Recently, I worked with the Anza Trail team to update the “Discovering Early California Afro-Latino Presence” brochure. The original brochure, written in 2010 by Historian Dr. Damany Fisher, addressed the history and influence of Afro-Latine (multiracial Black and Latin American) in California, specifically focusing on their arrival and contributions from colonial times through the period following U.S. occupation. We wanted the brochure to use more sensitive, historically accurate language emphasizing healing and accountability, especially towards Black and Indigenous community members and Anza expedition descendants living along the Trail. This update also aligns with the Trail's new Foundation Document and our commitment to highlighting these important historical voices. Here is a summary of updates and what to expect from the updated “Afro-Latinidad on the Anza Trail” brochure:
Afro Latine contributions and roles in California society: The early presence of Afro-latine populations in California were descended from Africans brought to Mexico during the 15th and 16th centuries. Afro-latine (also called Afro-Latino/as or Afro-Latinx) migrants in California, many of whom descended from members of the Anza expedition, were instrumental in the formation of towns and ranchos. Juana Briones, Manuel Nieto, Pío Pico, and Tiburcio Tapia defied racial barriers and contributed significantly to the community. We kept this important information but made changes that highlighted how the Spanish colonization system versus systemic racism in the American South influenced the sociopolitical dynamics of California, including how each colonial power socially enforced racism. Further, we added text that acknowledges how the Anza expedition’s migration also contributed to the erasure of Indigenous communities of their land and cultural practices. Below are some examples of these changes.
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2012 Pamphlet (Before) |
2024 Pamphlet (After) |
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Africans first entered Mexico in 1519, when Juan Garrido, a black soldier, served under Hernán Cortés, in the defeat of the Aztec empire. The Spanish enslaved Mexico’s indigenous peoples and forced them to work in mines and on haciendas. But as the indigenous population declined, Spanish colonists soon turned toward African slaves to satisfy their labor needs. |
After the Spanish defeated the Aztec empire in 1519, they enslaved Mexico’s Indigenous peoples. Once the Indigenous population declined due to forced intermarriage and genocide, Spanish colonists forcefully captured (or kidnapped) African people to exploit their labor needs. |
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Unlike the United States, where people of different ethnic and racial backgrounds were largely segregated, early nineteenth-century California was a place where Afro-Latino, mestizo, European, and Indian lived side by side and frequently intermarried. In general, California provided Afro-Latinos with opportunities for social, economic, and political advancement they would otherwise not have in Mexico, where special rights and privileges were reserved to Spaniards of ’pure blood.’ |
In the eighteenth and early nineteenth-centuries, people of different ethnic and racial backgrounds were largely segregated in the United States. However, Afro-Latine, mestizo, European, and Native Americans frequently intermarried in California. In California, Afro-Latine could advance socially, economically, and politically. By contrast, in Mexico, special rights and privileges of the colonial caste system were reserved to Spaniards of “pure blood.” While most African Americans in the United States were enslaved, Afro-Latine acquired vast tracts of land and served in leadership positions in California. |
Highlighting the Long-lasting Impacts of U.S. Occupation: Following the U.S. occupation of California in 1848, we highlight how Afro-Latine and other groups like Asians and Native Americans indigenous to the area faced discrimination and lost their land and civil rights under new laws and policies adopted by the U.S. territorial government. My changes to these sections include emphasizing rather than softening how the exclusion of voting rights and the enforcement of laws that perpetuated racial inequality. I tie the consequences of these decisions to the importance of today’s context, highlighting how legacies of racial and class prejudice persist to this day in California and other areas of the Anza Historic Trail. I also wanted to change the pamphlet to show that, despite historical challenges and the violent consequences of Spanish and U.S. colonial projects, the resilience and continued achievements of Afro-Latine communities remain an important point of joy and celebration. Here are some examples of those changes below:
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2012 Pamphlet (Before) |
2024 Pamphlet (After) |
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During the Spanish and Mexican periods of California’s history, race had not played a central role in determining one’s social rank. But as soon as California was transferred to the U.S., the territorial government quickly adopted laws that stripped away the rights of Mexicans, Asians, African Americans, and Native Americans. The California constitutional convention of 1849, for instance, voted to disfranchise “Indians, Africans, and descendants of Africans.” The following year it limited membership in the state militia to “free white males,” prohibited nonwhite testimony in court cases involving whites, and adopted vagrancy laws that created a system of Indian slavery that remained in effect until the end of the Civil War. While denying blacks the right to testify on their own behalf, the state legislature voted that blacks who had entered the state before 1850 could be detained by anyone who claimed them as ex-slaves. |
The U.S. pursued an aggressive policy of westward expansion that led to President James K. Polk provoking the Mexican-American war in 1846, which ended with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848. The treaty ceded all northern provinces (now California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and parts of Colorado, Oklahoma, and Texas) to the United States (…) Thousands of Mexicans, including Afro-Latine, would eventually lose their property in U.S. courts that rejected Spanish- and Mexican-era land titles. Others would be forced to sell off all or portions of their property. When California was transferred to the U.S. colonial occupation, the territorial government quickly adopted laws that stripped away the rights of Mexicans, Asians, African Americans, and Native Americans. The California constitutional convention of 1849, for instance, voted to disenfranchise “Indians, Africans, and descendants of Africans.” It also prohibited testimony from nonwhite people in court cases involving whites. Finally, it adopted vagrancy laws that created a system of Native American enslavement that remained in effect until the end of the Civil War. Black people who had entered the state before 1850 could by law be detained by anyone who claimed them as ex-slaves. |
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California had been a remarkably diverse and vibrant region where people of different “races” lived and worked together. Above all, it had been a place where race and ethnicity did not function as impediments to social, political, or economic advancement…Most people mistakenly believe that racism has been an intrinsic part of our society since the beginning of our state’s history. |
Much had changed in California from the time of Anza’s arrival to the transfer of California to the U.S. It began as a place that afforded Afro-Latine title to thousands of acres of land, political power, and respect—although this still came at the dispossession of Native Americans’ land and sovereignty. Today, it is critical to understand early California history because we still struggle with the ongoing legacies of racial prejudice and classism. Nearly 250 years later, Black communities, including Afro-Latine descendants, continue to thrive along the Anza Trail. We celebrate their legacy and accomplishments and honor the adversities they faced. |
Linguistic Inclusivity: In addition to updates to the text, the brochure was also translated into Spanish. We recognize the bilingual, multicultural, multinational context of the trail and want to honor that by offering both languages.
We hope these updates set a new precedent for other Parks and Trails to follow as we strive to be more accountable, diverse, and representative in the history we share and our part in shaping it.
You can read the digital version of the updated brochure here: Afro-Latinidad on the Anza Trail (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov)