonight, I got rid of the business suit.

Fidel Castro: Y me puse esta ropa que es la que había usado.

Speaker 1: I got rid of my business suit and then I went into these fatigues which I have been wearing for so many years. I have been wearing this till international diplomacy has forced me not very long ago to wear a guayabera.

Fidel Castro: Pero de But then I discovered that I did not have only one guayabera.

Speaker 1: Then I had to borrow one. They mobilized I don't know how many tailors in order to have some guayaberas cut for me. That was in the midnight. I was supposed to leave on that trip the next day. I tried it in the morning, and actually it did not fit. It was so big.

Fidel Castro: Que yo en broma.

Speaker 1: It was so big that as a joke, I said to my friends, "Look, I mentioned a person with whom I have had some contradictions, but somebody I was able to meet later, and he's not a bad person. He was the president of a country, Latin American, of a Latin American country." Y yo le dije, oígame. And he was fat.

Fidel Castro: Ustedes me han hecho la guayabera del gordo tal.

Speaker 1: So I said to the tailor, you have tailored that guayabera for that man and not for me.

Fidel Castro: Corre, recorta.

Speaker 1: It was broad like this.

Fidel Castro: Pero me tuve que poner la guayabera.

Speaker 1: But I had to wear it nonetheless.

Fidel Castro: Después le cuento un amigo una cosa.

Speaker 1: After that, I said it to a friend, to a family who happened to have a daughter who's a designer. In Holland, she had studied in Europe. That family had had relations with Cuba for a long time. I told them that I discovered that I did not have any civilian clothes, so they offered me her services. That family, and then she designed some suits for me. Bueno, en realidad me hicieron como well actually como tres o cuatro She prepared about three to four suits for me, but I assure you that I did not know anything about suits.

Fidel Castro: Ni la tela.

Speaker 1: Nothing about the clothes.

Fidel Castro: Ni la camisa.

Speaker 1: Or the shirt.

Fidel Castro: Ni la corbata.

Speaker 1: Or the tie.

Fidel Castro: Ni los yugos.

Speaker 1: Or the cufflinks. You know, I did not know anything.

Fidel Castro: Unos zapatos de punta.

Speaker 1: And the shoes very. Uncomfortable shoes. You know, I was not used to that. I had my old boots, somewhat old, and not because I was poor, but because I was in the habit of wearing my old boots. They were so comfortable, you know, that I did not want to leave them for a new pair of shoes. Finally, I ended up dressed in a guayabera, in this business suit with a tie, with a shirt, with cufflinks, with shoes. I'm not wearing them now. I don't like them much, you know.

Fidel Castro: Y ahora soy un honorable caballero.

Speaker 1: And now I am an honorable gentleman.

Fidel Castro: Participo en las reuniones cumbre y a cada rato hay una reunión cumbre. Bueno, ya.

Speaker 1: Once in a while there are summit conferences and I have to dress up like an honorable gentleman in a business suit.

Fidel Castro: La reunión sobre desarrollo social.

Speaker 1: There was another summit on social development.

Fidel Castro: Que si París.

Speaker 1: And in Paris, I had to pay a visit to that country, to France.

Fidel Castro: En todos los lugares me bajo con este.

Speaker 1: In every place, you know, I I leave the plane wearing my fatigues, and then I change for those protocol visits. I wear my business suit.

Fidel Castro: Y entonces bien. No sé si me he ido civilizando.

Speaker 1: I don't know if it is because I'm becoming more civilized.

Fidel Castro: Pero tampoco quería dar la impresión de ayudar que yo fuera a aparecer como un señor militar allí o algo de eso, que yo no estudié esa carrera.

Speaker 1: You know, I did not study the career of looking like a gentleman in a business suit.

Fidel Castro: A mí no me quedó más remedio que tener que luchar.

Speaker 1: And I did not study to be a politician. I had to tener que aprender I'd had to learn the trade along the way.

Fidel Castro: Hicimos algunas guerras y lo interesante es que las ganamos.

Speaker 1: And the interesting thing is that we waged a battle and we won.

Fidel Castro: La nuestra era muy difícil, pero no le voy a hacer esa historia.

Speaker 1: It is very difficult, but I'm not going to tell you that old story. Llegamos a ser muy But there was a time in which we were only a few. Sometimes there was a time in which we were less than 10. Sometimes we were 12. But our adversaries, though they were many, in 25 months our revolution was victorious.

Fidel Castro: Lo venció de manera total en combate abierto.

Speaker 1: We won in the open battles.

Fidel Castro: Estamos siendo guerrillas y después, we were in the guerrilla forces. Una combinación de irregularidad.

Speaker 1: And then with a combination of irregular war, habíamos aprendido el oficio. We learned the trade of guerrilla warfare.

Fidel Castro: Pero nos gustó aquella ropa y nos quedamos con ella.

Speaker 1: But we liked those fatigues that we wore at that time. And as I have, I felt so comfortable in those fatigues. I kept wearing them all these years.

Fidel Castro: Les contaba que fui al hotel.

Speaker 1: Anyway, I was telling you the story.

Fidel Castro: No, no estoy en hotel.

Rosemary Mealy: No.

Speaker 1: I went to the hotel. Not to the hotel. Excuse me.

Fidel Castro: No, en la misión de la embajada.

Speaker 1: I went to the Cuban mission. He had been there to wear this fatigue, to go back into my fatigues because I had been wearing the business suit before.

Fidel Castro: Porque yo decía.

Speaker 1: Because I said to myself, if the last time I went to Harlem I was wearing my fatigues, how come I'm going to go to Harlem dressed in a business suit?

Fidel Castro: Pensaba en estas cosas, pero de repente se me ocurrió pensar lo mismo que pensaba.

Speaker 1: I was thinking about this, but after that I started thinking what I said before.

Fidel Castro: ¿Qué hago yo en Harlem?

Speaker 1: What am I going to do in Harlem?

Fidel Castro: Esta noche.

Speaker 1: What am I going to do there tonight?

Fidel Castro: ¿Qué hago?

Speaker 1: What shall I do?

Fidel Castro: ¿Qué digo?

Speaker 1: What shall I say?

Fidel Castro: Porque yo, bueno, en las Naciones Unidas puedo decir algunas cosas.

Speaker 1: I can say a few things at the United Nations.

Fidel Castro: But here we don't have immunity to go into certain subjects.

Speaker 1: No puedo hablar con entera libertad.

Fidel Castro: Tengo además, allí soy cuidadoso.

Speaker 1: There I have to be careful.

Fidel Castro: Aquí también lo tengo que ser.

Speaker 1: But here I have to be cautious too.

Fidel Castro: Nadie vaya a pensar.

Speaker 1: Nobody should believe that I'm interfering in internal affairs of this country.

Fidel Castro: Y yo les juro que no me voy a mezclar en nada que no sea justo.

Speaker 1: I swear that I'm not going to get mixed up in anything that is not public.

Fidel Castro: Pero algunas cosas Only some abstract, some generic things, some philosophy. Pero, ¿qué digo?

Speaker 1: I said, "What shall I say to them? What shall I speak about?" Then I remembered that yes, I had things to tell you. I had things to talk to you about, without breaking any law, without having to be taken to a court. So I hope that in that case you will go to visit me.

Fidel Castro: Creo que recordaba tanto aquellos días.

Speaker 1: I was really recalling those days. You know, those days were coming back to my memory. I remember with such appreciation those days in which I was here in this neighborhood. I said to myself, I have to go there and say hello to those people because it was in Harlem where I have to go and visit there and together with them, the Latin American. The Puerto Rican brothers and sisters, and some have have been spoken here.

Fidel Castro: Ayer creo que había una.

Speaker 1: I think that yesterday there was a dinner.

Fidel Castro: No creo que el alcalde dijo que yo era un demonio.

Speaker 1: The mayor said that I was a demon and that a demon could not be invited to dinner. I said I'll go hungry the first day in New York.

Fidel Castro: Después me dijeron que había un concierto.

Speaker 1: After that, I was told that there would be a concert.

Fidel Castro: Pero que invitaban las naciones.

Speaker 1: That the United Nations was extending the invitations.

Fidel Castro: Pero la orquesta era de la alcaldía.

Speaker 1: But the orchestra was under the mayor.

Fidel Castro: La alcaldía dijo, o el alcalde.

Speaker 1: And the mayor seemed to have said, de ninguna manera. No way.

Fidel Castro: Esta podía tocar una canción.

Speaker 1: The orchestra cannot play if the demon is in the hall. It's really incredible.

Fidel Castro: Una una familia amistosa.

Speaker 1: It's outrageous because here there is a friendly family, a wealthy family, and a group of businessmen. Invited me last night for dinner. They invited the demon. It's paradoxical, and we should be happy because there are many more, the people who understand that the blockade and all those things are obsolete. That those are crazy things. Muchos hombres de empresa and many businessmen are today opposed to the blockade, and they are striving against the blockade in their own way.

Fidel Castro: Ahora bien, yo no estoy aquí.

Speaker 1: Now I am not here because they did not invite me to dinner tonight or yesterday.

Fidel Castro: Ni estoy aquí.

Speaker 1: No am I here because I had not been invited to dinner tonight. Today there is a dinner. I have been excluded.

Fidel Castro: No por ser demonio.

Speaker 1: Not because I am a demon. I have not been so ill-treated tonight.

Fidel Castro: Pero bueno, no sé.

Speaker 1: I don't know.

Fidel Castro: Si si perjudico.

Speaker 1: If it is because cualquier actividad política. I hurt a political activity if I am present. I don't know. But if I had been invited to the mayorship, I would have had to attend out of mere courtesy. If I had been invited to the Philharmonic Orchestra to the concert, I would have had to attend for reasons of elementary Elementary courtesy, and even out of patience.

Fidel Castro: No porque me fuera a aburrir.

Speaker 1: Not because it was going to be boring for me that concert. Oígame, eso de estar rodeado de jefes de estado todo el tiempo, a veces es insoportable. Is sometimes unbearable. I can assure you, though, that I would have attended that dinner to which I was invited by the businessmen, but I would have never failed to come to this meeting with you. Porque lo primero que hice, because the first thing I did cuando se habló del programa, when the program was brought up with me, was to say that I wanted to visit the Teresa Hotel and that I wanted to have an encounter with you here in Harlem. But nobody will be able to say that I invented a meeting tonight just not to attend. Others have invented dinners and things, and they have left me out. I had more time then, so I had more time to be able to come and discharge my duty and my decision to come and see you tonight. But that day, I mean, those were unforgettable days for me. The days when I came to the Teresa Hotel many years ago, there was such hostility. There was such a campaign against our country that I passed by one area and they did like this. I didn't know what they meant by that, but I could imagine that it was something. Something was wrong.

Fidel Castro: Pero todo cambiaba cuando llegaba a Harlem.

Speaker 1: But everything changed when I came to Harlem. In Harlem, you did this. Hoy hay algunos cambios, excepto algunos compatriotas nuestros que todavía no se han acabado de convertir a la causa de la soberanía nacional. Algunos, algunos, pero cada vez van siendo menos. Actualmente hay menos y menos.

Fidel Castro: Gastaron dinero, gastaron de todo para acabar Y buscaron no sé cuántos recursos.

Speaker 1: And they found resources.

Fidel Castro: Me decía una periodista, ¿sabes qué?

Speaker 1: A journalist was telling me this evening.

Fidel Castro: Hay 58 protestas.

Speaker 1: Do you know that there have been 57 protests against you? I said, I'm a lucky man. I have not seen any. I don't know where she get the data, but I said I have seen thousands of people saying hello.

Fidel Castro: Ahora hay gente que me saluda en muchos lugares.

Speaker 1: I have seen many people waving hands at me. I've seen changes in the way people look at us. Remember that in those days when I came here first? Those were the days of the Cold War. The revolution was practically a newborn. That was in the year 1960. And then they made life very difficult for me in that hotel where I was staying. I still had somewhat the mentality of guerrilla. So I said, I'm going to set up a tent in the patio of the UN. I'm going to set up my tent there. And then it was said that we had the contact with the Teresa Hotel. I said there is something more strategic than that. I'm going to stay at Teresa Hotel. I knew that here I would have the heart of the neighbors of Harlem.

Fidel Castro: Era evidente la injusticia, era evidente la discriminación.

Speaker 1: Injustice was obvious. Discrimination was obvious to me. Y como revolucionario, tenía la percepción que tendría. I knew that I would be welcome in this neighborhood.

Fidel Castro: Por eso es lo que dijo Lincoln: se puede engañar.

Speaker 1: I heard. I remember what Lincoln said. You can deceive all the people part of the time. Part of the people, part of the time, but not all the people all the time. Pero ustedes fueron la parte de la gente, but you were the part of the people who were never deceived.

Fidel Castro: Aquí contó Rosamary las personalidades que vinieron.

Speaker 1: Rosemary here said all the personalities that came to visit me at Teresa Hotel, international leaders who in solidarity with me, even Khrushchev came. Yes, Khrushchev was one of the first leaders who came to visit me. And he was the leader of a superpower. I appreciated that gesture that he had. Khrushchev was a peasant. He was a very shrewd peasant, very funny guy, and he did not dismantle his country, by the way. He became a leader, but after that many of the leaders came to visit. Nehru, one of the great leaders, historical leaders, one of the great politicians. Nasser, Nkrumah. Many great leaders came to visit me at the Theresa Hotel. They rejected that gross maneuver of hostility against our country. It did not pay off for anyone. Actually, it offered me an unforgettable memory. And a reason for feeling eternal gratitude for the American people, because I could see in you the best representative of the virtues of the American people.

Fidel Castro: Se creó una historia y saben cuánto tiempo hace de eso.

Speaker 1: And you know how long ago that was? Thirty-five years ago.

Fidel Castro: Así que se cumple el treinta y cinco.

Speaker 1: So this is the thirty-fifth anniversary of my visit, my first visit to this neighborhood. Now the incredible thing is. That I'm still expelled.

Fidel Castro: De las comidas, de las reuniones, de las fiestas.

Speaker 1: I'm still being left out of the dinners and the receptions and the banquets.

Fidel Castro: Como si no hubiera cambiado nada.

Speaker 1: As if nothing had changed all these years.

Fidel Castro: Como si todavía estuviéramos en la guerra fría.

Speaker 1: As if we were still in the days of the Cold War.

Fidel Castro: Frío hacia acá adentro.

Speaker 1: It's cold inside, but it's not a cold war.

Fidel Castro: No, calor humano.

Speaker 1: There is human warmth.

Fidel Castro: Parece que la iglesia no tiene mucho.

Speaker 1: But the weather is somewhat cold. It seems to be that the church does not have funds for the heat. It's really incredible that history is repeating itself that way. Now, I would have to ask myself another question. Why is it that you're receiving us here with such great respect? And there must be a reason for that.

Fidel Castro: Que si otros no han cambiado, nosotros tampoco.

Speaker 1: Because if others have not changed in their hostile positions, we have not changed either. Otros cambiarán, others might change, porque no tienen la razón, because they do not have the reason. Y nosotros no cambiaremos, they are not right, but we will never change, porque tenemos, because we are right. Y la mejor prueba And the best evidence, the best evidence, is your presence here and the warmth and the love with which you have received me here tonight. And I think that our people has discharged its moral duties. It has discharged its— it has observed its ideals, its principles, and we have been in solidarity. Comrade Rosemary here spoke about some of the efforts of international solidarity That Cuba has made. She spoke about our doctors. Over 15,000 Cuban doctors have worked as internationalist missionaries in other countries. Millones y decenas Millions and tens of millions of people have been taken care of by our doctors, in Africa mainly, in Latin America also, and in other parts of the world. Hundreds of thousands of lives have been saved by our doctors' work. Thousands and thousands of Cuban teachers and professors have trained technicians. Also, our technicians in many fields have gone to other countries to work. Cuba was left with only 3,000 doctors out of the 6,000 it had in 1959. 3,000 left. They were incited by best salaries here in the United States. However, nowadays we have 60,000. And if one day the Americans were to need doctors, I can tell you that we can give you. We have many good doctors. We know that you have them. But if in any neighborhood you don't have a doctor, our doctors would come to work here.

Fidel Castro: Para para citar para citar otro caso de solidaridad.

Speaker 1: Just to mention another case in which solidarity was present.

Fidel Castro: Los nicaragüenses necesitaron médicos.

Speaker 1: The Nicaraguas needed doctors.

Fidel Castro: Ustedes saben que en aquella época de otras partes no le mandaron médicos.

Speaker 1: You know that at that time. At that time, doctors were not sent from other parts of the world. Others sent cannons, machine guns, bombers, and ammunitions of all kinds. So while others were sending— were sending people to carry tragedy and death, 2,000 Cuban teachers went there, most of them women. They went to Nicaragua to teach the Nicaraguans how to read and write, but they did not go to Managua, not to the capital. They went to the mountains. They went to the places where there were no teachers. They went to the most remote places. And when we asked for teachers to volunteer in Cuba to go to Nicaragua, 30,000 volunteered. Look, Brother Bhatt, what a sentiment of solidarity our people has. So that has been growing in our people. And when some counterrevolutionaries, some gangs in Nicaragua, some countries killed some Cuban teachers, 100,000 Cuban teachers volunteered to take their places.

Fidel Castro: Esos fueron los valores morales que se fueron creando.

Speaker 1: Those have been the moral values that we have been creating with the changes in our country.

Fidel Castro: Y voy a citar otro ejemplo.

Speaker 1: And I'm going to mention another example. Cuando hubo un gran terremoto, when there was a big earthquake in Peru, que mató ciento mil personas, which killed a hundred thousand people, which killed seventy thousand people, pedimos donaciones de sangre. We asked for blood donations from our people. And in ten days, we were we received from our people a hundred thousand blood donations to give them to Peru. Cuando hubo un terremoto en Armenia, when there was an earthquake in Armenia, 50,000 blood donations were given by our people for them. When there was an earthquake in Iran and thousands of people died, we also collected thousands of donations. And wherever there has been a tragedy, a hurricane, an earthquake, our technicians, our doctors, our people have made their contribution. To help, regardless of ideologies, regardless of whether those countries had diplomatic relations with us or not. En esa conciencia, ese es el That is the country which is under a blockade. That is the country that has been accused of violations of human rights. The country that has raised life expectancy to almost 76. And that has reduced infant mortality rates from 60 per 1,000 live births to less than 10. And in doing so, it has saved the lives of hundreds of thousands of children. And how many people are living a longer life? How much pain has been relieved? How much physical pain has been relieved? The same way illiteracy was eradicated in the first years of the revolution, and today we have the The highest per capita, the highest number of teachers and professors per capita, and that among all the countries of the world. The same way we have the highest percentage of doctors per capita in the world. That is the country which is being accused of violating human rights. A country that has pursued a steady line of absolute and total respect for the physical integrity of its citizens. And the best evidence were the 3,000 prisoners we got in the Bay of Pigs. Not only one of them can say that he was ill-treated. Not one of them was killed. Not one of them was murdered, even after they— when they were captured after battle. Not one of them was hurt. They came back as heroes. And some even changed after that. But no one could ever say that they were hit by one of our soldiers. That is our honor. That is our glory. That is our history, no matter the slander. That is the truth.

Fidel Castro: He hablado que hemos donado nuestra sangre.

Speaker 1: I have said that we have given our blood donations. To save lives in other countries. We have talked about teachers, about doctors, but we have done something more than that. We have shed our blood. We have shed our blood to fight against colonialism and to defend independence. And makes us feel that we have discharged our duty to humanity. That is the 15 years that we fought against South Africa, against apartheid.

Fidel Castro: 15 años.

Speaker 1: 15 years.

Fidel Castro: Luchando.

Speaker 1: For 15 years we were there fighting apartheid, fighting racism till the very end.

Fidel Castro: ¿Qué hacían con nosotros? Nos decían que nos bloqueaban.

Speaker 1: What were they doing with us? They said that we had to be imposed a blockade.

Fidel Castro: Porque estábamos cumpliendo esa misión de ayuda.

Speaker 1: And they were doing that, they said, because we were giving assistance to that country, because we were fighting the South African racists. But that is a very interesting story, you know, something that will one day have to be written. One of the most awful systems of discrimination and racism was the one that existed there. In that country, in South Africa, tens of years after the end of fascism and Nazism, that situation existed there. However, not much is talked today about that, you know. We know that history very well. We know it very well. South Africa was not blockaded.

Fidel Castro: No le impedían comprar alimentos.

Speaker 1: South Africa was not prevented from purchasing food and medicines. And the country that was heroically fighting against the racists was not sold one medicine, one aspirin, one cytostat for a cancer patient. That was the punishment. Today everybody's happy because the apartheid is finished. Today everybody's happy.

Fidel Castro: Porque se produce la independencia de Namibia.

Speaker 1: Because the independence of Namibia was attained, dura fue la lucha. But there was a tough struggle by Namibians, Angolans, and Cubans. They had to fight very hard.

Fidel Castro: Para que usted tenga una idea, nuestras tropas.

Speaker 1: For you to have an idea, our troops were close to the South African border, a powerful country, a very wealthy country, South Africa.

Fidel Castro: Nosotros más de diez mil kilómetros.

Speaker 1: And we were over ten thousand kilometers away.

Fidel Castro: I mean Cuba.

Speaker 1: We were still keeping up that fight ten thousand kilometers away from our territory. Of course, that was not an easy task. Every time the Angolans started an offensive, the South Africans came over and fought them back. And we said to the Soviets, who were the advisors to the Angolan headquarters, that those offensives were wrong. They couldn't do that. If they were not able to prevent the South Africans from attacking them, it was useless to conduct those offensives. But they did not pay attention. They did not understand that till there was a moment when a very serious crisis was created, a moment when the war was practically lost. And then we, the Cubans, we had to solve the problem.

Fidel Castro: Enviamos muchas de nuestras mejores unidades.

Speaker 1: We sent many of our best divisions, pilots, planes, and we said to them, we are going to prevent the South Africans from acting. When we arrived there, there was a great crisis. It was when the Kwituhwana Valley battle took place.

Fidel Castro: Sabe cuántos hombres envió Cuba a Angola en ese momento?

Speaker 1: You know how many troops Cuba sent to Angola at that moment? Fifty-five thousand troops.

Fidel Castro: Fifty-five thousand troops. Los cuales habrían sido voluntarios todos.

Speaker 1: And all of them on voluntary basis. That's the most important thing of all.

Fidel Castro: En Quito, Guanavale se estrellaron los racistas.

Speaker 1: And in Quito, Guanavale, the racists could not win. They wanted to have the battle to the east, in a difficult place. But there we lay a trap for them. We lay a trap against which they clashed because there Quito, Guanavale became a symbol. We sent the necessary forces to stop the South Africans' advance and to force them to defeat. While we moved 40,000 Cuban troops and 20,000 Angolan troops to the southwest to threaten them on the other side. To stop the South African army from trying something different. So we were able to create the necessary balance of power simply to stop them and to attain victory. So the implementation of Resolution 435 and at the end to put an end to apartheid, that was our contribution To the heroic struggle of the South African people.

Fidel Castro: De eso no se habla allí en Naciones Unidas.

Speaker 1: You know, at the United Nations, at the United Nations, they don't speak about that.

Fidel Castro: Y que un gran número de We have heard a great number of speeches.

Speaker 1: People spoke about independence. They applauded the independence of the African countries. It would seem that that was the work and miracle of the United Nations. There were talks about the end of apartheid, like the work and miracle of the United Nations.

Fidel Castro: No se mencionó un solo cubano de los que murieron.

Speaker 1: There was no mention about one Cuban of the many Cubans who died there. The name of Cuba was not even mentioned. So look how sometimes people intend to write history forgetting reality.

Fidel Castro: Pero qué es lo más extraordinario?

Speaker 1: But what is it the most extraordinary about this? Es que Sudáfrica se había convertido en una potencia nuclear, a nuclear power by then.

Fidel Castro: Y nosotros lo sabíamos.

Speaker 1: And we knew it.

Fidel Castro: Incluso la dislocación de nuestras tropas.

Speaker 1: We even deployed our forces in such a way. Estaba se realizaba tomando en cuenta That we were taking into account that South Africa had nuclear warheads.

Fidel Castro: La cuestión era ver si se decidían a lanzarla o no.

Speaker 1: The right of the matter was whether they would decide to drop it or not. Who were they going to use the weapon against? Against all. Against where? Inside South Africa.

Fidel Castro: No se podía sostener el apartheid.

Speaker 1: Apartheid could not sustain. Even if they had the nuclear weapon, but a book has just been published where they say that in South Africa, at that time, they had tens of nuclear weapons. At that time, they even had nuclear grenades. They had a respectable amount of nuclear warheads. It has been described in detail in that book, in research made by American journalists and South African journalists, that that was the situation at that time. Did anyone protest? Was perhaps ignored that South Africa had the nuclear weapons at that time? Why was it that nobody said a word about that?

Fidel Castro: Porque no hubo una denuncia.

Speaker 1: Why was it that there was not a denunciation about South Africa having a nuclear weapon?

Fidel Castro: Porque allí estaban los cubanos.

Rosemary Mealy: Why?

Speaker 1: Because the Cubans were fighting there.

Fidel Castro: Luchando contra los cubanos.

Speaker 1: The Cubans were the ones fighting the South Africans there. The South African races.

Fidel Castro: No le importaba.

Speaker 1: And apparently some did not care whether the South Africans used the nuclear bomb against the Cuban and Angolan troops there. That is the historical truth. That history is still to be written. More research should be made about that. Because according to the theory of these journalists and researchers, fascist groups and racist groups in South Africa have been able to keep some of those weapons that they have, and they have them under their control. Right now. So that is history, you see. That is the way international relations work. That is the way certain people and certain countries look at history. Certain allies can manufacture as many nuclear weapons as they want. Nobody cares. If any other country, as it was the case of Korea, Sin que todavía se supiera con qué. People say that they wanted to manufacture a nuclear bomb. Nobody knows with which resources they were going to do it. Anyway, a great scandal was made.

Fidel Castro: Pero la Sudáfrica de la apartheid y del racismo.

Speaker 1: But South Africa, the racist South Africa, the South Africa of apartheid, could have as many, as many nuclear weapons as it wanted. It was allowed to have access to the nuclear energy.

Fidel Castro: De todas las armas que contaba.

Speaker 1: It was allowed to have as many nuclear weapons. As it wanted. That's why when talking about the history of these years of revolution, I think that one of the most dangerous and risky pages written by the Cubans was the one written in that struggle against the racism and apartheid in South Africa. And the Namibians and the Angolans fought. And outside from those 2 countries, only Cuba was involved. Only Cuba shed its generous blood against apartheid and against racism.

Fidel Castro: Hay países donde desaparecieron más de 20,000 personas. Desaparecieron.

Speaker 1: There are countries where more than 20,000 people are missing. There is a country in Central America, Guatemala, where over 100,000 people are missing, and that comes from the days of the invasion against the democratic government there. And I do not want to mention other countries, but thousands of people have disappeared in Latin America. That has never happened in Cuba.

Fidel Castro: Cuba sigue bloqueada.

Speaker 1: None of those countries has been blockaded. However, Cuba is still under the blockade.

Fidel Castro: Esa es la realidad.

Speaker 1: And that is the reality.

Fidel Castro: Porque nosotros estamos contra el bloqueo.

Speaker 1: That is historical reality, and we are against every blockade. En definitiva, ese bloqueo va contra un bloqueo. Anyway, blockade goes against the people, against men, women, and children, against the youth and the old.

Fidel Castro: Viene a matarlo de hambre.

Speaker 1: It kills those people. It makes them starve.

Fidel Castro: Ese bloqueo ha sido tan duro.

Speaker 1: But no blockade has been as tough and as rigorous as the blockade against Cuba. I think it is not fair to use blockade as a weapon against any country.

Fidel Castro: It is not logical because those are weapons against the people, against ordinary people. No piden There is no reason.

Speaker 1: People want to have a ban on nuclear tests. Yes, we agree all the nuclear weapons should be removed. But what is the blockade? As we were saying today at the United Nations, if not like a noiseless atom bomb which kills people, which kills the people, which kills the children. There is no justification for a blockade. If I have overextended in my speech, it is not because I had the idea. I have spoken this long because I wanted to meditate with you. I wanted to think with you about some of these matters. With which I justify the idea that we have always been loyal, faithful to our principles, and that you, with your gesture of receiving us here tonight, recognize our loyalty to our principles. Aquí han Here in Harlem, I met Malcolm X. Those were difficult days. Well, we always are in difficult days. But we had ahead a very hard struggle. The great battles of Martin Luther King were still to take place. His struggle for the civil rights movement. Rights, the great struggles by the black, the Hispanics, the Latin Americans to improve their living conditions, the struggle by the elders, by the sick. I know very well that many of those conquests are in danger today. I know, I know that some people would like to sweep away all those conquests. Some people would like to do away with all those conquests, to do away with every assistance to the sick, to the elder. They would like to do away with affirmative actions. They would like to sweep away all the great achievements that the American people, the ordinary, humble people of America have attained in all these years. Well, I just make a brief reference to this. And I hope nobody would contest me for that.

Fidel Castro: Pero hacia Cuba desde Estados Unidos se transmiten alrededor de mil horas.

Speaker 1: About one thousand hours of broadcasting from the United States are aimed at Cuba every week. One thousand hours of radio broadcasting aimed against Cuba every week, promoting subversion, inciting to sabotage against the economy, attempts against our leaders' lives. This modest person that you see here has the privilege— and I think that the church must have something to do with that— of having survived Hundreds of attempts against my life.

Fidel Castro: Yo creo que las oraciones de ustedes o de muchos de ustedes está presente.

Speaker 1: I think that your prayers have been saving me.

Fidel Castro: Algo tiene que haber.

Speaker 1: There must be something. Puesto que bueno, since how could it be possible? And those plans are still being hatched today. I'm not blaming the U.S. administration, but there are extreme right-wing groups, extreme racist groups that continue to work, to work feverishly, to carry forward attempts against the economy of our country. And to murder the leaders of our country. That's still going on. That has not changed. I was moved by the memory when Mr. Bothworth was talking. He was reminding us of the day when we went to the church in Havana.

Fidel Castro: Allí en el Vedado. Yo recuerdo que aquel día yo me convertí como una especie de hermano también.

Speaker 1: I remember that that day I felt like a brother in that church because I made not a speech but a kind of a sermon. I delivered a sermon and he was also reminding Asked of all the data, when I was asked about my beliefs and what I had answered then, I answered in all honesty that I was not lucky enough to have such good pastors.

Fidel Castro: Que en vez de decirme cree, me dijeran piensa.

Speaker 1: Instead of telling me believe, they should have told me think, meditate.

Fidel Castro: Llevaran a mi alma las convicciones.

Speaker 1: That way they would have taken to my soul the convictions that I did not have the privilege of receiving.

Fidel Castro: Me convertí en sacerdote de.

Speaker 1: So I became a priest in a different country. A cause that I believe, though, ninguna contradicción. A cause that has no contradiction. A cause that has no contradiction with your religious belief and the beliefs of God. God was the idea of good, of doing good to the human beings.

Fidel Castro: Cuando él hablaba.

Speaker 1: And while he was talking, and I was thinking about all these human problems I have been discussing here tonight, all the sufferings of humanity, and I do not want to go through the long list of calamities, for 4.5 billion human beings are suffering in the world.

Fidel Castro: Los miles de millones de ignorantes.

Speaker 1: What billions of illiterate, starving people, people who are living under the poverty line, are going through without education, without medical care. When I see so much suffering, I remember while Brother Bots was talking. Of a story or a legend of a Cuban native aborigine. Atue was his name. Que con ese espíritu de conquistador con que llegaron, the Spaniards arrived in our countries with that spirit of conquerors. They arrived with that spirit in Latin America. They came with the cross and the sword. You should understand that the cross cannot be introduced with a sword. That aborigine Atue uprised against the conqueror. And he was sentenced to die in the fire. And while he was while he was there in the fire, he was told that there was heaven and that he should be baptized to be able to go to heaven. And then he asked. If the Spaniards go to that heaven, I do not want to go there.

Fidel Castro: Y él no dijo si creía o no creía. Dice bueno.

Speaker 1: He was not asked whether he believed or not.

Fidel Castro: Yo no quiero ir al cielo.

Speaker 1: If they go to heaven, then I do not want to go there.

Fidel Castro: El mismo modo en este mundo muchos.

Speaker 1: And nowadays in this world, que nos hablan del cielo. There are many who speak to us about heaven.

Fidel Castro: En este mundo.

Speaker 1: In this world.

Fidel Castro: Tan llenos de abuso.

Speaker 1: Right here in this world so full of abuse. So full of injustices, and in that sense, I could say that heaven that you practice in this world, we do not want to go there. We do not believe in that heaven.

Fidel Castro: Nosotros queremos ir a un cielo de justicia.

Speaker 1: We want to go to a heaven where there is justice, where there is human dignity.

Fidel Castro: Nosotros queremos ir a un cielo de hermandad, where there is brotherhood. Y por ese, en ese cielo, and in that heaven, queremos I believe.

Speaker 1: And for that heaven, I'm willing to give up my life. Thank you. Fidel Castro spoke at this same Harlem church back in 1960. In addition to this speech on Sunday, he also addressed the United Nations and was interviewed on CNN. Today he speaks to Cuba scholars and others at the Council on Foreign Relations, a research center based in New York.