Juneteenth, Jubilee, or El Baile de los Negros?

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Did you know that there was a Southern Underground Railroad to freedom that ended in Mexico? Yep, and it’s one of the first places to celebrate Juneteenth too! Black Seminoles, Seminole Indians, Kickapoo Tribe, and “Negros Mascogos” were the primary navigators of this underground trail. “Negros Mascogos” was the name given by Mexico to the black refugees. From 1821-1847 they endured “The Trail of Tears” and the Second Seminole War. In 1849 a Black Seminole named John Horse began the trek to Mexico. Thousands of black and brown people followed.

Arriving in Mexico

1850. A large group of Black Seminoles, Seminole Indians, Kickapoo Tribe members, and black refugees arrive at the base of the Sierra Madre Range in the northern Mexican state of Coahuila. In 1852, the Mexican Government established an official agreement providing freedom to these refugees as a Mexican Citizen. This agreement also provided close to 70,000 acres of land they referred to as “Nacimiento de los Negros” (Birthplace of Black people), as well as livestock, money, and agricultural tools. In exchange for their citizenship, they provided assistance to Mexico in defending the border against the Texas Rangers and the United States Government.

In 1855 a Texas Ranger named James Callahan led a 110 men raid to “retrieve slaves” from Mexico. Immediately, the Mexican Army turned the Texas Rangers around, reminding them that ALL Mexican Citizens had been free since 1829. The Rangers set a flame to many parts of the city before their full retreat to Texas, but truly could not break the spirit of the emancipated people of Coahuila. In the 10 years of establishing their Mexican territory, they helped upwards of tens of thousand black refugees in the antebellum south gain freedom.

The Celebration Begins

Shortly after the Corpus Christi Emancipation was provided in 1865, the village of Nacimiento began celebrating the freedom of family members on the United States side of the border. Throughout this time there is still a struggle of power despite the federal legislation updates. Many people continued their journey to the Northern Mexican State. In this time they established their traditions of “El Baile de los Negros”, their preferred title for “Juneteenth” or “Jubilee”, and took part in celebrating the holiday well before much of the United States and many parts of Texas.

“On the morning of Juneteenth, Nacimiento’s festivities began with a trail ride through fields and thorny brushland still lush from recent rain. Afterward, several hundred Mascogo descendants gathered under shade trees to barbecue and boil ears of corn over wood fires. The tribe’s traditional dishes—like soske, a corn-based drink, and a sweet potato bread called tetapún—were apparently saved for another day. Children recited songs passed down from their Mascogo ancestors, who sang in an English dialect that survives only in the lyrics of slave-era spirituals. Several women wore the long, polka-dotted pioneer dresses they believe to be traditional (disputed by others, who favor Seminole patterns). After perhaps another swim in the cool and clear Río Sabinas, the day would end with a village-wide ‘Dance of the Blacks’.”