I just received the following comment on a Today Show post at Blogforcuba. As CubaWatcher said earlier this week, here is a musician who actually cares, and he acts on his principles. If only every performer traveling to Cuba would do the same.
I have been just overwhelmed with mail from the article about Youman Wilder at Allaboutjazz.com.
I will be holding an in depth interview with Youman in 2 weeks, when he returns from Europe.
As a supporter of the Exile Community, I think what Youman did was beyond heroic.
Youman Wilder will be taken messages and interview request at his my space page at
WWW.MYSPACE.COM/YOUMANWILDER
I do know that Youman has stressed that he would like the Cuba Exile Communities and the
African-American Communities to have a tighter bond.
And Youman has been invited to speak at various Colleges and functions.
What was missed in the last interview , was that Mr Wilder was woken up at 3 am and told to leave the country under heavy Cuban Militia.
Also Mr Wilder was threaten with death and told he would be taken to a local jail.
Wilder was departed out of the country under a Cuban mandate that saw him and his group as enemies of The Revolution.
Also what was not said is that Wilder at Jose Martí International Airport,while being escorted out of the country by armed military sang “We Shall Overcome” as vacationers from The UK, Canada, and France looked on.
All will be available on our July 12th column at WWW.Allthatjazz.com.
Amy Goldstein
Thank you Amy and bravo Mr. Wilder!
You guys gotta get this guy on Babalú Radio
If the same thing had happened to Wilder in a right-wing dictatorial regime, he would have been lionized big time by the MSM and, especially, the entertainment business. The guy would have been the toast of the town, so to speak. As it is, I expect this story is getting far less MSM notice, if any, than it is getting here. I mean, think about it for a second: What would have happened media-wise if the EXACT same thing had taken place in apartheid-era South Africa? In the answer to that question lies one hell of a lot of hypocrisy, bias and dishonor. It’s not like the MSM doesn’t know that; it just doesn’t give a shit, because as things stand, it doesn’t have to.