Abstract
The wave of migrants that arrived in South Florida from Mariel is a familiar story among Cubans, but popular and scholarly understandings of the exodus still exist without sufficient regard for how race mattered for who would be sponsored by families, who would be able to assimilate, and who would benefit from the Cuban enclave. Our essay shows, through oral histories, that Black Mariel migrants were less likely to find jobs and housing and experienced marginalization at higher levels than white Mariel migrants, most often from fellow white Cubans. Our narration centers racial identity in the analysis in ways that depart from much of the literature on the Mariel migration by not only freeing Black stories and perspectives, but recognizing that whiteness, even among a stigmatized group, must be considered. We bring Black people into the story of this migration, not just as a part of racial statistics and stigma, but as people whose real-life experiences remain largely hidden. In this way, we not only show how they were excluded, but celebrate community building and strategies to overcome exclusion.