Black people first arrived in the early 1500s as enslaved workers and free soldiers. We immigrated to Mexico on the Underground Railroad, too. So why on earth is the country trying to erase us?
Mexico has tried to annihilate Afro-Mexicans by requiring those who “look too dark” to show ID and answer questions about Mexican politics. Even when proper IDs are shown and questions are answered correctly, our people are still deported to Central America!
In 2015 the Mexican census included a category for those who identify as Black, but many Mexicans are unaware of their heritage because our people have been relegated to other racial categories.
We’re left out of textbooks and portrayed as lazy, promiscuous, and loud by the media - when the media even include stories about us at all.
Our people have nearly no protection under the Mexican constitution as a minority group or a group that faces discrimination. This means resources for special programs for education, health and housing don’t go to our people who need them.
Our communities have organized in small numbers, but we still have a long way to go. We must continue to stand up for our culture regardless of the insistence on our assimilation and erasure!