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REFLECTIONS ON THE BLACK FOOTPRINT IN NEW MEXICO

Headshot of Darryl Wellington

By Darryl Wellington
“Let’s begin with a story that reflects my concerns that the Black presence isn’t significantly appreciated — but that simultaneously reaffirms my belief in the importance of teaching New Mexican Black history.”

ENCOUNTERING NEW MEXICO

Credit: Darryl Lorenzo Wellington

By Darryl Wellington
“I was aware that New Mexico was heavily Indigenous and Hispanic. It did not lack people of color. But I soon learned I was not completely mistaken in immediately worrying how race was constructed here, in terms of post-colonial oppression, and whether the absence of blackness might mean the preeminence of whiteness.”

HISPASIAN

Drawing of New Mexico & South Korea. Says, "culture" at the top. Below, it says "Hispanic mama, Korean dad — Guess that makes me HISPASIAN"

By Melissa Auh Krukar
“The questions are always the same: ‘Where are you from?’ or worse, ‘Where are you really from?’ or worse yet, ‘What are you?'”

MANITO

Black and white photo portrait of Leonard Martinez, age 27

By Leeanna Teresa Martinez y Torres
“Manito: Examining and Deconstructing New Mexico’s Tri-Cultural Myth; ‘Patterns of Migration’

Mama’s easy, un-flinching and quick-to-respond reply to this unfamiliar term, word, name, was curious to me. Manito.”