Caribbean Matters is a weekly series from Daily Kos. Hope you’ll join us here every Saturday. If you are unfamiliar with the region, check out Caribbean Matters: Getting to know the countries of the Caribbean.
The month of June is not only Caribbean American Heritage Month, it is also the month in which we celebrate Juneteenth. Now a federal holiday, it commemorates June 19, 1865, the day that U.S. troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, to bring word of Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation issued on January 1, 1863. For a refresher on Juneteenth’s history, this documentary, which is being streamed on PBS, is an excellent starting point:
While doing some research for Juneteenth, I ran across a series of posts on social media from members of the divisive and reactionary members of American Descendants of Slavery and Foundational Black Americans. The groups were taking umbrage about Caribbean communities in the U.S. “daring” to celebrate Juneteenth, the same way they’ve attacked Caribbean American participation in and celebration of Black History Month.
I won’t link to or screenshot any of their posts, which I’ve blocked on multiple platforms, however if you want to see what I’m referencing just do a social media search using “Caribbean tether” or “tethers”—a derogatory term they use in place of “anchor baby” since they oppose birthright citizenship for both Caribbean peoples and Africans from the continent.
I decided that I’d spend some time again today helping to set the record straight. I’ve written about these Black right wing groups in the past, most recently in 2022 here, in which I linked to the excellent exposé of ADOS and FBA on Institute of the Black World 21st Century by Jessica Ann Mitchell Aiwuyor.
Given the increased targeting of Caribbean Americans by the Trump regime and his ICE storm troopers I feel it is important to revisit Aiwuyor’s article to help expose and combat these divisive elements within the Black community
The term “American Descendants of Slavery” (ADOS) was created in 2016 to describe and distinctly separate Black Americans/African Americans from Black immigrant communities (Africans, Afro-Caribbeans, Afro-Latinos, etc). The movement claims to advocate for reparations on behalf of Black Americans.
[…]
ADOS leaders and members emphasize the same anti-immigrant narratives created by conservatives, white nationalists, and white supremacists (Hayden, 2019). The narrative of “leeching immigrants” that are “taking jobs and draining resources,” is fear-mongering rhetoric that blames Black and Brown immigrants for disparities in employment, housing, education, and other areas of concern – instead of placing blame for these issues on the racist oppressive systems that dictate our daily lives. Donald Trump and his administration have been actively promoting the same anti-immigrant talking points (Scott, 2019).
Additionally, ADOS leaders and membership believe that Affirmative Action should be a “streamlined” program only for those that can prove their family was enslaved in America. Under their proposed Affirmative Action policy, the Black immigrant population, which also experiences racism and systematic oppression, would be excluded from Affirmative Action programs. ADOS leadership has no plan for how exactly this type of exclusionary illogical practice is supposed to be implemented, beyond their demand for Black people across America to suddenly produce slave papers to validate their Black identity.
[…]
Additionally, increased hostility towards Black immigrants will only lead to increased hostility towards the overall Black community. […]
Noticeably, white immigrants are never met with this hostility or blamed for America’s failed systems. The discussion in general rarely even includes white immigrants. This is because the core issue is not about immigration. Black and Brown immigrants are demonized because by 2045 people of color in America will outnumber the white population. Thus, white supremacists are seeking to limit Black immigrants because their birth rates increase the overall Black population.
Let me state unequivocally, both Juneteenth and the enslavement of Black people here in the U.S are linked to the Caribbean, as was the Transatlantic Slave Trade. Giselle Rivera-Flore explains this connection in her Substack newsletter Hispanic•ish:
In the first movement of the slave trade between 1816 and 1821, Galveston Island became a hub for enslaved people, pirates, and smuggling. During this time pirates, privateers, and revolutionaries captured merchant ships sailing along the Gulf of Mexico between Matagorda Bay and Pensacola Florida.
The Texas coast presented an excellent area for the establishment of a base of operations for the privateers. This area was close to the shipping lanes in the Gulf of Mexico and to the slaving ports of Cuba. Cuba was a major depot for the African slave trade into Latin America in the early nineteenth century. Since the island was only 800 miles from Galveston, it became the major source of African slaves for the Anglo-American colonists after 1821. (East Texas Historical Journal)
James Walker Fannin, one of the first American settlers to exploit the slave trading in Georgia before arriving in Texas began his expeditions in 1835 when he returned from Cuba with 152 Africans. Monroe Edwards, who arrived in Texas looking to profit from the African slave trade erected a slave mart near present-day San Leon on Galveston Bay while enslaving 185 Africans from Cuba to Texas. Colonel James Morgan arrived in 1835 to seek slave trade opportunities and in doing so, launched a camp for “newly landed Africans.”
Reports from U.S. Consul Nicholas P. Trist in 1836 estimated that approximately a thousand Africans had departed from Cuba to Texas.
Take a look at Gwendolyn Midlo Hall’s slave database, or the digitized records currently available at Enslaved.org, which contain records of the origin of thousands of enslaved people here in the U.S., many who were brought here from the Caribbean.
Guess what? Juneteenth is celebrated in Mexico. From Nuestro Stories:
In the heart of northern Mexico’s Coahuila State, a Juneteenth celebration takes place in the small village of Nacimiento de los Negros. This community, at the base of the Sierra Madre range, is a symbol of resilience and cultural preservation for the Mascogos, the descendants of Black Seminoles originally from Florida. They sought refuge from the oppressive antebellum Southern United States and found solace in Mexico. Now, they also offer solidarity to their Northern neighbors. Nacimiento de los Negros is the Mexican village that has been celebrating Juneteenth for years. […]
In Nacimiento de los Negros, this date includes celebrations eating traditional Afro-Seminole foods, lively norteño music dances, and the practice of capeyuye — an artful rendition of hand-clapped hymnals sung by enslaved people who journeyed the southern Underground Railroad to freedom.
Nacimiento de los Negros serves as a beacon of hope and inspiration, showcasing the Mascogos’ determination to safeguard their cultural heritage. This remote Afro-Mexican village represents a unique space where the Mascogos have preserved their roots, customs, and connection to their Black lineage.
The Radar 2022 YouTube channel posted this story on the subject:
KPRC 2 in Houston, Texas, also covered the story of Juneteenth being celebrated in Mexico:
Unsurprisingly, the country of Mexico has a long history of Blackness and connection to the Caribbean along its Atlantic coast which I explored in Afro-Mexicans: No longer ‘erased’ and in Black Music Sunday last year.
Please join me in the comments section below for the weekly Caribbean News Roundup, and let us know what Juneteenth celebrations/activities are being held in your area.