Contrasting perspectives on racism and racial inequality collide in contemporary Cuba. On the one hand, government officials argue that Cuba is a racially egalitarian country; though vestiges of historical racism subsist, systematic discrimination does not. On the other hand, social movement actors and organizations denounce that racism and discrimination are systemic and affect large sectors of the Afro-Cuban population. To draw these visions into scholarly dialogue, our analytic strategy consists in the comparative examination of both narratives as well as the empirical bases that sustain them. Using data from the 1981, 2002, and 2012 Cuban Censuses for the first time, as well as various non-census evidentiary sources, both quantitative and qualitative, we examine how racial inequality has evolved in Cuba during the last decades. Our analyses of census data suggest that racial stratification has a limited impact on areas such as education, health care, occupation, and positions of leadership. We find, nonetheless, that an expanding and strikingly racialized private sector is fueling dramatic income inequality by skin color beyond the reach of official census data. Our analysis sheds light on how different data can convey profoundly different pictures of racial inequality in a given context. Moreover, we highlight that significant contradictions can coexist in the lived experiences of racism and racial inequality within a single country context.

关于种族主义和种族不平等的对比观点在当代古巴发生冲突。一方面，政府官员认为古巴是一个种族平等的国家；尽管历史种族主义的痕迹仍然存在，但系统性歧视却没有。另一方面，社会运动参与者和组织谴责种族主义和歧视是系统性的，影响到非洲裔古巴人口的大部分。为了将这些愿景纳入学术对话，我们的分析策略包括对两种叙述以及支持它们的经验基础进行比较检查。我们首次使用 1981 年、2002 年和 2012 年古巴人口普查的数据，以及各种非人口普查的数量和质量证据来源，研究过去几十年古巴种族不平等的演变情况。我们对人口普查数据的分析表明，种族分层对教育、医疗保健、职业和领导职位等领域的影响有限。尽管如此，我们发现，不断扩大且种族化程度显着的私营部门正在因超出官方人口普查数据范围的肤色而加剧严重的收入不平等。我们的分析揭示了不同数据如何在特定背景下传达截然不同的种族不平等图景。此外，我们强调，在单一国家范围内，种族主义和种族不平等的生活经历中可能存在重大矛盾。一个不断扩大和明显种族化的私营部门正在因超出官方人口普查数据范围的肤色而加剧严重的收入不平等。我们的分析揭示了不同数据如何在特定背景下传达截然不同的种族不平等图景。此外，我们强调，在单一国家范围内，种族主义和种族不平等的生活经历中可能存在重大矛盾。一个不断扩大和明显种族化的私营部门正在因超出官方人口普查数据范围的肤色而加剧严重的收入不平等。我们的分析揭示了不同数据如何在特定背景下传达截然不同的种族不平等图景。此外，我们强调，在单一国家范围内，种族主义和种族不平等的生活经历中可能存在重大矛盾。