I learned that after the civil war slaves were running away to Mexico. The Mexican government protected the slaves as soon as they crossed the border. Also another fun fact is that the USCT helped Mexico repel the second invasion of France and was part of the battle of taking back Mexico City. This is a a fun part of history for me because it shows compassion between the Mexican and Black cultures instead of the narrative that I grew up on saying that Black and Brown people hate one another.
Maybe at one point in time recently it was so. I think that both races being in this country and being deprived of resources due to racial injustice caused these two groups to forget that they once stood side by side and have fought for freedom together as brothers. When the Franco Mexican war was over most Black people stayed behind and started their families in Mexico because they saw that there was no opportunity in America for a colored person. It is not crazy to say that our government contributed to this divide trying to keep the focus off of the fact American laws had been putting both of these cultures in dire situations in order to keep them from being able to progress.
All of this to say that it is heart warming to see that these two cultures worked together to accomplish an amazing effort of bravery and freedom. There is now another positive I can think about when think of my heritage from both sides. With stories like these to learn from I see no reason why our two cultures could not create a bond just as strong once again.
