Sergio Peñaloza Pérez is an Afro-Mexican activist and founder of México Negro A.C., a group that fights for civil rights and aid for African Descendant Mexicans.

In 2015, thanks to the efforts of Pérez and México Negro, Afro-Mexicans were finally able to identify themselves on the Mexican census. The results of the census showed that there were 1,381,853 self-identified Afro-Mexicans, making up about 1.2 percent of the country’s total population. The demographic is primarily made up of the offspring of indigenous Mexican tribes (mostly in Oaxaca and Guerrero) and formerly enslaved African peoples (primarily the Bantu and people from Western Sudan), although there are Afro-Mexicans of more recent heritage, as well as other Afro-Latinx* migrants to the country. Similar to many countries, this ethnic group faces discrimination, poverty and unjust deportation, as some Mexican officials believe their dark skin and facial features mark them as undocumented African immigrants.

The importance of their inclusion on the survey is worth more than a determination of percentage. In 2020 they will become an officially recognized ethnic minority, allowing them to seek drastically needed forms of government aid that had previously been closed to them.

So what’s next for Perez? He’s working to politically align the indigenous and Afro-descendant Mexican populations, and to include African and Afro-Mexican history in school curriculum across the country.

BRTW salutes Sergio Pérez and his fight for both African Diasporic peoples and indigenous solidarity. Keep on keepin’ on, Sergio!

 

-Mieko Gavia

 

Producing Ensemble

 

*Latinx is a gender inclusive term for people of Latin American descent.