Che the Racist?

[Drace]

"The blacks, those magnificent examples of the African race who have conserved their racial purity by a lack of affinity with washing, have seen their patch invaded by a different kind of slave: The Portugese.... the black is indolent and fanciful, he spends his money on frivolity and drink; the European comes from a tradition of working and saving which follows him to this corner of America and drives him to get ahead." -Che Guevara

"We're going to do for blacks exactly what blacks did for the revolution. By which I mean: nothing." -Che Guevara

"Mexicans are a band of illiterate Indians." - Che Guevara

How much truth is there to this?

[Nolan]

Saw this on Yahoo:

"
The "black is indolent" line was taken out of context by Glenn Beck for his "documentary" ... what is the truth?

That quote was written by Che when he was 24 and encountered blacks for the first time in a Venezuelan slum during his Motorcycle trip around South America. *** The full context of this statement is addressed by biographer Jon Lee Anderson on page 92 of "Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life." However, months later he announced himself a transformed man and even denounced the racism he encountered while living in Miami for a month. The quote was from 1952, before he was Che. Years later in Cuba he showed he was not racist through his actions:

- Che pushed for racially integrating the schools in Cuba, years before they were racially integrated in the Southern United States.

- Che's friend and personal bodyguard was Harry "Pombo" Villegas, who was Afro-Cuban (black). Pombo accompanied Che to the Congo and to Bolivia, where he survived and now lives in Cuba. Of note, Pombo speaks glowingly of Guevara to this day

- When Che spoke before the U.N. in 1964 he spoke out in favor of black musician Paul Robeson, in support of slain black leader Patrice Lumumba (who he heralded as one of his heroes), against white segregation in the Southern U.S. (which still unfortunately existed), and against the white South African apartheid regime (long before it became the Western 'cause de jour').

- Che was also heralded by Malcolm X during this trip to NY and in contact with his associates to whom he sent a letter, and later on behalf of his actions in Africa - praised by Nelson Mandela and the Black Panther's Stokely Carmichael.

- When Guevara ventured to the Congo, he fought with a Cuban force of 100 Afro-Cubans (blacks) including those black Congolese fighters who he fought alongside against a force comprised partly of White South African mercenaries. This resembled the fight in Cuba, where Che's units were also made up of mostly mulattos and blacks.

- Later Guevara offered assistance to fight alongside the (black) FRELIMO in Mozambique, for their independence from the Portuguese.

- Lastly, in August 1961 (9 years after his "indolent" remark), Guevara attacked the U.S. for "discrimination against blacks, and outrages by the Ku Klux Klan", which matched his declarations in 1964 before the United Nations (12 years after his "indolent" remark), where Guevara denounced the United States policy towards their black population, stating:

"Those who kill their own children and discriminate daily against them because of the color of their skin; those who let the murderers of blacks remain free, protecting them, and furthermore punishing the black population because they demand their legitimate rights as free men — how can those who do this consider themselves guardians of freedom?"

IMAGES:
Che's bodyguard Pombo then
http://www.nydailynews.com/img/2007/10/0… (http://www.nydailynews.com/img/2007/10/01/gal_cheguevara_4.jpg)

Pombo now
http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/07pQ… (http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/07pQed51Cq67X/610x.jpg)

Che in Africa with his all black army
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/90/254180… (http://farm1.static.flickr.com/90/254180447_c767decf1f.jpg)

Che volunteering to fight with FRELIMO to free Mozambique from the white Portuguese
http://europa.cubaminrex.cu/GaleriaChe/i… (http://europa.cubaminrex.cu/GaleriaChe/imagenes/Fotos/medianas/12.Reuni%C3%B3n%20con%20representantes%20del%20Fre nte%20de%20Liberaci%C3%B3n%20de%20Mozambiqu.jpg)

Che in Congo #2
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/co… (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/60/CheinCongo2.gif)

Only to someone completely uninformed, could Che ---(a man who fought in Africa with an all black army against white South African mercenaries of Apartheid)--- be seen as "racist" for a diary passage he wrote as a youth 15 years earlier.
Source(s):

3 Main Biographies on Che Guevara:
(1) Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life -by- Jon Lee Anderson
(2) Companero: The Life and Death of Che Guevara -by- Jorge G. Castaneda
(3) Guevara, Also Known as Che -by- Paco Ignacio Taibo II
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Che_Guevara
* Thanks to RT who I lifted most of this from"

[Drace]

Convincing evidence. Thanks

[Che a chara]

yep it's been proved that the 'racist' comments attributed to Che where at times taken out of context and also before he was actually 'politically/revolutionary astute'.

[ComradeMan]

Well he definitely said them.... But let he who is without guilt cast the fist stone? Who here can hold their hand on their heart and say that they have never said or done anything reactionary whatsoever?

When Che made those comments he was young, I believe most of them come from the Motorcycle Diaries- he was still "undergoing the change" that led to his becoming a revolutionary.

By the same token it's useless to pretend he didn't say them, we shouldn't be trying to make Che into some Jesus figure he was not. Somehow I don't think you'll find those quotes on a standard Che t-shirt though!:D