When Cuban leader Fidel Castro passed away a lot of people in the hip-hop community expressed great sorrow for a man that has been seen as a dictator by some for years. One of those people was hip-hop poet and street scholar, Nas.

When Nas posted a picture of Fidel Castro and Malcolm X along with some favorable words for the Cuban leader on his Instagram page, the social media community went in on him, calling him naive and even vowing to never support him again. A lot of Cubans cry foul for someone like Nas, who is of non-Cuban descent, to speak so strongly about something he has no knowledge of, they claim. (He wasn’t there!)

While Nas may not be of Cuban descent, the history of the world belongs to everyone. And when it comes to the history of Fidel Castro, that history is going to be multifaceted – like most leaders. IF we rely on the narrative of our oppressors (and those who were trying to become the real oppressors of Cuba at the time Fidel Castro came to power) to tell the story, then people like Fidel Castro will always be seen as a villain. So, if history is best qualified to be our teacher, then why not listen to another perspective of Fidel Castro from a historian?

Professor James Smalls, historian, activist, globalist, and legendary scholar, has a very storied history in the revolution for Black peoples of the world. Hear below what he had to say about why blacks do- and should- rock with Fidel Castro.