#blackhistory – Fake Flamenco

February: What’s On Your Bookshelf?

I’m joining the What’s On Your Bookshelf challenge for February! I’ve read three books so far this month, one non-fiction, one based on a true story and one YA fiction; Frederick Douglass, My Bondage and My Freedom; The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris; and Rebecca Roanhorse’s Race to the Sun. Frederick Douglass, My Bondage […]

history, Spanish Culture and Language, The Americas

Who Is California’s Namesake?

In 1534, when Hernán Cortés’ men first saw what would later be named Baja California, they thought they’d found an island. They, or later Cortés himself in 1535, imagined it could be the fabled land of Black Queen Calafia and her Amazon warriors. These were well-known characters from the popular romance novel, The Adventures of […]

Afro-Latinos, history, Mexico, Texas

Two Families, Two Ferries to Freedom

Two families on the Texas-México border are notable for their roles in the Underground Railroad heading south of the Río Grande. The Jacksons and the Webbers have similar histories. The women were Black former slaves and the men were White. Jackson was a former slave owner who freed his slaves, including Matilda who became his […]

Afro-Latinos, Indigenous Peoples, Mexico, Spanish Culture and Language, The Americas

South to Freedom from Slavery

Songs, quilts and legends celebrate the history of the Underground Railroad to the north. Those are wonderful stories, yet most of us don’t realize heading south was another way Blacks successfully emancipated themselves. Both routes had great dangers, but for southerners, they were far closer to Mexico. As Felix Haywood, a former Black slave said, […]

Afro-Latinos, history, Mexico, Spanish Culture and Language, The Americas

First Black President in North America

Did you know that Mexico was the first country in North America to be led by a Black President, not the United States? That fact may be startling to citizens of a country that thinks of itself as a trail breaker (USA) In 1829, Vicente Guerrero of African, Mixteca or Tlapaneca and Spanish heritage was named […]