Fort Chaffee, Arkansas and the surrounding communities were at the center of racial discrimination throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. The area also serves as a case study
for the treatment of Cubans during the Mariel Boatlift in the United States between 1980
and 1982. This thesis argues that Fort Chaffee, Arkansas, and other military bases across
the United States served as a transitional space during the Mariel Boatlift that separated
Cuban identities from fearful communities that continually fought against the different
racial, ethnic, religious, and sexual identities of the Marielitos. An examination of the
surrounding community, government officials, and the Cuban refugees highlights the
intersections of these three perspectives
