[uam_ad id="317182"]
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Between 1821 and 1865, thousands of enslaved African Americans crossed the Rio Grande to seek a different future; however, their stories and of those who aided them, remained buried in obscurity until recently.
“In Mexico you could be free. They didn’t care what color your skin was”. (Photo internet reproduction)
Unlike the so-called “Underground Railroad” – the network organized by abolitionists in the 19th century to help slaves escape to northern states and Canada – the history of which is taught to high school students in the US – the route south has remained ignored on both sides of the Rio Grande.