50 Years Later: The Early Wave of Cuban Exiles Narrate their Displacement, Entering a New World 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Jacinda Nembhard | Jacinda.nembhard@gse.rutgers.edu | 848-932-0774

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J., December 17, 2025 – A new report by Rebecca Perdomo, Senior Research Associate at the Proctor Institute, examines how 19 Cuban-born exiles make meaning of their displacement five decades after migration. 

Dualities in Diaspora presents oral histories with participants ages 76-93 who fled Cuba between 1959 and 1973. Through bilingual interviews, Perdomo – whose own family migrated during this period – identifies three narrative tensions that structure how participants tell their stories: stability and rupture, punishment and resistance, and fear and freedom. 

This research documents experiences often overshadowed in accounts of Cuban exile success, including forced labor camps, surveillance and imprisonment, year-long waits for exit permits, and the daily adaptations required to survive. Amidst these stories, participants also demonstrated resilience through community, resistance, and ultimately exile in pursuit of freedom. 

“To understand these inherited memories, examining how the first-generation constructs and transmits them is critical,” said Perdomo. “Inherited memories are central to identity, transmitting pride, resilience, trauma, and longing across generations.”  

“At the Proctor Institute, we understand how important it is to preserve these stories from those who lived them, before they are lost,” said Marybeth Gasman, Samuel DeWitt Proctor Endowed Chair in Education and Distinguished Professor. “This will allow future generations to learn more about their families and find answers to long-unanswered questions.”

The report conducts and analyzes interviews in Spanish, preserving linguistic and cultural nuance. It expands our understanding of diaspora beyond structural accounts of migration success, centering how displaced populations make meaning across the life course. 

You can read the full report here.

 About the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Institute for Leadership, Equity, and Justice
The Samuel DeWitt Proctor Institute for Leadership, Equity, and Justice (Proctor Institute) is a national center that focuses on issues of leadership, equity, and justice within the context of higher education. It brings together researchers, practitioners, and community members to work toward the common goals of diversifying leadership, enhancing equity, and fostering justice for all. The Proctor Institute is located at Rutgers University-New Brunswick, in the Graduate School of Education nd, and houses the Rutgers Center for Minority Serving Institutions (CMSI). For more information about the Proctor Institute, please visit https://proctor.gse.rutgers.edu/.