SAN ANTONIO — In recognition of Black History Month, the Alamo hosted a virtual event Tuesday discussing the history of slavery in the era of the Texas Revolution.
The Alamo is widely considered a symbol of Texas liberty, but, according to some historians, it’s story is available to us largely thanks to a slave.
“Joe is able to do that. Joe survives. and he’s the one to kind of tell that story,” said Carey Latimore, Associate Professor of History at Trinity University.
“His testimony really informs us about what happened at the Alamo, so in a sense: the existence of slavery at the Alamo almost provides us an opportunity to know about the Alamo today," he said.
Latimore offered his expertise in a virtual presentation from the Alamo Tuesday night.
“We can’t extrapolate the Alamo from conversations about slavery, conversations about cotton and things like that,” Latimore said. “Now that doesn’t mean that slavery was the only cause of what happens at the Alamo, or the only cause of the Texas revolution. It’s one of the many causes.”
He hopes it helps people think about the complexities of a battle fought to uphold liberty and slavery at the same time.
“We all struggle with those complexities and I think that that was happening, probably, with the people at the Alamo as well,” he said.
The virtual event was free to the public and it was posted to the Alamo’s official YouTube page once it finished.
“I think looking at it in a more complete way really opens up a lot of important conversations not just about what happened then, but what happens now and even today.”
Latimer says it’s important that people open themselves up to a more complete understanding of the history of the Alamo.
“I would hope that it opens a door to future conversations in which we can have difficult conversations in an open-ended and understanding way,” he said.