Faith in action among Afro-Mexican communities

By Fr Stephan Alexander

General Manager, CCSJ and AMMR

My last column may have served as an introduction to Fr Glyn Jemmott and the remarkable social justice ministry he carried out in Mexico. Because his priestly life unfolded largely beyond our shores, many in Trinidad and Tobago may not have fully known the depth of his work.

Yet, as I listened to the Mexican guests who travelled here to honour him, and as I spoke with members of his family, a clearer picture emerged. What we now celebrate as a significant legacy did not begin with grand strategies. It began with a simple and repeated ‘yes’ offered by a humble man from New Grant, in south Trinidad.

His siblings recall a series of seemingly ordinary moments that shaped the course of his life. Raised in an Anglican household, Fr Glyn became deeply involved in the Legion of Mary while attending Presentation College, San Fernando. That experience gradually led him into the Catholic Church.

Another decisive moment came when he chose to reside at the Mexican College in Rome during his theological studies. There he encountered the Church in Mexico more directly, and being ordained in Rome by a Mexican bishop opened the path that would eventually lead him to dedicate his priesthood to that country. What once seemed like coincidence now appears more clearly as grace quietly at work, God initiating and one man responding.

When Fr Glyn arrived in Mexico, he did not arrive with plans to found organisations or build institutions. He simply responded to the circumstances before him. In the coastal regions of Oaxaca and Guerrero, he encountered communities of African descent whose history and identity had long remained invisible within Mexican society. Many people had little awareness of their African ancestry, in part because identifying as Black, they had been socially marginalised for generations.

Beginning in 1994, a quiet but significant process of organisation began to emerge among these communities. Fr Glyn played a central role in encouraging that process. Guided by a deep ethical commitment to justice and dignity, he adopted a model of pastoral accompaniment rooted in listening, solidarity, and the principle of self-determination. Rather than speaking for the communities, he helped them find their own voice.

In 1997, this accompaniment took a more structured form with the founding of México Negro AC, a pioneering organisation dedicated to promoting the recognition and rights of Afro-Mexican peoples. Alongside this initiative, Fr Glyn also helped establish the Cimarrón Group, which worked to promote Afro-Mexican culture through visual arts, dance, and music. These cultural expressions became powerful tools for strengthening community identity and restoring pride in African heritage.

One of the most important early initiatives was the First Meeting of Black Peoples, held in 1997 in the community of El Ciruelo. For many participants, it was the first time that Afro-descendant communities from across the region gathered to reflect together on their shared history, culture, and aspirations.

From these small beginnings a movement gradually took shape. México Negro became an important platform for cultural affirmation, social organisation, and national advocacy.

Over time, the persistent work of community leaders and activists helped bring wider attention to Afro-Mexican history and identity. Eventually the Mexican state formally recognised Afro-Mexicans as a distinct cultural and ethnic group within the nation’s constitutional framework, a historic step toward justice and inclusion.

Yet recognition alone was not enough. The deeper work of empowerment required education, leadership formation, and spaces where Afro-Mexican history and knowledge could be studied and preserved. Out of this continuing process emerged one of the most significant developments connected to Fr Glyn’s legacy: the Afrouniversidad Politécnica Intercultural, Oaxaca, Mexico.

The Afro-university was conceived as a response to centuries of exclusion experienced by Afro-descendant communities within national educational systems. For generations, universities rarely reflected the cultural realities, history, or intellectual contributions of Afro-Mexican peoples. The Afro-university seeks to change that reality by placing Afro-descendant identity, dignity, and knowledge at the centre of its educational mission.

Significantly, the institution was not designed from distant academic centres. It emerged through consultation with the communities themselves, respecting international frameworks that affirm the rights of Indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples to participate in decisions affecting their future. In this sense, the Afro-university is more than an educational institution; it is a community-rooted project that recognises local knowledge as a legitimate source of learning.

Its educational vision reflects that commitment. Afro-descendant traditions, cultural memory, and community knowledge are recognised alongside scientific and technical disciplines.

Students are encouraged not only to pursue professional training but also to engage with history, identity, social development, and cultural preservation. The goal is to form leaders who can serve their communities while strengthening Afro-Mexican heritage.

Seen in this light, the Afro-university stands as a continuation of the quiet missionary impulse that shaped Fr Glyn’s life. It all began as a priest’s willingness to listen, accompany, and respond to the movement of the Holy Spirit in the lives of the people before him. One conversation led to another. One initiative opened the door to the next. Small acts of faithfulness gradually prepared the ground for something far greater than any one person could have imagined.

There is a lesson here for all of us. God rarely asks us to accomplish everything at once. More often, God simply invites us to take the next faithful step.

Fr Glyn’s ministry reminds us that when we respond generously to those small invitations, grace begins to multiply. A quiet ‘yes’ offered in faith can grow into a movement, a community awakening, and a legacy that continues to transform lives.

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