Sandra Levinson

Sandra Levinson is the executive director and co-founder of the nonprofit Center for Cuban Studies,[1][2] and the founder and curator of the Cuban Art Space gallery.[3][4]

Sandra Levinson
Occupation(s)Executive director and curator
Years active1972 - present
Known forThe Center for Cuban Studies and the Cuban Art Space
Notable workVenceremos Brigade: Young Americans Sharing the Life and Work of Revolutionary Cuba
Websitecenterforcubanstudies.org

Early life and education

Sandra Levinson is from Mason City, Iowa.[5][6] She graduated from the University of Iowa and attended the University of Manchester as a Fulbright scholar and Stanford University for her masters and doctorate.[5][7] In 1966, she was the New York Editor for Ramparts, as well as a political science instructor at City College of New York, and residing in Greenwich Village.[5][2][8] She was an SDS activist as well as a reporter for Ramparts, and in July 1969, she visited Cuba as part of a group of journalists, including Peter Jennings, and met with Fidel Castro.[2][3]

Writing career

With Carol Brightman, Levinson co-edited the 1971 book Venceremos Brigade: Young Americans Sharing the Life and Work of Revolutionary Cuba, a collection of writings by a group of volunteers from the United States who cut sugarcane in Cuba, known as the Venceremos Brigade; according to Kirkus Reviews, "Running through all the narratives is the preoccupation with the need to be relevant to 'the revolution' as well as a conscientious emphasis on eradicating vestiges of their own bourgeois individualism".[9][10] In a review for The American Political Science Review, Patricia W. Fagen writes, "The editors' introduction explains the formulation and organization of the Brigades, and provides a useful and thoughtful analysis of the Brigades' importance to the American left."[11]

Levinson is also a co-editor of the 1979 book The U.S. Blockade: A Documentary History, published by the Center for Cuban Studies, and her writing is published in several collections: The Cuba Reader: The Making of a Revolutionary Society, A Contemporary Cuba Reader: The Revolution under Raúl Castro, and The Cuba Reader: History, Culture, Politics.

Center for Cuban Studies

In May 1972, Levinson co-founded the Center for Cuban Studies (CCS) as a nonprofit educational organization with Saul Landau and Lee Lockwood.[12][13] The mission of the organization includes opposition to the United States embargo against Cuba and support for the normalization of relations through educational programs, including tours to Cuba.[13][8][14] In March 1973, while Levinson was working as the director at the CCS office in Greenwich Village, a bomb denotated in the building.[12][2][3] Despite extensive property damage, no one was injured, and Levinson continued to lead the CCS.[12][2][3] In 2007, she recalled, "Instead of making me leave, it only made me more furious".[15]

In 1984, Levinson spoke with the Wall Street Journal about the impact of the embargo on the Cuban economy, stating, "The old cars are the most obvious sign. It's the same with the factories. The whole phone system is obsolete. You can hardly find a copying machine, and when you do it probably doesn't work because they can't get the spare parts they need."[16] In 1995, she advocated for businesses in the United States to oppose the economic embargo of Cuba, and told The Oregonian, "It was businesspeople who brought about the ending of the embargo in Vietnam," and "If businesspeople really get behind ending the embargo in Cuba, it will happen."[17] In 2013, Levinson told The Atlantic, "We should be thinking about the embargo in terms of U.S. citizens' rights to travel where they want".[18]

Cuba tours

In 1973, the CCS began sponsoring tours to Cuba.[19][20] Initially, the CCS coordinated educational trips to Cuba from the United States for academics, which helped overcome travel restrictions imposed by the United States and Cuba.[21][4] As travel restrictions eased under the Obama administration to include "people-to-people" visits that allow organizations to sponsor individuals for educational visits,[18] more travel programs were able to be developed by the CCS.[21]

Cuban Art Space

In 1991, Levinson was a plaintiff in a lawsuit brought by the National Emergency Civil Liberties Committee against the United States Treasury Department and Office of Foreign Assets Control, which led to the lifting of restrictions on the importation of Cuban art.[22][23][24][6] In 1999, she founded the Cuban Art Space art gallery as part of the CCS,[25] with regular exhibitions,[26] and by 2016, its collection included over 10,000 Cuban works of art, including sculpture and paintings,[2][6][27] with most of the collection imported directly by Levinson.[28]

CCS also developed the Lourdes Casal Library, which by 2007, held a collection of post-1959 materials from Cuba, including books, magazines, and newspapers.[15]

Works
  • Levinson, Sandra; Brightman, Carol, eds. (1971). Venceremos Brigade: Young Americans sharing the life and work of revolutionary Cuba. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9780671208820.[29]
  • Hoeffel, Paul; Levinson, Sandra, eds. (1979). The U.S. Blockade: A Documentary History. Center for Cuban Studies. ASIN B0027JXCFW
  • Sandra Levinson (1988). "Talking about Cuban Culture: A Reporter's Notebook". In Brenner, Phillip; LeoGrande, William M.; Rich, Donna; Seigel, Daniel (eds.). The Cuba Reader: The Making of a Revolutionary Society. Grove/Atlantic. ISBN 9780802110107.
  • Sandra Levinson (2014). "Nationhood and Identity in Contemporary Cuban Art". In Brenner, Philip; Jiménez, Marguerite Rose; Kirk, John M.; LeoGrande, William M. (eds.). A Contemporary Cuba Reader: The Revolution under Raúl Castro. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISBN 978-1-4422-3098-9.
  • Sandra Levinson (2019). "The Venceremos Brigades". In Prieto, Alfredo; Chomsky, Aviva; Carr, Barry; Smorkaloff, Pamela Maria (eds.). The Cuba Reader: History, Culture, Politics. Duke University Press. ISBN 9781478004561.

Personal life

Levinson has visited Cuba more than 300 times.[8][2] During her time in Cuba, she learned to dance.[30]

References
  1. "CCS Leadership and Staff". Center for Cuban Studies. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  2. Reinholz, Mary (December 13, 2016). "A Champion of Cuban-American Cultural Exchange Grapples With a State of Flux". Bedford + Bowery. New York. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  3. Hayden, Tom (2015). Listen, Yankee! Why Cuba Matters. Seven Stories Press. p. 102. ISBN 9781609805975. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  4. Neely, Daniel Tannehill; Rommen, Timothy, eds. (2014). Sun, Sea, and Sound: Music and Tourism in the Circum-Caribbean. Oxford University Press. p. 293. ISBN 9780199988860. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  5. Fuller, Larry (September 1, 1966). "Miss Levinson is a 'muckraker'". Globe Gazette. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
  6. Morain, Michael (28 January 2007). "Artists color life in Cuba". Des Moines Register – via ProQuest.
  7. "Sandra Levinson". HuffPost. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  8. Nwoye, Irene Chidinma (January 8, 2015). "NYC's Cuban Americans Look Ahead to Life After the Embargo". The Village Voice. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  9. "VENCEREMOS BRIGADE: Young Americans Sharing the Life and Work of Revolutionary Cuba". Kirkus Reviews. May 1, 1971. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  10. Genzlinger, Neil (November 15, 2019). "Carol Brightman, 80, Dies; Profiled a Notable Writer and a Notable Band". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  11. Fagen, Patricia W. (March 1972). "Reviewed Works: Venceremos Brigade: Young Americans Sharing the Life and Work of Revolutionary Cuba by Sandra Levinson, Carol Brightman; Does Fidel Eat More Than Your Father?: Conversations in Cuba by Barry Reckord". The American Political Science Review. 66 (1): 252–254. doi:10.2307/1959335. JSTOR 1959335. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  12. Franklin, Jane (2016). Cuba and the U.S. Empire: A Chronological History. Monthly Review Press. pp. 99, 103. ISBN 9781583676059. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  13. Henken, Ted A.; Celaya, Miriam; Castellanos, Dimas (2013). Cuba. Abc-Clio. p. 516. ISBN 9781610690126. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  14. Stephenson, Skye (2006). "International Educational Flows between the United States and Cuba (1959-2005): Policy Winds and Exchange Flows". Cuban Studies. 37: 122–155. doi:10.1353/cub.2007.0016. S2CID 145621965.
  15. Allen, Kerri (July 30, 2007). "Havana in the Heartland: Cuban Art at Drake University". The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education. 17 (21): 8–9, 11 – via ProQuest.
  16. Merry, Robert W. (11 July 1984). "Cuban Economy Struggles With Shortages". The Wall Street Journal – via ProQuest.
  17. Read, Richard (February 3, 1995). "Cuba Expert Urges Business to Help End U.S. Embargo". The Oregonian – via ProQuest.
  18. van Sickle, Alexa (April 12, 2013). "Beyoncegate: The Real Problem With Travel to Cuba". The Atlantic. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  19. Kornbluh, Peter (July 12, 2017). "Has Travel to Cuba Been Trumped? A 'Nation' Forum". The Nation. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  20. Whitefield, Mimi (July 4, 2017). "Cuban entrepreneurs brace for President Trump's new Cuba policy". Miami Herald. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  21. "In Cuba, Yes, but Only With a Purpose". The New York Times. Jul 8, 2011 – via Proquest.
  22. Burnett, Victoria (December 29, 2014). "Cuba's Art Scene Awaits a Travel Boom". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  23. Fernandes, Sujatha (2006). Cuba Represent! Cuban Arts, State Power, and the Making of New Revolutionary Cultures. Duke University Press. p. 143. ISBN 9780822388227. Retrieved 27 March 2022.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  24. Eaton, Tracy (May 8, 2002). "Latest Rage: Art from Cuba". South Florida Sun - Sentinel. The Dallas Morning News – via ProQuest.
  25. Robert, Dominguez (15 October 1999). "Made in Cuba, Art Finds a Home Here". New York Daily News – via ProQuest.
  26. Grant, Annette (June 11, 2000). "Ebullient Cubans Make a Lot Out of a Little". The New York Times – via ProQuest.
  27. Simon, Walker (June 10, 2009). "Cuban art market shows signs of vitality". Reuters. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  28. Reinl, James (January 21, 2015). "Diplomatic mountain ahead in US-Cuba ties". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  29. Gosse, V. (2016). Rethinking the New Left: An Interpretative History. Palgrave Macmillan US. p. 219. ISBN 9781403980144. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  30. Dailey, Kate (November 4, 2011). "Cuba remembers Ernest Hemingway with a Washington bar". BBC News. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
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