Quick summary: American’s have emigrated to parts of the world with lower costs of living or different politics for decades — but who leaves and where they go has changed over time. This weekend, we’re unpacking the experience of Black Americans who pulled the plug on life in America and went to a Mexican city, featuring reporting from Capital B and The Haitian Times.
Credit: R.M. Nunes / iStock
Understanding Black Americans’ migration to Mexico
Hey, y’all,Yearning to jump ship and live in another country is not an uncommon thing to hear in the United States. For some, this is just a dream, a fantasy that helps make what is difficult about life in America easier to manage. Yet others have actually gone and done the thing — including Black Americans heading to Mexico.Why did they choose to migrate? What’s it been like for them south of the border? And how has Mexico responded? To find out, Capital B reporter Adam Mahoney spoke with a dozen Black Americans now living in Mexico. The primary reason driving many of their decisions to leave U.S. soil was the uniquely pervasive American brand of racism. Life in Mexico is not perfect by comparison, but everyday facts of life in the U.S. — such as police violence, mass shootings, poor economic opportunity, and segregation — are just not as prevalent in Mexico, people told Mahoney. “Here, there’s a sense of being able to breathe a little bit easier,” Tiara Darnell, a D.C.-area native who opened the first Black soul food restaurant in Mexico City, told Capital B.
Featured Stories
President Joe Biden addressed the nation one last time to say farewell, offer some closing thoughts on the past four years, and look toward the next four. He highlighted the ceasefire deal in progress between Israel and Hamas, and expressed concerns about the concentration of wealth and power in America, as well as unregulated artificial intelligence, TANTV reports.
A coalition of residents successfully moved an NBA arena proposal in Philadelphia’s Chinatown off the table, after it nearly reached final approval. AsAmNews has the story.
Throughout the past year, Documented has reported on how misinformation on TikTok has impacted migrant communities. Now, the outlet is sharing its methodology and learnings with the wider journalism field. Plus: With TikTok's shutdown near, users are migrating to RedNote (AsAmNews)
Medical professionals in Minnesota are tracking a spike in the norovirus stomach flu, particularly in places like schools and nursing homes. Learn more in Sahan Journal.
Altadena, California was a rarity in the 1960s: Black families could actually get a mortgage there, and their homeownership rate in the city today is nearly double the national average. Now, the Eaton wildfire has displaced Altadena residents from these homes, and many will not have one to return to. PushBlack has some ways to help.
