Dark Latin Groove Special Series: Famous Afro-Latin Americans: Juan Gualberto Gómez Ferrer (July 12, 1854 – March 5, 1933) was an Afro-Cuban revolutionary leader in the Cuban War of Independence against Spain. He was a close collaborator of [José] Martís, and alongside him helped plan the uprising and unite the islands black population behind the rebellion. He was an activist for independence and a journalist who worked on and later founded several pivotal anti-royalist and pro-racial equality newspapers. He authored numerous works on liberty and racial justice in Latin America as well. In his later years, he was a journalist-politician. He defended the revolution against racism and U.S. imperialism and upheld Martís legacy in print (often under the pseudonym G) as he served the Cuban state; he was a part of the Committee of Consultations that drafted and amended the Constitution of 1901, and was a representative and senator in the Cuban legislature. He is best remembered as the most conspicuous Afro-Cuban activist leader of the 1890s independence struggle and one of the revolutions great ideologues.
Posted on: Sun, 06 Jul 2014 00:19:19 +0000