[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 149 (Wednesday, December 6, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2135-E2136]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     RECOGNITION OF BEN VINSON III

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOHN P. MURTHA

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 6, 2000

  Mr. MURTHA. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to 
recommend to my colleagues a fascinating article written by Ben Vinson 
III, entitled, ``Blacks in Mexico,'' published in El Aguila Del Hudson 
Valley. Ben Vinson, a native of Johnstown, PA, is an Assistant 
Professor of Latin American History at Barnard College, Columbia 
University. He has just completed a book on black soldiers in Colonial 
Mexico, ``His Majesty's Men.'' I am extremely proud of the fact that 
Ben once was an intern in my congressional office and I submit the 
following article into the Congressional Record.

             [From El Aguila del Hudson Valley, Nov. 2000]

                            Blacks in Mexico

                          (By Ben Vinson III)

       As Hispanic Heritage month and the Dia de la Raza are still 
     present in our memory, it becomes important to reflect upon 
     the full diversity of Latin America. Few other regions in the 
     world are as racially rich, and few have achieved the same 
     level of cultural accomplishment. From music and the arts to 
     politics and science, people of Latin American descent have 
     made significant contributions. Names such as Oscar Arias 
     Sanchez, Jorge Luis Borges, Diego Rivera, Che Guevara, 
     Rigoberta Menchu, and Celia Cruz, are just a few of the 
     famous figures who have had a tremendous impact on our times. 
     But what is often overlooked is the role that Africa has 
     played in the region's heritage and the development of its 
     people. With over 450 million inhabitants, Latin America has 
     one of the world's largest populations. Yet what is not as 
     well known is that up to \1/3\ of all Latin Americans today 
     can claim some African ancestry, according to research 
     conducted by the Organization of Africans in the Americas 
     (OAA). In 1992, there were as many as 82 million Afro-Latinos 
     in the hemisphere, with some living in unlikely places such 
     as Argentina, Uruguay, Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia. Even in 
     the United States today there are between 3.5 to 5 million 
     Afro-Latinos residing in the country.
       What does this mean? Simply that one cannot celebrate the 
     Hispanic heritage without celebrating the connection with 
     Africa, regardless of one's national origins. Mexico is an 
     excellent example. With so much emphasis on the country's 
     Indian history, it has become easy to overlook links with an 
     African past. But these links exist. When Columbus first 
     sailed to the coast of southern Mexico between 1502-1504, he 
     could not have imagined that within a hundred years, this 
     land would become the largest importer of African slaves to 
     the New World. Between 1521 and 1650, Mexico alone imported 
     nearly half of all the black slaves introduced into the 
     Americas. They worked in a variety of professions, including 
     the farming industry, on tobacco and sugar plantations, as 
     domestic workers, and in silver mining trades. Anywhere that 
     the Spaniards lived, they took African slaves with them. 
     Because of this, Mexico's black population was spread out 
     everywhere, from the northern frontier towns near the current 
     U.S.-Mexican border, to the southern villages near Guatemala 
     and along the coast of the Yucatan.
       Blacks mixed quickly with the indigenous and mestizo 
     populations. Some of this had to do with the condition of 
     slavery itself. Not many women were brought from Africa, 
     which forced many men to marry non-black women. After 1650, 
     the number of black inter-racial marriages had increased so 
     much that some scholars believe that Mexico's version of 
     mestizaje owes a great debt to Africa. According to Dr. 
     Patrick Carroll, it was essentially blacks that fused the 
     indigenous and white races together, since both Spaniards and 
     Indians frequently had sexual relations with blacks. 
     Sometimes these relations were more frequent than they had 
     with one another.
       Blacks were not just slaves in Mexico. African slaves were 
     commonly released from bondage through buying their freedom, 
     using small amounts of money that they were able to save on 
     their jobs. Sometimes masters also freed their slaves because 
     of their good services, or because they feared that they 
     would be punished by God if they kept them. By 1800, Mexico 
     possessed one of the largest numbers of free-blacks in the 
     world, just behind countries like Brazil. In fact, the total 
     number of blacks in Mexico numbered over 370,000, 
     representing nearly 10% of the population.
       What happened to Mexico's blacks? We don't see much of them 
     in the media, nor has there been a strong effort to write 
     about them in history textbooks. The percentage of Afro-
     Mexicans has grown smaller over time. Although there are 
     almost a half a million blacks in the country today, they 
     represent less than 1% of the national population, and they 
     live mainly in the coastal areas of Veracruz, Oaxaca, and 
     Acapulco. The general Mexican population is often aware of a 
     small black presence in their country, especially in 
     Veracruz. But oftentimes these people are viewed as 
     foreigners, mainly Cuban immigrants, who are not truly a part 
     of the nation. While Cuban immigration at the end of the 19th 
     century was significant towards increasing the number of 
     blacks in Mexico, the descendants of Mexican slaves still 
     remain an important part of the Afro-Mexican population.
       When one travels to the west coast of Mexico we can see 
     these roots, as I did during a research trip four years ago. 
     In the village of Corralero, Emiliano Colon Torres (age 99) 
     spoke about how he participated in the Mexican Revolution 
     along with other Afro-Mexicans, and even black Cubans. But 
     times were difficult, both before and after the war. As he 
     and several others noted: ``Some [darker] blacks, especially 
     one Cuban musician, found it difficult to marry because of 
     their race. A very popular musician who had migrated from 
     Cuba died without ever marrying.'' Such comments reveal a 
     phenomenon that exists not just in the black areas of Mexico, 
     but in other places in Latin America where

[[Page E2136]]

     blacks live. Skin color has made it difficult to gain full 
     acceptance in society. This can lead to lower self-esteem, as 
     well as a denial of certain aspects of one's African 
     heritage. Despite the fact that the region surrounding 
     Corralero has a long Afro-Mexican history, stretching back 
     into the 1600s, when I asked people how blacks first entered 
     their area, I almost always received the same answer: 
     ``Blacks arrived to our coast in the 1940s when a Russian 
     ship sank off shore. There was a black crew working on the 
     ship, and they came to our area and began to populate it.'' 
     Another version of the story involves a Japanese plane that 
     crashed near the shore, also with a black crew. While there 
     is some evidence of wreckage, these stories deny an entire 
     history involving slavery and the slave trade. Perhaps this 
     is the intention. By not being associated with Africa and 
     slavery, Afro-Mexicans can elevate themselves. Instead of 
     being associated with Africa's negative stereotypes, such as 
     a lack of education, barbaric behavior, and poverty, Afro-
     Mexicans become associated with the rich Japanese and the 
     powerful Russians. These are better images. It is also 
     possible that the people of Corralero and its neighboring 
     towns knew little of a deep Afro-Mexican past because they 
     have not had access to information about their African 
     history and heritage.
       Hispanic Heritage month and El Dia de la Raza are times 
     when we can remedy situations like these. Hispanics and Latin 
     Americans do not need to apologize for, or hide their African 
     heritage. It is part of a great cultural strength, which 
     contributes to the richness and diversity of the region. In 
     the same manner that we recall the early events that led to 
     the development of the Americas, let's not forget that in 
     each of our countries, Africa had an important role too. And 
     whether through subtle mestizaje or more overt influences, an 
     African heritage continues to shape who the Latin American 
     people truly are.

     

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