Civil War holds lessons on why SB 4 is so out of step
To understand and honor the celebration of Cinco de Mayo, one must delve into the history of colonialism and the fight for justice and civil rights — not just in Mexico but especially here in the United States. In a recent interview with the Washington Examiner, President Donald Trump questioned why many Americans don’t deeply examine the history of the Civil War. Therein lies a question we can only hope he also considers: What were the reasons and values behind the Civil War?
In 1862, México had spent over 50 years fighting after the initial call for independence from Spain on Sept. 16, 1810. Liberal and conservative forces continued to struggle over the power of church versus state. States were fighting over their right for self-governance, while France, England and Spain kept attempting to maintain colonial dominance over it and reposition themselves against the United States. France had invaded México for the second time, and in the state of Puebla, the Mexican forces led by Ignacio Zaragoza Seguin — born in what is now Goliad, Texas — fought against the French troops.
No one — not even the Mexicans — was expecting them to win over Napoleon III’s troops. The hopes were very slim for an army of mostly drafted men with no formal training and little experience.
At that time, we also had a Civil War in the United States. In California, the Latino population realized what was at stake. Until 1848, Latinos in California — about 7,500 at the time — had lived under the Mexican Constitution, which had outlawed slavery and declared that regardless of race, all Mexican citizens had the same rights. But “when California was conquered by a country that loudly proclaimed freedom for all but allowed slavery to exist, Latinos could not help but note the obvious discrepancy between word and deed, especially when their own civil rights were placed in question on the grounds of race,” writes Dr. David E. Hayes-Bautista in his book, “El Cinco de Mayo: An American Tradition.”
The news of the Mexican underdog army winning against the French gave new strength to California Latinos, who had sought to stop the advances of the Confederacy and its notions of white supremacy.
A victory for Mexico on May 5, 1862, against Napoleon III meant that freedom and equality could win.
“Latinos celebrated the good news from Mexico parading through the streets of California and Nevada,” writes Hayes-Bautista, and thus started the holiday. The celebration of Cinco de Mayo continued to be preserved in this country by the Chicano and Latino civil rights movements, while in Mexico it remained a smaller local commemoration and just a historical date.
To honor the meaning of Cinco de Mayo today, Trump, Gov. Greg Abbott, the Texas Legislature and the rest of us would do well in looking back to history and acknowledge the vital role that Latinos and immigrants have played in the social, cultural and economic development of this nation.
They should abandon the hateful rhetoric that has spurred an irrational fear of all immigrants, a rising incidence of racially motivated attacks, and an acceptance of ignorance and mockery toward minorities in our national discourse. Students at a Baylor University fraternity might find it difficult to see the offensiveness of their actions — dressing as maids and construction workers at a “Cinco de Drinko” party — when their own president categorized all Mexicans as “rapists” and “murderers.”
In Texas, the signing of Senate Bill 4 will further create an environment that terrorizes immigrants and disregards the fact that our nation was founded by those who were seeking asylum from persecution and violence. In the pursuit of drastic security measures that lack the most basic humanitarian compassion, we are breaking the bonds of trust among our communities and severing the ties of interdependence with our neighbors to the south.
The result of the Civil War teaches us that justice and freedom for all are worth defending — and that the fight for liberty might be long, but the cause will be just. Our elected officials should consider the lessons of history and stand on the right side of American values.
Cinco de Mayo takes on a renewed meaning for Mexican-American communities this year, particularly with Gov. Greg Abbott poised to sign Senate Bill 4, the Arizona-style “show me your papers” law targeting undocumented migrants.
The commemoration of the unlikely Mexican military victory over a superior French army at the Battle of Puebla in 1862 resonates with the resolve with which many Mexican-Americans view as their untenable position in the current debates about migration and cultural change here in this country. Like the seemingly unstoppable French military in 1862, nationalist nativists currently have the upper hand in imposing harsh measures through sheer might.
While a Republican-dominated Congress and conservative state legislatures rush to implement anti-migrant measures, the alt-right media stokes racially tinged fears of the cultural Latinization of the United States.
This tone is set at the top. President Donald Trump has spoken of Mexican migrants as “criminals,” “rapists” and “bad hombres.” And now he seeks to build a 30-foot wall along the 2,000mile U.S.-Mexico border.
More recently, a fraternity at Baylor University brought old-fashioned, anti-Mexican racism into news headlines by throwing a “Cinco de Drinko” event where partygoers dressed as maids and constructions workers. The crowd also chanted “Build that wall.”
Still outsiders to the circles of state and media power, Mexican-Americans find themselves in a familiar role alongside Mexican migrants: that of the underdog facing powerful opponents.
U.S. citizenship, educational accomplishment and professional status offer little defense against such attacks. While some would argue that Mexican-Americans should separate themselves from Mexican immigrants to avoid the taint of negative association, history suggests that alliance rather than avoidance would better protect the rights of both, particularly since many Mexican-Americans are but one or two generations away from the experience of migration to the U.S.
At the founding convention of the League of United Latin American Citizens in 1929, the great divide was about the requirement that members be U.S. citizens — a contentious issue given the large numbers of Mexican refugees from the Mexican Revolution of 191020 who had been active in the fight against racial discrimination in Texas.
The requirement was kept, and the Mexican refugee contingent walked out. While a citizens-only LULAC was instrumental in advancing the civil rights of Mexican-Americans during its first decades, it missed a golden opportunity to make common cause against the common enemy of institutionalized racism.
LULAC has since dropped U.S. citizenship as a membership requirement to become a leading advocate for migrant rights regardless of status — and Mexican migrants, Mexican-Americans and their fair-minded allies have stepped up to fight the good fight against misguided legislation that doesn’t amount to immigration reform but does infringe upon human rights.
In addition to opposition from migrant rights groups, organizations as diverse as law enforcement and religious leaders provided more than 16 hours of testimony against the passage of Senate Bill 4.
But as Mexican-Americans — along with Mexicans — know all too well from history, the path to achieving social justice has never been easy. There have been nearly as many setbacks as there have been successes.
Even the Mexican victory at Puebla in 1862 was short-lived, as French troops occupied Mexico for another five years until the resistance, led by Mexican President Benito Juárez, regained control of the country.
This Cinco de Mayo, the famous words of Juárez ring true as never before: “Entre los invididuos, como entre las naciones, el respecto al derecho ajeno es la paz,” which means between individuals, as between nations, respect for the rights of others means peace. In this spirit, Mexican-Americans must continue to work alongside other communities to bend the arc of history toward the peace that flows from social justice.