By Any Means Necessary
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Ministry of Culture Cuban Institute of Music Cuban Agency of RAP
On January 30, 2019, the Cuban hip-hop movement suffered one of the greatest losses in our ranks, our grand sister and comrade, one of our greatest guides in this endless struggle for civil rights and the struggle for our identity. We lost our Cheri Dalton, or as the movement named her, Nehanda Abiodun. Those who knew her in person know that she was, and continues to be, one of the fundamental linkages in the begin-nings of a young movement that needed guidance to find its way. She was always there. We remember her in those conversations that were not conspiratorial at all, but were full of knowledge and teachings about what it meant to be Black in society and what our role in the struggle was. I speak with the clarity and vision of the Cuban Agency of RAP in these times of struggle for the identity of Black people, among many other qualities that would be impossible for me to summarize. We are in the presence of one of the most significant people who has left a mark in our movement and who we will remember always. On behalf of the Cuban rap movement and the Cuban Agency of RAP, we send our most sincere condolences to her family and friends. Sincerely, Ruben Marin Maning
Noah Friedman-Rudovsky, NYtimes.com