Date of Award

8-31-2018

Document Type

Campus Access Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

History

First Advisor

Vincent Cannato

Second Advisor

Timothy Hacsi

Third Advisor

Spencer Di Scala

Abstract

In August 1960, Luis V. Manrara arrived in the United States and joined a growing population of Cuban exiles fleeing the post-revolutionary changes brought by the Castro regime. The following year, Manrara helped form “The Truth About Cuba Committee, Inc.” (TACC), a non-profit, educational organization incorporated in Florida. The earliest exiles from Cuba consisted primarily of the upper and professional classes in Cuban society. Their status as political refugees to the U.S., provided an advantage for the Cuban community in successfully establishing themselves in their new home. Other scholarly works on Cuban immigration have attributed the success of the Cuban community in America to the efforts of the Cuban Refugee Program, a support network consisting of governmental and charitable resources. This thesis takes a micro-historical approach in analyzing the efforts of the TACC and discusses the organization and its activities. The purpose of this thesis is to highlight the contributions made by the Truth About Cuba Committee, Inc. and Luis V. Manrara in facilitating a dialogue with the American public. The TACC stressed shared values and a mutual antipathy towards Communism, which helped create the foundation for the Cuban exile community in America upon which its success was built. Through a study of the organization’s leadership and specific cases of its activities, this thesis shows the importance of the “on-the-ground” contributions that organizations like the TACC made to create what is now a thriving immigrant community within American society while at the same time maintaining its Cuban heritage.

Comments

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