CUERNAVACA, Mexico—Time and age have slowed legendary black sculptor and printmaker Elizabeth Catlett, but just short of her 95th birthday, the lioness in winter is still hot stuff. Brilliant in conversation, with a dry wit and naughty twinkle in her eyes, she gestures with her long hands and fingers at her home here, about 40…

CUAJICUINILAPA, MEXICO—So what evidence of Mother Africa survived in the Costa Chica on the Pacific coast of the Mexican states of Guerrero and Oaxaca, where probably more than one-third of people have at least some African origins? Physically, the range of appearance is much like the gamut among African Americans, with a Mexican flavor. A…

The black history of the Americas goes well beyond the borders of the United States or the shores of Caribbean islands. In the following article from our archives, and the slide show below, see just how far that history reaches. There’s also more about the black history of Latin America here. SAN NICOLÁS TOLENTINO, MEXICO—There’s…