Speaker to discuss N.C. `slavery' in '90s

It was sad to read the account of the speech by Nestor Carbonell in The Chronicle. If the account can be taken at face value, Mr. Carbonell simply repeated our government's excuses for continuing its internationally condemned embargo of Cuba. It was discouraging to sense the enthusiasm with which his remarks were reported. Cuba has been besieged for decades by the most powerful nation the earth has ever known and yet, Cuba has the best health-care system in Latin America, a literacy rate higher than large areas of the U.S., extraordinary opportunities for women in professions, and an enthusiastic and well-organized labor force.

This Thursday, April 22, at 7 p.m. in the Roundtable Dorm, a view of Cuba (and of the U.S.) quite different from that of Mr. Nestor will be presented by Ida Boddie, an American worker who recently visited Cuba. The title of her talk will be "Slavery in North Carolina in the '90s: A black woman worker compares Cuba and the South."

This talk should be of interest to all people wanting to understand Cuba and the reasons behind our nation's extraordinary policy toward our struggling neighbor.

Neal Shepherd

Cell biology