Gjelten Reports On 150 Years of Cuban History

Tom Gjelten, correspondent for National Public Radio (NPR), gave a presentation of modern Cuban history based on his book, “Bacardi and the Long Fight for Cuba: The Biography of a Cause,” for Tuesday morning’s Assembly. The Academy’s history department invited Gjelten as the 2016 Klebnikov Memorial Lecturer, and on Monday night he also gave a lecture on the same topic at the First Unitarian Universalist Society of Exeter.In his book, Gjelten used the Bacardi family as a vehicle to explain the intricate details of Cuba’s past. He rooted his analysis of Cuban history through the entrepreneurial family and their rum business’ involvement in pivotal moments throughout Cuba’s development. During his speech, he outlined three of these connections: the family members who fought in the Cuban War of Independence, Raul Castro’s marriage to a Bacardi daughter and the rum’s influence during Havana Festivals. Throughout most of Cuban history, there has been what Gjelten refers to as “a fight for Cuba,” during which the country’s future is always at stake. He believes that even today the country’s future is unpredictable.

“I think Mr. Gjelten’s approach of looking at the Cuban history through the Bacardi family was very unique and refreshing.”

Since he began working for NPR in 1982, Gjelten has covered both foreign and domestic affairs. His early work focused on South America, the Middle East and Eastern Europe. In the early 2000’s, he began covering U.S. diplomacy and military affairs, first from the State Department and then from the Pentagon, where he was reporting live at the moment it was hit on September 11, 2001.His interest in Cuba began after the communist countries in Eastern Europe collapsed. “It was clear that they had no popular standing at all,” he said. He expected that there would be similar fallout in communist Cuba, so when he returned to the U.S. in 1994, he began going to Cuba two to three times each year for fourteen years. “The truth is, it didn’t happen the way I was expecting it to happen,” he said. It became clear to him that Cuba was different from the countries in Europe he had covered. He described it as a “complex country with a complex history” rooted in a strong sense of nationalism and patriotism. “I just became obsessed with trying to figure it out,” he said. Each time he visited, he came back to the states with more questions: In what ways was Cuba different? Why didn’t Cuba collapse? What’s going to happen in Cuba? What’s the story behind Cuba’s development? “It was like I came back more confused than ever because it’s a really hard country to read,” he said.For Gjelten, coming to speak at Exeter was a memorable experience. When he was younger, he was recruited by the newsboy program to attend the Academy on a scholarship. However, his parents wouldn’t allow him to go so far from home at such a young age. Gjelten stressed that Exeter is a unique school where the student body is “better informed” with “sophisticated, stimulating classes” that cover difficult subject matter. “Most high school audiences wouldn’t have the interest or the ability to pay attention to a lecture like this, so this is really a great treat for me,” Gjelten said.Religion instructor Kathleen Brownback explained that the history department and Assembly Committee chose this topic of “Cuba’s lesser often forgotten history” because of its prominence in the news and the student trips to Cuba over spring break. “[Gjelten] has a long history of excellent reporting on global issues, including Sarajevo and Cuba,” she said.According to the Deed of Gift, given by the class of 1981, the Klebnikov Memorial Lecturer should be a journalist, diplomat, scholar or politician who is involved in either Russia, Eastern Europe or a society in transition. The goal is to honor Paul Klebnikov ’81, a journalist who was murdered in Moscow in 2004 while reporting on controversial topics for Forbes Magazine.History instructor Margaret Foley, who chaperoned last year’s spring break trip to Cuba, was intrigued by Gjelten’s idea to “knit together” the Bacardi family and the history of Cuba. She now plans to read his book. She also appreciated how Gjelten reminded the audience that “perspective is everything in history.” She feels that Americans see Cuban history primarily through the U.S. perspective. “But Cuban intellectual, artistic, and historical life is vibrant of its own accord, not simply as relative to its neighbor to the north,” she said.History instructor Amy Schwartz was “amazed” at Gjelten’s explanation for why the American government interfered with Cuba. “They so deeply feared an interracial society,” she said. Schwartz stayed after assembly to ask him more details about it. He explained that U.S. leaders at the time thought black people were incapable of leading in government and feared Cuba would become like Haiti. “History should be interesting, and in his hands, it was,” she said. “And for me it was yet another example of the incredible depth and reach of racism in U.S. history.”Gjelten attended the American Politics and Public Policy class taught by history instructor Bill Jordan. Senior Sam Long said the favorite part of Gjelten’s visit was when he answered questions about journalism and the media, mostly in relation to what the class is studying. “Listening to his insights really opened my eyes to the value of journalism not just in politics and global affairs, but in every aspect of society,” he said.Seniors Kaitlyn Kang and Abigail Africa introduced Gjelten at the beginning of assembly. Kang had went on the Cuba trip last spring and learned about Bacardi family then, but she admitted she had assumed that they were “just another disgruntled private company” that had been nationalized. She did not realize that the Bacardis had been influential supporters of the revolution and government. “I think Mr. Gjelten’s approach of looking at the Cuban history through the Bacardi family was very unique and refreshing,” she said. “You don’t usually read history from the lens of one specific company.”