Measures of Equality

“An exciting and innovative study that will surely influence scholarship on twentieth-century Cuba for some time.” — Hispanic American Historical Review

“Brilliant and entertaining . . . Takes us from such fractious beginnings to the construction of black political identities in the 1930s. A virtuoso performance that contributes a great deal to our understanding of Cuban social and intellectual history. . . . Sets out a provocative agenda for further research.” — American Historical Review

“An important contribution to the historiography on the construction of race and political identity in Latin America and the Caribbean. . . . [This] ought to be required reading for scholars and graduate students who specialize in the construction of race and national identities in Latin America and the Caribbean.” — The American Journal of Legal History

“Bronfman’s subtle and nuanced exploration of the interplay between postcolonial state formation, social scientific knowledge production, and the transformation of racial subject positions significantly deepens our understanding of the emergence and conflicted nature of 'black' political identities in twentieth-century Cuba.” — Stephan Palmié, University of Chicago

“Bronfman posits the relatively inclusive rather than exclusive nature of the early Cuban Republic, legitimizing hereditary views about the inferiority of those of African descent and also animating the critique of those views, especially by Cubans of color. She has marshaled her case with excellent, new, and at times chilling detail, contributing to the growing body of work that is countering the silences of much mainstream study of Cuban history. Her approach is sound and much needed.” — Jean Stubbs, University of North London