Comments on: Mexico welcomed fugitive slaves and African American job-seekers http://www.feralscholar.org/blog/index.php/2006/05/06/mexico-welcomed-fugitive-slaves-and-african-american-job-seekers/ Making the Connections Wed, 08 Feb 2012 20:52:47 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: hugo http://www.feralscholar.org/blog/index.php/2006/05/06/mexico-welcomed-fugitive-slaves-and-african-american-job-seekers/#comment-23671 hugo Tue, 29 Aug 2006 08:00:08 +0000 http://feralscholar.org/blog/?p=286#comment-23671 Thank you Sir for your effort and this only confirms me what I had thought. I believe that there are many of us mexicans with african ancestry and we do not even realize it. I have a feeling that in my family that is the case. You just feel it in your heart and rhythm. sincerely, Hugo Flores Thank you Sir for your effort and this only confirms me what I had thought. I believe that there are many of us mexicans with african ancestry and we do not even realize it. I have a feeling that in my family that is the case. You just feel it in your heart and rhythm.
sincerely,
Hugo Flores

]]> By: R.S. Morris http://www.feralscholar.org/blog/index.php/2006/05/06/mexico-welcomed-fugitive-slaves-and-african-american-job-seekers/#comment-13862 R.S. Morris Thu, 11 May 2006 15:44:50 +0000 http://feralscholar.org/blog/?p=286#comment-13862 Thanks for that parable Audrey--what a great message! Randy Thanks for that parable Audrey–what a great message!

Randy

]]> By: Audrey http://www.feralscholar.org/blog/index.php/2006/05/06/mexico-welcomed-fugitive-slaves-and-african-american-job-seekers/#comment-13800 Audrey Thu, 11 May 2006 01:06:15 +0000 http://feralscholar.org/blog/?p=286#comment-13800 Finland, for a time, had a zero immigration policy, despite the fact that an estimated 1 million people there were themselves immigrants. The Chilean artist Alfredo Jaar responded to this with an installation called “One Million Finnish Passports,” in which he created a million replicas of passports, stacked in an exhibition space in Helsinki. As he put it, he was questioning, “Who will be the next one million Finnish citizens, now that they are joining the European community? Do they want to remain insular and isolated, or do they want to welcome new faces, new ideas, new colors to their territory?” In order to gain approval for the piece, he agreed to construct a glass wall around it to prevent museum visitors from stealing the passports and using them as counterfeits. In Jaar’s words, here’s what happened once the exhibit opened: “The most moving reaction was that a few people came back to the museum with their own passports, and threw them over the glass as a sign of solidarity.” Five years later, in 2000, Jaar orchestrated an art happening at the border of Tijuana and San Diego. “The Cloud” consisted of a tethered enclosure of white balloons. Music was performed simultaneously on either side of a border wall, forming a complete composition. The balloons, symbolizing the bodies of those who had died trying to cross the border during the previous decade, were released from their cloud to drift on air currents into the United States. An unexpected occurrence that day was that the wind happened to be flowing in the opposite direction from its usual pattern; the balloons ended up drifting deeper into Mexico. In the case of “One Million Finnish Passports,” the glass wall was erected with the idea of keeping things contained – of preventing the passports from escaping. The existence of the wall, however, led to it being breached in the other direction. In Tijuana, it wasn’t the deliberate actions of people, but rather some balloons and a wind current, neither with a mind of their own, that managed to thwart an attempt at a planned migration across a border. These were both carefully planned and constructed situations, with objects guarded, tethered, and enclosed – and both demonstrated the utter ineffectiveness, unpredictability, and permeability of the borders we erect. Whether it be containment of toxic wastes, or levees, or the movement of people, the universe has a rather stubborn habit of ignoring our best efforts to direct its flow and contain it. Finland, for a time, had a zero immigration policy, despite the fact that an estimated 1 million people there were themselves immigrants. The Chilean artist Alfredo Jaar responded to this with an installation called “One Million Finnish Passports,” in which he created a million replicas of passports, stacked in an exhibition space in Helsinki. As he put it, he was questioning, “Who will be the next one million Finnish citizens, now that they are joining the European community? Do they want to remain insular and isolated, or do they want to welcome new faces, new ideas, new colors to their territory?”

In order to gain approval for the piece, he agreed to construct a glass wall around it to prevent museum visitors from stealing the passports and using them as counterfeits. In Jaar’s words, here’s what happened once the exhibit opened: “The most moving reaction was that a few people came back to the museum with their own passports, and threw them over the glass as a sign of solidarity.”

Five years later, in 2000, Jaar orchestrated an art happening at the border of Tijuana and San Diego. “The Cloud” consisted of a tethered enclosure of white balloons. Music was performed simultaneously on either side of a border wall, forming a complete composition. The balloons, symbolizing the bodies of those who had died trying to cross the border during the previous decade, were released from their cloud to drift on air currents into the United States.

An unexpected occurrence that day was that the wind happened to be flowing in the opposite direction from its usual pattern; the balloons ended up drifting deeper into Mexico.

In the case of “One Million Finnish Passports,” the glass wall was erected with the idea of keeping things contained – of preventing the passports from escaping. The existence of the wall, however, led to it being breached in the other direction.

In Tijuana, it wasn’t the deliberate actions of people, but rather some balloons and a wind current, neither with a mind of their own, that managed to thwart an attempt at a planned migration across a border.

These were both carefully planned and constructed situations, with objects guarded, tethered, and enclosed – and both demonstrated the utter ineffectiveness, unpredictability, and permeability of the borders we erect. Whether it be containment of toxic wastes, or levees, or the movement of people, the universe has a rather stubborn habit of ignoring our best efforts to direct its flow and contain it.

]]> By: John W http://www.feralscholar.org/blog/index.php/2006/05/06/mexico-welcomed-fugitive-slaves-and-african-american-job-seekers/#comment-13563 John W Mon, 08 May 2006 21:36:36 +0000 http://feralscholar.org/blog/?p=286#comment-13563 Dear Sir I found your article concerning Mexico's offering fugitive African slaves and help to African Americans seeking jobs in Mexico very misleeding. The truth is that Mexico itself participated in the slave trade starting in around 1530 by the Spaniards(see "African roots stretch deep into Mexico"). While you are very accurate when you say that Mexicans and African Americans share a unique history,it is a history that not many of these groups are aware of. Please read the very enlightening website I mentioned and get back to me.I think that you will be very surprised. Dear Sir

I found your article concerning Mexico’s offering fugitive African slaves and help to African Americans seeking jobs in Mexico very misleeding.
The truth is that Mexico itself participated in the slave trade starting in around 1530 by the Spaniards(see “African roots stretch deep into Mexico”).
While you are very accurate when you say that Mexicans and African Americans share a unique history,it is a history that not many of these groups are aware of.
Please read the very enlightening website I mentioned and get back to me.I think that you will be very surprised.

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