Ethnicities Unknown: Afro-Mexicans and Others
We know that Black voices and experiences have been long been omitted and erased from the historical record. In fact, many individuals who were born in Texas with Hispanic last names were erroneously labeled “White” on birth certificates. This was done in South Texas to allow Mexican Americans to vote in the 1950s for white candidates but in San Antonio it was done to create a buffer between “Whites” and Blacks. No matter how dark or light skinned one was Hispanics were labeled “White” on birth certificates. Another important reason for doing so was to erase the African heritage and ancestry of Mexico which at one time had more Black slaves than any other Latin American country. Birth records in Mexico often revealed who had African ancestry in the 1700s and beyond but were eventually erased from the historical discussion in order to either make everyone “Mexican” or “White.”
In San Antonio, many with Hispanic surnames were labeled “White” in order to erase Native American and Black ancestry. In addition to those types of ethnic erasures the Arabic ancestry was also erased in Spain after the 1500s. When the Moors conquered Spain in 700 AD they brought with them North African languages, customs, and religious beliefs with them. The Moors were essentially Black, Berber, and Arab and after they were defeated in 1492 their Mosques and literature were destroyed because of their religion and dark skin. All was not erased but simply covered up. My last name, Salas, is actually Arabic-Moorish, from the Arab vocabulary of “Sala.”or “Salat.” The Spaniards added the “s”to Sala in order to erase Arabic origins. I have a lot of Arabic ancestry from southern Spain which was dominated by the Moors for over 700 years. Sala or Salat can mean to pray in Arabic.
Additionally, the names of Rodriguez, Gonzalez, Alvarez, Medina, and many others are Arabic in origin and not Hispanic. Furthermore, the names of Moreno, Mora, Morales, Prieto, Negrete, and hundreds of others indicate an African origin because of the Spanish slave trade and the names associated with skin color. I had fun looking at the Spanish records from the 1700 and 1800s and finding my Mulatto fifth grandfather in addition to ancestry from Ghana, Burkina Faso, Benin, and South Africa. I also discovered some Lebanese, Irish, and Native American ancestry. Why are groups completely missing from history and our worldview? There are Afro- Mexicans, Afro-Arabs, Afro-Latinos, Afro-Cubans, and many others that have been here as communities of color but erased from history.
We must advance our knowledge of historical events which have been misrepresented by myths or erasures which serve racist views of history. These racist views, which distort the true historical record, such as the racial myths of glory at the Battle of the Alamo, and the vilifying of figures such as Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana, who freed slaves across Texas while battling Texas slave owners have been purposefully kept out of most school history and social study textbooks and even most U.S. and Mexican university history textbooks.
The tide against white supremacy in education is increasing that this is what worries the bigots of the Texas legislature. They are afraid of losing their fake legends and mythical racialized renditions of history. Racism warped history with half-truths, omissions, lies, distortions and erasures about slavery, ethnicities, and historical connections to the non-white people of the earth. Fortunately, many are finding out that they have been robbed of their cultural heritage and it is changing despite the hatred and ignorance.
