The Spirit Of Revolution Lives Within Each Of Us

“For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.” – Deuteronomy 20:4.

On November 5, 1843, an enslaved Yoruba woman named Carlota Lucumi led a revolt on Cuba’s Triunvirato sugar plantation. After months of organizing, the revolutionaries began burning down buildings in which their loved ones had been tortured and slaughtering any enslaver who got in their way.

Even though Carlota died in the rebellion, news of her heroism spread just as quickly as the fires she’d started. Five neighboring plantations were destroyed, to the shock of white enslavers across Cuba. 

But was Carlota’s uprising a spiritual attack? 

Many slave revolts incorporated African spirituality into their attack strategies. While it’s unclear if Carlota’s revolt did, she was called “Lucumi” because that was how enslaved Yorubans were classified. 

Santeria, an Afro-Caribbean spirituality practiced throughout Cuba, was later called “La Regla Lucumi,” to honor the Yoruba’s spiritual influence. Coincidence? 

The impact of Carlota’s uprising paved the way for future revolutionary action in Cuba, including Fidel Castro’s socialist revolution of 1959.

Carlota’s resistance inspired generations of people to take action against their oppressors. 

Who inspires you to act? Let’s take actions that remind future generations Spirit exists wherever the spirit of revolution is present.

We have a quick favor to ask...

We hope you're enjoying PushBlack Spirit! Spreading the truth about Black spiritual practices and history is just as important to you as it is to us.

And as a small non-profit, we need your support to keep spreading these important stories.

With as little as $5 a month, you will support our tech and writing costs, so we can reach even more people like you. It only takes a minue, so will you please donate now?