From the United States National Archives:
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, that brought an official end to the Mexican-American War (1846-1848), was signed on February 2, 1848……By its terms, Mexico ceded 55 percent of its territory, including parts of present-day Arizona, California, New Mexico, Texas, Colorado, Nevada, and Utah, to the United States. Mexico relinquished all claims to Texas, and recognized the Rio Grande as the southern boundary with the United States.

Reading the above made me very sad for Mexico. Slavery abolitionists believed that the South was eager for the war because it wanted to expand westward to enlarge the territory where slavery was legal.

The first group of about 20 African slaves was shipped to Jamestown, Virginia in 1619. Over the next two hundred years free slave labor became extremely important especially to the South which was mostly agricultural. The invention of the cotton gin (engine) in 1793 by Eli Whitney dramatically sped up the process of removing seeds from the cotton fiber. The textile industry exploded, and plantation owners in the South wanted more land to grow cotton, and more slaves to pick it.

In order to continue owning slaves, 11 southern states seceded from the Union to form The Confederacy. That led to The American Civil War (1861 – 1865). By the start of the war, 19 states had abolished slavery; Pennsylvania being the first in 1780.

In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation which set the 4,000,000 (4 million) slaves in the Confederate states free. Emancipation was also a war strategy because it attracted freed slaves in the North who were allowed to enlist for the first time in US history to fight to free the slaves in the South.

Until April 1865, when the Confederate General, Robert E. Lee, surrendered, the South killed to preserve slavery, and the North died to abolish it.

The Emancipation Proclamation could finally be included in the United States Constitution, and it was ratified as the Thirteenth Amendment in late 1865.

The subsequent 155 years were filled with systemic racism and corporate greed with short respites. Currently, the battlefields are major American cities. The latest and loudest shot was fired from the knee of a Minneapolis cop into the neck of a handcuffed and faced-down Black man named George Floyd while three other dirty cops participated in the killing.

I got really emotional during dinner thinking I missed California and authentic Mexican food, but I quickly realized I was just very sad that Kenric and I are not there now to do whatever small part we can to help and to show our support for the Black community. I thank those of you who are fighting the good fight on and off Facebook, and sharing stories that help keep us informed. We truly appreciate them especially due to the time difference.

Black, White, Asian, Hispanic, in America and around the world, we thank you for your tenacity.