Afro-Mexicans are one of the AfroLatine groups that continue to historically link the Americas: North, Central, and South America and the Caribbean. During the transatlantic slave trade, Mexico was under Spanish colonial rule and was one of the slave trade routes in which Africans were forcibly brought from Africa to the coastal areas of Mexico such as Veracruz, Guerrero, and Oaxaca. African, Indigenous, and Spanish identities were forged thus leading to the Spanish to form a Casta System, a social hierarchy based on race which continues to have an impact today with colorism and anti-Blackness. In 1829, Mexico abolished slavery and Afro-Mexicans had a chance for freedom. In the United States, prior to the Civil War, before there was an Underground Railroad to the north, the first Underground Railroad was to the south to Mexico. Today, Juneteenth is celebrated not only in the United States but also in Mexico, especially in some of the border towns between the United States and Mexico where there is a population of Afro-Mexicans. In Mexico, recognition of their Afro-Mexican population was non-existent until the 2020 Mexican Census, the first census in which Afro-Mexicans were officially a part of and included in the count of the Mexican population.
The “Southern Underground Railroad” helped formerly enslaved people reach freedom in northern Mexico. One village here has observed Juneteenth or “Día de los Negros” for 150 years.
The purpose of this guide is to focus on resistance, resilience, and perseverance among our Black and African American communities in the RGV, which began as early settlers, like Silvia Hector Webber, resisted slavery, secured her own freedom, and aided other enslaved people seeking southern passage to Mexico. The conflicts at Fort Ringgold and Fort Brown further demonstrate of the resistance of decorated soldiers to racial degradation and discrimination. Local Juneteenth Celebrations held publicly since 1996 also highlight the imperative of not only commemorating the end of slavery but also honoring and memorializing the achievements of Black people in the Valley to ensure their heritage remains our history.
Descendants of slaves who escaped across the southern border observe Texas’s emancipation holiday with their own unique traditions.
The Afro-Mexican population has long struggled for recognition in an overwhelmingly mestizo country where the indigenous past is lionized but lighter skin colour is often reflected in social advancement and higher incomes.
Infographic: Afrodescendants in Mexico (Wilson Center, July 29, 2022)
In this infographic, Jazmín Aguilar Rangel provides a demographic overview of the Afro-Mexican community. She describes certain challenges they face in the form of structural racism and describes how civil society organizations are working to address this.