‘Fourth of the Lie’ cookout for Cuba

July 4 — Over 100 people relaxed, ate good food and listened to several speakers expose the lies of the 4th of July U.S. holiday while championing the Cuban Revolution. The event, called “Fourth of the Lie,” was organized by Portland Action for Cuba and was a fundraiser to support Cuba. 

Leonardo Palacio, an organizer of the event, spoke first. He referred to a powerful passage from Frederick Douglass’s famous July 5, 1852, address arguing that “Independence Day” highlights the hypocrisy of a country guilty of shocking and bloody practices. Douglass said July 4th was a day of mourning and inhuman mockery, calling its celebrations “a thin veil to cover up crimes.”

Palacio has been to Cuba every year since 2023. He mentioned the real history of the U.S., one of theft and forced slavery of Africans and the genocide of Indigenous people. U.S violence, exploitation and resource extraction eventually included colonizing Latin America, all in the name of profit. 

Palacio said: “Instead of killing people, Cuba heals people. Instead of making bombs, Cuba makes vaccines.”

Mathenya from the All African People’s Revolutionary Party emphasized the importance of supporting Cuba and engaging with an active revolution. They said Cuba is a brilliant example for us to follow. People can take action and support Cuba by joining groups like Venceremos Brigade and the Centenary of Fidel Brigade to Cuba this August and by contributing material resources in the immediate moment. Mathenya ended with, “Death to Amerikkka! Viva Cuba!” 

Jillian Goldstein from Portland State University Cuba Solidarity spoke in detail about the superior medical advancements Cuba has made under socialism, despite the 66-year U.S. blockade. She described the global respect for Cuba’s medical internationalism. Since 1960, Cuba has provided over 400,000 medical professionals to over 160 countries. Cuba has tens of thousands of healthcare workers stationed globally and provides more medical personnel to the developing world than all the G7 nations combined.

Cody Forrester from the Resist U.S.-Led War Movement and an organizer of the event told the crowd: “Freedom is not a word we associate with the legacy of the United States. Ask the more than 70,000 human beings detained in ICE facilities across the country, do they feel free? Ask the families of the victims of the Iraq invasion, the 3 million displaced, do they feel free?” 

Forrester continued, “The only country that has ever dropped an atomic bomb, killing hundreds of thousands of civilians in densely populated urban centers, has no authority to posture as a ‘great nation.’” He added that “this is a country that steals a trillion dollars a year from its citizens to spread wars of aggression and control, doling out private defense contracts to people like Elon Musk, the richest man in the world.”

Forrester told the crowd that our job is to hasten the fall of this empire, “just as the Cubans did in 1959, with organization, resistance, unity and discipline.” He said if we are organized, we can drive out the corporate class and replace it with something that does represent freedom.