Last fall, Tulane University and the Ashé Cultural Arts Center in New Orleans hosted the traveling exhibition, the Guantánamo Public Memory Project. This exhibition, which featured panels created by students at universities across the United States, asked viewers to engage with the long history of the U.S. naval base in Cuba, from its founding immediately…

When the teacher asked who had heard of Trujillo, half of the students raised their hands. “When you think of the violence that Haitians refugees fled in the ’90s,” she said, “think of Trujillo.” The students nodded knowingly. In the months leading up to the exhibit opening, we — the student organizers of the Guantánamo…

February 19, 2015: Former GTMO detainee David Hicks wins a legal challenge against a conviction of providing material support for terrorism. His ‘guilty’ finding is dismissed. Hicks describes ongoing medical problems as a result of his time at GTMO. March 30, 2007: David Hicks becomes the first GTMO War on Terror detainee to be convicted.…

Since opening in December 2012, our traveling exhibit has visited some fifteen universities within the U.S., and has also traveled abroad to London, Istanbul and Brighton. It’s been viewed by over 500,000 people to date. But of course, there’s one very important location that our exhibit has never visited – the subject of the exhibit…

Trying to find out about how the troops stationed at GTMO live, I put myself in the shoes of a newcomer and searched military websites about the housing situation there. I quickly found that the troops are divided cleanly between the 1600 Naval Station service members and the 1500 Joint Task Force service members. I…

“The distinction between a refugee camp and a prison is razor thin, and rests on the degree of trust and civility between the refugees and their guards.” – Jonathan Hansen, Guantánamo: An American Story   The detention center at Guantánamo Bay is exactly that: a detention center.  It is an area comprised of camps of…

As a project committed to fostering dialogue on the past, present, and future of Guantánamo Bay, we welcome the release of the Senate Intelligence Committee’s report on CIA rendition, detention and interrogation. We strongly believe that transparency is vital to understanding the past, and therefore that the release of this report is an important step…

In an interview from 2013, Caribbean American singer and activist Harry Belafonte criticized black celebrities for turning their back on minorities and not using their power as activists for minorities. When asked “Are you happy with the image of members of minorities in Hollywood today?” Belafonte responded, “Not at all. […] They have turned their…

I became fascinated with Cuban media and propaganda while studying in Havana over the summer. While we have overwhelming advertisements lining our highways on billboards, the Cubans have revolution-era propaganda. Now faded red and blue letters that read “¡Viva la Revolución!” convey the chest-swelling pride that fueled Fidel’s victory. As an American, there were moments…

November 5, 2014: Fawzi al Odah, a Kuwaiti detainee held at GTMO since it first received War on Terror detainees in 2002, is repatriated to his home country. 148 detainees remain at GTMO. November 1, 1995: The last Haitian refugee held at GTMO leaves the base. This marked the end of the second wave of…