Black History: How Two Black Men Led Mexico’s Independence War'' #blackhistory #america #shorts

[00:00:00]By 1810, emboldened by the American Revolution and the French Revolution, Mexicans sought their own independence, but it would take time.

[00:00:09]>> So, the War of Independence, 1810 - 1821.

[00:00:13]>> Yes, it was a very long war.

[00:00:16]>> The revolution was started by a priest named Father Hidalgo. He called for the abolition of all castes, saying Indians, mulattoes, and other castes all will be known as Americans.

[00:00:29]After he was killed, his cause was taken up in succession by two generals, a priest named Jose Maria Morelos and Vicente Guerrero.

[00:00:38]>> In fact, both were Afro-descendants.

[00:00:41][music] >> Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Two black people were generals in the War of Independence.

[00:00:45]>> Yes.

[00:00:46]>> So, this is like George Washington being black.

[00:00:49]>> He is.

[00:00:49]>> For Americans.

[00:00:50]>> Yes. Yes.

[00:00:51]>> That's astonishing.

[00:00:51]>> Yes.

[00:00:52]>> After Morelos was killed by the Spanish in 1815, saw the war to its conclusion with the help of many black Mexicans. In one story, Guerrero's father beseeched him to surrender to the Spanish. In front of his men, he answered, "You are my father, but the country comes first."

[00:01:09]La patria es primero is now a famous phrase throughout Mexico.

[00:01:13]>> Yes, and in fact, in 1830, Guerrero stopped slavery [music] by writing the law in the constitution.

[00:01:20]>> 33 years before Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.

[00:01:24]>> Yes. Also, an important thing about Guerrero is that he was the second president in Mexico.

[00:01:30]>> So, you had your Barack Obama in 1830.

[00:01:33]>> That's right.

[00:01:34]>> So, once again, Mexico is ahead of the United States.

[00:01:36]>> [laughter] >> Yes.

[00:01:38]>> All right, that's amazing.

[00:01:39]>> Yes.

[00:01:42]>> Imagine if George Washington and John Adams had been African-Americans.

[00:01:47]Would we have needed a civil rights movement? When Guerrero, who was a mulatto, abolished slavery, he also eliminated racial categories from birth, marriage, and death certificates.

[00:02:00]Today, there are states and towns all over Mexico [music] named after Morelos and Guerrero. Morelos is even on the 50 peso bill. But, many Mexicans don't