More Black Americans Are Building Community in Mexico Isheka N. Harrison - The Moguldom Nation
go to original August 4, 2022

Jay and Ashley Roberts and their two children in Mexico. (Jay and Ashley Roberts)

An increasing number of Black Americans are searching for refuge outside the United States, and Mexico has become a popular destination.

Demetria Brown quit her law enforcement job and moved to Puerto Vallarta on Mexico’s Pacific coast in 2020 after a Minneapolis police officer murdered George Floyd.

“Watching that video — my heart broke and sank all at the same time,” Brown told CNN. “That video served as my final confirmation that I was doing the best thing for my life by departing the United States of America permanently.”

Port of Entry Podcast: Black Expats Finding Refuge From Racism In Mexico (PBS Public Media)

Michelle Wedderburn-Waters, her husband Darryl, and son, Micha, made the move two years prior in 2018 to San Miguel de Allende after researching and traveling to several places.

She also founded three businesses in her adopted hometown.

“My husband and I considered other countries like Costa Rica, Italy and Panama, but in the end, Mexico made the most sense in terms of economics and how amazing life is here,” Wedderburn-Waters told Travel Noire. “We knew San Miguel has been an expat hub for decades, so after we finished our research trips to several places in 2017, it wasn’t difficult to decide what would be best for our family.” Jay and Ashley Roberts also moved to Oaxaca, Mexico in 2020 so they could give their two kids a better quality of life.

“It’s a giant confirmation that we got out at the right time,” Ashley told Travel Noire in reference to George Floyd’s murder. “My Black skin here is not a death sentence,” Jay added.

Those who’ve transitioned to Mexico said it offers a better quality of life and less exposure to racism.

“Afro Expats was birthed out of a need to share a realistic picture of what life is like in Mexico, through our lens,” Wedderburn-Waters said of one of her businesses that helps people travel and relocate to Mexico. “I wanted others who looked like me to know that Mexico receives and accepts Black people. I had always enjoyed my visits and extended stays in Mexico in the past, but I also knew that other people – who had only visited briefly, or had never been at all – held a lot of misconceptions about Mexico.”

Read the rest at The Moguldom Nation

Related: She Packed Her Bags, Quit Her Job in Law Enforcement and Moved to Mexico After George Floyd’s Death (CNN)

Related: Why Would a Mexican-American Want to Move to Mexico? (Dallas Observer)

Related: The Black Expat: ‘Our Black Skin Is Not a Death Sentence in Oaxaca, Mexico' (Travel Noire)