A Chapter In U.S. History Often Ignored: The Flight Of Runaway Slaves To Mexico

[Judi Lynn]

February 28, 20217:00 AM ET

In a forgotten cemetery on the edge of Texas in the Rio Grande delta, Olga Webber-Vasques says she's proud of her family's legacy – even if she only just learned the full story.

Turns out her great-great-grandparents, who are buried here, were agents in the little-known underground railroad that led through South Texas to Mexico during the 1800s. Thousands of enslaved people fled plantations to make their way to the Rio Grande, which became a river of deliverance.

"I don't know why there wasn't anything that we would've known as we were growing up. It amazes me to learn the underground deal, I had no idea at all," says Webber-Vasques, 70, who recently learned the story of her forebearer, John Ferdinand Webber, from her daughter-in-law who has researched family history.

"I'm very proud to be a Webber," she says.

The flight of runaway slaves to Mexico is a chapter of history that is often overlooked or ignored. As the U.S. Treasury ponders putting Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill to commemorate her role in the northbound underground railroad, there is new attention to this southbound route.

More:
https://www.npr.org/2021/02/28/971325620/a-chapter-in-u-s-history-often-ignored-the-flight-of-runaway-slaves-to-mexico

[Karadeniz]

1. Yet another historical point that wasn't in my curriculum!

[RussBLib]

2. Not trying to hijack the thread

But how about this one: systematic lynching and killing of Mexicans by whites from the 1830's to the 1930's.

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-08-16/el-paso-massacre-timeline-of-anti-latino-violence-in-united-states

....another thing I never learned in school, even in Texas history class!!

Sometimes, we white people really suck.

[littlemissmartypants]

3. Thanks, Judi Lynn. ❤ nt