Ron Wilkins: Everywhere I’ve lived growing up, in South LA, has been among Mexican people. We share space today. We need to know each other and how our histories have brought us together.

How far back does the connection between Africa and México go?

Back way before México came to be. Egyptian soldiers and mariners traveled to the region and encountered the Olmec people around 800 AD, about when you started to see pyramids built in México.

Many of the fighters for México’s Independence from Spain, in the years from 1810 to 1821, had been slaves. They joined the Revolution because its leaders promised that the struggle for independence would also end slavery. The revolutionary army that fought under a black flag became known as the “Ejército Moreno” — the Dark Army — because so many of its fighters had African roots. Revolutionary General Vicente Guerrero had an Afro-Mexican father. Guerrero banned slavery when he became president of México in 1829.

From looking at photos of historic Mexican figures, you see that many had African features and dark complexions, signifying African descent. Among these historic figures: the revolutionary leader Emiliano Zapata and muralist Diego Rivera.

Do you see a connection between Mexicans and people of African descent in the US?

Before the annexation of Texas, Mexicanos/Tejanos helped perhaps 5,000 or 6,000 Africans escape from slavery by going south, deeper into Mexico. The owners of these escaped slaves traveled to México to demand their return, but the Mexican government refused. In 1836 after the fall of the Alamo, Mexican forces traveled from plantation to plantation in Texas, setting slaves free and giving them title to the land they had been working!

In 1857 the U.S. Supreme Court declared during the trial of the enslaved Dred Scott and his wife that “Black people had no rights that whites were bound to respect.” That same year, the Mexican Congress declared that any enslaved person who set foot on Mexican soil would be from that moment free. I often speak to African American audiences and tell them that Mexicans did far more for us than we did for them. That shocks people!

Do African American and Mexican history intersect in other ways?

In the 1930s and 1940s, Black artists such as Elizabeth Catlett went to Mexico to collaborate with Mexican muralists. And if it wasn’t for the Mexican baseball leagues, Jackie Robinson might not have broken the color line in the US Major Leagues. Negro League players commonly traveled to play in the Mexican League, where they rated as worthy opponents.

In 1938, a Mexican team started hiring Black players, beginning with famed Negro League pitcher Satchel Paige. The Brooklyn Dodgers noticed how well these Negro Leaguers played in the Mexican teams and  signed Jackie Robinson. But the widely promoted film “42” about Jackie Robinson doesn't mention Mexicans at all. The movie treats them like “the elephant in the room,” with nothing about their contribution!