The Real Gitmo

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More About

• Jana Lipman
• Guantanamo Bay
• Liz Lemon
• Government and Politics
• Armed Forces

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Guantánamo is a real black mark on the United States. Consider its long list of atrocities: inhumane conditions, psychological and physical torture, and imprisonment without trial. In the words of Liz Lemon: Shut it down. Much of the push to close it has had to do with the detainees in orange jumpsuits and black hoods. Yet author and historian Jana K. Lipman wants to remind everyone that Guantánamo is not just a U.S. naval base and detainment facility. It's also the Cuban town that surrounds it.

In her book Guantánamo: A Working-Class History Between Empire and Revolution, Lipman uses oral histories and archival research to illuminate the experience of the Cuban worker who relies on employment from the base. She also examines how the Cold War and the Cuban revolution turned the naval base into a lawless, unchecked place. Lipman, who teaches history at Tulane University, will discuss her book at Books & Books in Coral Gables.
Wed., April 7, 8 p.m., 2010