|
|
|
|
| Welcome Page |
| Table of Contents |
| Affiliate Links |
| Contact Us |
For more info:
Guerro
Edict Abolishing Slavery
Mexican
Constitution (Spanish)
Mexican
Constituition (English)
St. Anthony
THE
DEGÜELLO
The "EveryBody" Insider
Communicating the Concerns of Black
People
Reflections on "Soy Negro NO
Despero"
by Bahati Osayimwese
(Historical
Background)
The chapel of the San Antonio de Valero mission, known as The Alamo and
built in the early 1700s, became the site of an historic military battle
in the early 1800s. Since the 1900s the battle at The Alamo has
been the object of tall tales as well as the subject of historical
research, debate and curiosity.
The Spaniards established the mission in San Antonio to introduce
Spanish religion and culture to the indigenous American Indian
population. The presidio of San Antonio de Bexar located nearby
served as the place where soldiers could guard the Spanish interests.
Around the presidio there was the village which grew to become the City
of San Antonio today.
San Antonio is named for Anthony ( 251-356 A.D.) who was an Egyptian
monk in the early Christian Church. He spoke only in Coptic, a language
which is the modern version of the ancient Egyptian language used by
many Egyptian Christians today. However, much of the Coptic Christian
heritage was wiped out as Muslims invaded Northern Africa from the 600s
A.D. onward. Some of these Muslims called Moors invaded the
Iberian Peninsula and occupied parts of Spain and Portugal from 711 A.D.
to 1492 A.D. Following the re-conquest of the Iberian Peninsula by
Christian Monarchs, Spain and Portugal expanded their kingdoms to the
New World. After the repulsion of the Muslims from Spain in 1492
Spain obtained many of the Caribbean Islands, much of South and Central
America and Mexico which included Tejas or Texas. Portugal
obtained Brazil in 1500.
With the arrival of Spain and Portugal in the New World, there came
competition with the indigenous population for land, resources and
labor. Ultimately, slaves were imported from West Africa to serve
the Spanish and Portuguese Christians. Spain and Portugal
prospered from the resources and wealth of the New World thru the late
1600s at which time the English and French began to compete in earnest
for slices of the New World.
The Anglo settlers established colonies on the eastern coast of North
America in the early 1600s. Some of these settlers owned and
traded in slaves from West Africa. By the late 1700s the settlers
demanded, fought for and obtained independence from the British crown.
The U.S.A. was established. And, with the founding there
were allowances for importation of slaves for a period of time thru the
early 1800s. As the U.S. grew so too did the number of slaves and
the expanse of area which they occupied. The U.S. grew westward
thru the 1800s to include Louisiana which was purchased from the French
in a rather sweet deal that Napoleon arranged.
Also, in the early 1800s the Mexicans demanded, fought for and obtained
independence from the Spanish crown. In 1821 the new Mexican
government was formed and wished to attract more settlement in its
northern state, Coahuila Y Tejas. Soon settlers were provided with land
grants and low prices by which to obtain land. As a result more
Anglos moved into Texas along with many Negro slaves from 1823-1829.
In 1829 Mexico outlawed slavery, which existed
mainly in Texas at the time. The slaveholders were to be paid for
their loss of property per the law but the emancipation decree was not
respected except outside of Texas where there was little slavery
remaining in the republic. Nevertheless, the 1829 addition to the
Mexican Constitution ( Article 2) is still the current law which
abolishes and prohibits slavery in Mexico.
From 1829 to 1836 more Anglos moved into Texas some bringing with them
Negro slaves. Among the slaveholders were William Travis, James
Bowie and Sam Houston. Sam Houston freed his slaves in the 1860s
during the U.S. Civil War. The slaves of Travis and Bowie were
present at the Battle of The Alamo.
At The Alamo the Mexican trumpets sounded the "deguello"
meaning that they would give no quarter to the rebellious fighters
inside the compound. This ritual dated back to the wars in Spain
with the Moorish Muslims.
***********************************************************************************************************
(Commentary on the Movie "The Alamo" )
Slavery was illegal in Mexico from 1829 onwards, yet Anglo settlers
continued to hold and transport Negro slaves into Texas for 7 years
prior to fighting the battle at the Alamo and later the battle at San
Jacinto. The movie shows the slaves of James Bowie and William
Travis in a few short scenes. These characters exchange a few
glances and eventually share a few words reflecting their common bond in
bondage. The words that capture THEIR mission, purpose,
condition, and hope are a sort of broken Spanish muttering of "Soy
Negro no despero". These words are uttered as the two are
working side by side inside the Alamo compound. Bowie's slave
explains that Mexico has abolished slavery and that if the Mexicans rush
in with their guns they will pass you by if you say those magic words.
This dialogue causes one to wonder what should a slave wish for in a war
in which he really has no standing or stake save but to save his butt.
If the Anglos win then he remains a slave. If the Mexicans win
then he may be killed before they decide whether he will be allowed to
live. He is but property and another man's chattel. And,
even if the slave owner fails miserably in HIS battle to save The Alamo,
the slave will never be remembered for any bravery or heroism in a
battle which has no meaning for his condition. He, the slave, has
no mission and no fight
except surviving to see the next day.
So what does it really mean, "soy Negro no despero"? It
means roughly, "I am Black - don't trip!". It means that
I am not a part of this fight, I have no control over where I am or over
what I am required to do. I am but property that is unclaimed and
possibly usable still. I have no stake in this matter. I am
offering you my white flag of surrender or truce or whatever it takes to
keep a bullet out of my head. I am Black - don't despair.
It seems that as far as the slaves at the Alamo were concerned, the
Mexicans didn't trip in regards to their condition. The slaves
were not executed or killed as far as the records and movies show.
The slaves were let go. There have been free Negroes in Mexico for
centuries. In Texas, however, Negroes had to wait for Juneteenth
to get emancipated in 1865.
This line "I am Black - don't trip" has been played out more
recently in urban riots where Black business owners paint "Black
owned" on the front of their stores. This is a sign that the
real fight is not against me but against someone else. I am Black -
don't trip!
I am just a downtrodden person trying to get by and make a living.
I am just trying to survive to see another day.
This contrasts with the projection of the image shown in another movie
"The Passion of Christ". Jesus clearly has a mission for
which he is prepared to suffer immensely and die. He never states,
" soy negro - no despero". He stands his ground,
stumbles to the ground, fights his spiritual battles, and emerges
victorious. On the other hand, Peter tries to become anonymous
when questioned at Jesus' trial and flogging. Peter denies Jesus
three times and thereby denies having a mission or stake in the
proceedings. Peter has the greatest mission in the world to live
or die for but can't stomach the humiliation and torture to which Jesus
is subjected. Peter is too weak even to say "soy negro - no
despero". He can't affirm his ethnicity, his religion, his
teacher, or his manhood. He can't even manage to do a decent job
of begging for help and/or mercy!
"Soy negro no despero" - is the cry of a person who has no
mission for which he is prepared to die. Jesus had a mission for
which he did in fact die. Peter denied that same mission at first
but then years later did die to continue the work that Jesus had set
out. The Mexican soldiers and the Anglo soldiers and the Tejano
soldiers were willing to die for The Alamo. The negro slaves were
prepared to die for nothing and for no one. The negro slaves at
The Alamo were, therefore, living solely for the sake of avoiding death.