Memphis Historical Leader Establishes First Authentic ‘Bi-National Juneteenth’ Honoring Mexico’s Abolition of Slavery

MEMPHIS, TN, June 04, 2026 /24-7PressRelease/ — Click here to read the June 17, 2021 national Geographic story titled: Just across the border, this Mexican community also celebrates Juneteenth

A celebration is “Bi-National” when it is actively, historically, and culturally observed by communities in two different sovereign nations.

The fact that the Mascogos in Nacimiento de los Negros, Coahuila, Mexico, have been celebrating Juneteenth (which they call Día de los Negros) for 161 years proves that Juneteenth crossed the border generations ago. It is not a modern marketing gimmick or a brand-new concept is an existing historical reality that has been hidden in plain sight.

The Mascogos escaped American slavery in 1849 and established their sovereign sanctuary in Mexico in 1852. Mexico had already outlawed slavery in 1829 under Black Mexican President Vicente Guerrero. President Lincoln signed emancipation proclamation January 1, 1863. Enslaved Black people in Texas did not receive word of their freedom until American General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas June 19, 1865 alerting enslaves Black Americans they were free. June 19, 1865 marks the day of Freedom for these Blacks in Texas who was not aware they were freed January 1, 1863.

This means the Mascogos were living as free, land-owning, sovereign citizens in Mexico thirteen years before Juneteenth even happened in Texas. When they began celebrating Juneteenth they weren’t celebrating Juneteenth as the day they became free—they were already free. In Mexico they celebrate Juneteenth “as a means to show solidarity with their brethren in the U.S.”

This completely flips the traditional narrative. Mexico wasn’t trailing behind America; Mexico was the leader in freedom. The Mascogos were using their freedom in Mexico to look back across the border and lift up Black Americans who were still suffering. This deep rooted historory gives Orange Mound Juneteenth a “Bi-national” angle an unassailable moral and historical authority.

For too long, the mainstream narrative has treated Mexican history and Black history as completely separate, unrelated silos. Anthony “Amp” Elmore explains that the history of Juneteenth in Mexico directly shatters that illusion that Juneteenth is only a celebration whereas the White General Gordon Granger gave Blacks Freedom.

The Mascogos in Mexico are Afro-Mexicans. They are a recognized Indigenous and Afro-descendant community of Mexico. Our “Orange Mound Juneteenth honor Afro-Mexicans as an authentic, sovereign population that bridges both cultures. By highlighting Afro-Mexicans, we are showing Black America that they have literal, blood-related family living in Mexico who have been keeping the flame of freedom alive for over a century and a half.

The story of the celebration of Juneteenth in Mexico is a message of goodwill and soft power. Hispanic and Mexican communities Orange Mound Juneteenth can react with immense pride, ownership, and solidarity.

Modern media and political rhetoric often frame the relationship between Black and Hispanic communities through a lens of division or competition. This story changes the script entirely. It shows that; Mexico was the ultimate sanctuary and the true “Southern Underground Railroad.”

While both nations observe this sacred date, a profound historical distinction sets the Juneteenth celebration in Mexico apart from the traditional narrative in the United States. In America, Juneteenth marks a history of delayed liberation, tracing its origin to June 19, 1865, when Union General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, to inform enslaved African Americans that they were finally free under federal law.

In stark contrast, the history of Juneteenth in Mexico is not a story of waiting for freedom, but of actively creating a sovereign sanctuary. Decades before the American Civil War, indigenous native Black Americans, people of mixed races, and American-born Spaniards fought together for the independence of Mexico. Two of Mexico’s foundational heroes and founding fathers, Vicente Guerrero and José María Morelos, were men of African descent who led this revolutionary charge. Upon becoming Mexico’s second president, Vicente Guerrero officially outlawed slavery across the entire republic in 1829, turning Mexico into the ultimate destination for the Southern Underground Railroad.

Driven by this promise of constitutional liberty, a determined group of freedom seekers led by the legendary Indigenous Native American Black chief John Horse and the Seminole leader Wild Cat crossed the border into Mexico. In exchange for their military alliance in defending the northern frontier, Mexican authorities granted these refugees 70,000 acres of land in Coahuila State in 1852, establishing the sovereign settlement of El Nacimiento de los Negros, or the Birth of the Blacks.

Having attained absolute freedom, citizenship, and land ownership in Mexico fifteen years before the events in Galveston, the descendants of these pioneers, known as the Mascogos, began celebrating Juneteenth. For 161 years, their *Día de los Negros* has been observed not to commemorate their own escape from bondage, but as an intentional act of international solidarity with African Americans who were still struggling for equality across the border.

This unassailable cross-border lineage proves that Juneteenth is not merely a regional American holiday, but an authentic, ancestral Bi-National Celebration that has always linked the destinies of both countries. Recognizing this hidden global truth, African American cultural leader Anthony “Amp” Elmore introduced “Orange Mound Juneteenth” from Memphis, Tennessee, as America’s first official Bi-National Juneteenth platform.

This movement structurally expands the holiday to include the heroic history of Mexico and the Afro-Mexican people, reframing the narrative from one of passive endurance to one of international alliance. To seal this historical bridge into modern diplomacy, Anthony “Amp” Elmore has extended a global Charter of Kinship directly to Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, calling on her administration to formally acknowledge the Bi-National Juneteenth as a shared holiday that honors the mutual heritage of liberty, resilience, and unity binding African Americans and Hispanics across the Americas.

Anthony “Amp” Elmore is inviting the Hispanic community to come to Orange Mound and celebrate Juneteenth Anthony “Amp” Elmore notes that we must teach the positive story that Juneteenth is not only an African/American holiday being pushed onto them we must teach that Juneteenth is a celebration of their own history—a reminder that Mexico was a global beacon of liberty and human rights when the United States was still running slave plantations.

This National Geographic piece is the perfect story that gives evidence that Juneteenth is a Bi-National celebration where we no longer have to convince people that a connection exists between African/Americans and Hispanics. We have documented evidence as documented by National Geographic, Juneteenth has been a Mexican tradition for over 150 years.”

The true genius of the Bi-National Juneteenth, pioneered by Anthony “Amp” Elmore through the creation of the official Charter of Kinship, lies in its power to completely reframe the relationship between African Americans and Hispanic people from one of mere political coexistence to one of deep, ancestral family.

For generations, traditional education has taught the histories of Black and Latino communities in completely separate silos, inadvertently fostering division and competition. By utilizing education, diversity, and democracy as his core tools, Elmore shatters these artificial barriers and introduces both communities to the magnificent, shared reality of “Freedom in Mexico.” This movement brings to light the revolutionary truth that Mexico’s war for independence from Spain was simultaneously a war for the total abolition of Black slavery.

By honoring founding fathers of African descent like Vicente Guerrero and José María Morelos, the Charter of Kinship establishes that the very foundations of Mexican sovereignty were built on the protection and liberation of Black lives.

This profound historical alignment fundamentally transforms how African Americans and Hispanics view each other today, shifting the narrative from neighbors to true kin. When Hispanic communities see an African American leader from a historic neighborhood like Orange Mound championing the heroic, freedom-loving legacy of Mexico, it engenders an overwhelming sense of pride, respect, and mutual ownership. Conversely, when African Americans learn that Mexico served as a constitutional sanctuary and the ultimate destination for the Southern Underground Railroad, it fosters deep gratitude and a sense of shared destiny.

Anthony “Amp” Elmore explains; The Bi-National Celebration of Juneteenth strips away the superficial political rhetoric that has historically been used to divide these two communities, replacing it with an unbreakable bond of blood, sacrifice, and mutual triumph.

Ultimately, this Bi-National framework creates a living laboratory for unity and democracy in the twenty-first century. By celebrating Juneteenth not as a localized American holiday but as a shared, cross-border victory for human dignity, it creates a massive cultural umbrella where both African Americans and Hispanics can stand together as equals. It proves that their ancestral lineages did not just collide by accident, but intentionally collaborated to build a freer Western Hemisphere.

Through the Charter of Kinship, the Orange Mound Juneteenth platform provides the ultimate blueprint for diversity, demonstrating that when we educate our communities about our interwoven pasts, we naturally build a unified, harmonious future. This is no longer just a commemoration of the past; it is the birth of an international family, bound together by a timeless covenant of freedom that no border can divide.

Anthony “Amp” Elmore notes that “Orange Mound Juneteenth” strikes at the absolute core of the unknown and untold historical truth and completely redefines what it means to be Black in the Americas. For generations, traditional education has institutionalized a massive misnomer, forcing the complex and ancient history of indigenous Native Black Americans into a rigid, singular box that begins exclusively with the arrival of slave ships in Virginia in 1619.

This narrow narrative has systematically erased the pre-Columbian presence of sovereign Black peoples throughout the Western Hemisphere, as well as the independent identity of groups like the *Estelusti*—the Muscogee term meaning “Black People.” When John Horse led his people across the Rio Grande into Mexico in 1849, they were not merely runaway chattel or a subordinate subclass under an external tribal banner; they were a sovereign, independent, and armed Black nation seeking to preserve their autonomy against an aggressive American state. To deny the pre-existence of these indigenous Native Black Americans, or to separate Afro-Mexican history from Black American history, is to willingly participate in our own cultural fragmentation and intellectual containment.

Anthony “Amp” Elmore notes by us aggressively framing Juneteenth as a Bi-National Celebration, our platform shatters these artificial regional boundaries and proves that the bloodlines, battles, and triumphs of Black people in the United States and Mexico are entirely inseparable. Black Americans cannot and should not deny our Afro-Mexican family, because doing so erases the monumental contributions of foundational heroes like Mexico’s second president, Vicente Guerrero, who used his sovereign executive power to codify human dignity and outlaw slavery in 1829—making Mexico the definitive legal sanctuary for the Southern Underground Railroad decades before Galveston, Texas, ever received word of emancipation.

Through our introduction of the Charter of Kinship, the Orange Mound Juneteenth platform explicitly expands the definitions of Black history to encompass the entirety of the Americas, legally and culturally uniting African Americans, indigenous Native Black Americans, and Afro-Mexicans as one continuous, unbroken global family. This is the profound strategic and historical difference: while a domestic holiday merely looks back at a date of enforced notification inside the United States, a Bi-National Juneteenth reclaims our ancient, sovereign, and international identity across the entire hemisphere, forcing the world to acknowledge that our heritage of freedom was earned through active cross-border resistance, global diplomacy, and ancestral kinship.

Anthony “Amp” Elmore explains that our securely anchoring the phrase “First Authentic Bi-National Juneteenth” into the global news registry completely redefines the landscape of cultural history. To state that our platform is the “first authentic” bi-national celebration means we are moving past superficial, modern marketing and grounding the holiday in verified, structural truths that link two sovereign nations.

An “authentic” Bi-National Juneteenth is defined by three specific, unassailable pillars that completely separate our platform from any standard celebration in America. Our Orange Mound Juneteenth Celebration is s Built on Independent Sovereignty, Not Delayed Liberation. The standard American acknowledgment of Juneteenth is a narrative of delayed notification—tracing back to June 19, 1865, when a Union General had to march into Galveston, Texas, to inform enslaved people that a domestic government had granted them freedom.

Our Orange Mound Juneteenth celebration is authentic because it honors a completely different, independent history. It spotlights the sovereign “Estelusti” (the true, independent Black nation often misnamed the (Black Seminoles) who, under the leadership of John Horse, refused to submit to American bondage. They actively marched into Mexico in 1849, creating their own freedom and establishing a sovereign, land-owning sanctuary in El Nacimiento de los Negros, Coahuila, in 1850. The Orange Mound Juneteenth r celebration is authentic because it honors a people who freed themselves decades before Galveston ever happened.

Orange Mound Juneteenth Accurately Credits Mexico as the Vanguard of Global Human Rights. The standard Juneteenth celebration isolates Black history within the boundaries of the United States, completely erasing the global stage. The Orange Mound Juneteenth platform is an authentic bi-national celebration because it directly integrates the constitutional history of the Republic of Mexico. It teaches the world that Mexico’s independence was fought not just for freedom from Spain, but for the absolute destruction of chattel slavery.

It places the names of Afro-Mexican founding fathers and presidents, like Vicente Guerrero and José María Morelos, at the very forefront of the freedom narrative. By honoring Guerrero’s 1829 national decree outlawing slavery, the Orange Mound Juneteenth celebration proves that Mexico was the ultimate sanctuary and the true destination of the Southern Underground Railroad while the United States was still running slave plantations.

The Orange Mound Juneteenth Focuses on 161 Years of Cross-Border Solidarity and Active Family Kinship. What makes “Orange Mound Juneteenth celebration uniquely authentic is the true origin of why Juneteenth is even observed in Mexico. When the Mascogos in Coahuila began celebrating the holiday in the as *Día de los Negros*, they were already free, land-owning Mexican citizens. They did not celebrate to mark their own release from bondage; they observed the date as an intentional act of international solidarity to look back across the border and support their African American brethren who were still suffering under reconstruction and Jim Crow.

By introducing the Charter of Kinship, the Orange Mound Juneteenth platform is the first in America to embrace this 161-year-old tradition of mutual protection. It uses education, diversity, and democracy to dismantle the separate historical silos that have divided Black and Hispanic communities, transforming them from mere political neighbors into an unbroken, international family.

The absolute bedrock that makes the Orange Mound Juneteenth the **first authentic** bi-national celebration isn’t just the history in the books—it is the modern, digital weapon Orange Mound Juneteenth website built to deliver it. By launching ‘orangemoundjuneteenth.com‘, you created the first bilingual African American and Afro-Mexican Juneteenth website in American history.

What separates a standard, one-day backyard party from an authentic movement is this permanent digital infrastructure built on Education, Diversity, and Democracy. Orange Mound Juneteenth completely shatters the Language Barrier. Traditional Juneteenth events are conducted exclusively in English, completely isolating the Spanish-speaking world from the narrative. By writing, producing, directing, and designing a fully bilingual platform website titled OrangeMoundJuneteenth. Com Anthony “Amp” Elmore executed a massive cultural intervention. Anthony “Amp” Elmore didn’t just translate words; Anthony “Amp” Elmore built a digital cultural embassy where African Americans and Hispanics can instantly access, read, and share the exact same history. For the first time, language is no longer a barrier to realizing we are family.

The Orange Mound Juneteenth website pulls the Holiday Out of a 24-Hour Box. Most Juneteenth events disappear when the sun goes down on June 19th. The Orange Mound Juneteenth website transforms the celebration into a 365-day-a-year educational machine. It is a permanent, living tool for cultural integration that puts the forensic proof of Mexico’s 1829 freedom legacy directly into the hands of any researcher, journalist, student, or everyday citizen with a mobile phone anywhere on Earth.

The Orange Mound Juneteenth website proves the Power of Black Self-Determination. The website itself is an act of sovereign production. It wasn’t handed to Anthony “Amp” Elmore by a corporation, a grant, or a local political committee trying to control the message; it was forged directly out of the historic community of Orange Mound by Anthony “Amp” Elmore an independent filmmaker and creator. Anthony “Amp” Elmore used modern technology to globalize local history.

By putting this bilingual tool in the palm of the world’s hand, Anthony “Amp” Elmore didn’t just claim the title of a Bi-National celebration—Anthony “Amp” Elmore built the engine that makes it real every single day. That is the ultimate proof of authenticity.

The introduction of Garland Reed as our official African American Spanish Cultural Ambassador is the ultimate strategic masterstroke. It elevates the Orange Mound Juneteenth platform from a brilliant digital campaign into a living, high-level diplomatic mission.

By grounding this appointment in the legacy of his late brother, Dr. Kennedy J. Reed—one of the world’s premier nuclear physicists—Orange Mound Juneteenth established a standard of absolute excellence, discipline, and global intellectual authority for this movement. Garland Reed isn’t just a casual participant; he represents the highest caliber of African American achievement, bringing decades of boots-on-the-ground experience as an interpreter, advocate, and trusted defender of Hispanic issues.

Orange Mound Juneteenth Transitions the Movement from Digital to Diplomatic While the bilingual website ‘orangemoundjuneteenth.com’ built the digital embassy, Garland Reed provides the human diplomacy required to walk through the front doors of international power. Having a seasoned, fluent advocate who understands the nuances of both African American and Hispanic cultures means our “Charter of Kinship” is no longer just an open letter on the internet. It is a formal diplomatic document carried by a designated envoy who is fully prepared to sit across the table from Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum in Mexico City.

Having Garland Reed as our African/American Spanish speaking diplomat Commands Immediate Respect in Mexico City. Diplomacy operates on respect, protocol, and serious dedication. When the administration of President Claudia Sheinbaum reviews our initiative, we hope they will see that we are not sending a standard politician or a corporate lobbyist. We are sending an African American leader who has dedicated his life to serving, translating for, and protecting the Hispanic community in the United States.

This lifetime of service acts as an unassailable credential. It signals to Mexico City that the “Charter of Kinship” is rooted in genuine, cross-cultural love and mutual respect, making a formal signing ceremony a highly attractive and historic opportunity for their government.

The Charter of Kinship Deepens the Bond of Trust in the Present Day. The African cultural Embassy Garland Reed actively working as a bridge of communication and protection is vital. It shows the Hispanic community that the Bi-National Juneteenth is not a theoretical history lesson—it is an active alliance. Garland’s presence proves that the Black community is putting its best and brightest minds on the front lines to defend, educate, and uplift their Hispanic family.

By pairing Anthony “Amp” Elmore’s visionary digital infrastructure with Garland Reed’s specialized diplomatic advocacy, the Orange Mound Juneteenth has established a complete, dual-engine offensive. The Orange Mound Juneteenth has the history and the bilingual technology, and now you have the Ambassador ready to plant the flag in Mexico City. This is as serious and authentic as history gets.

Anthony “Amp” Elmore an African Cultural Ambassador, NARA‑honored historian, and founder of the African Cultural Embassy in Orange Mound has written many letters to the office of Memphis Congressman Steve Cohen, whose 9th Congressional District was erased on May 7, 2026 by the Tennessee Republican majority.

Congressman Cohen, who chose not to seek reelection, has been for decades Elmore’s strongest advocate in Memphis . In the wake of the district’s erasure, Elmore has written multiple letters urging the Congressman’s office to support a historic cultural pushback. Elmore’s motto captures the spirit of this moment: “They erased our District — but we expanded our Destiny. “

Elmore notes this is A Call for Federal Support during America’s 250th Anniversary. As the United States prepares to celebrate its 250th Anniversary, Elmore has repeatedly asked Congressman Cohen’s office to help elevate Orange Mound Juneteenth as an official part of the national celebration. Elmore argues that the erasure of the 9th District demands a moral, cultural, and historical response, not silence.

Elmore’s requests include: Listing Orange Mound Juneteenth in the Congressional Record, Supporting the African Cultural Embassy as a cultural counterweight to the district’s erasure, Traveling to Mexico to meet President Claudia Sheinbaum to establish Juneteenth as a bi‑national celebration between African Americans and Afro‑Mexicans

In addition Anthony “Amp” Elmore asked Congressman Cohen to travel to Kenya to renew African American–African cultural and trade ties, building on Elmore’s historic 1990 Kenya trade achievement. Anthony “Amp” Elmore asked Congressman Cohen to publicly address Memphis White Supremacy, Racism, and Black‑on‑Black Racism that have shaped Memphis politics and erased Black history.

Anthony “Amp” Elmore quotes the bible from the Sermon on the Mount, found in both the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke. In the classic King James Version, it uses the exact word “mote” (which means a tiny speck of dust or sawdust): “And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to your brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.”— Matthew 7:3-5 (also in Luke 6:41-42)

Anthony “Amp” Elmore points out The “Moral Crisis of Silence in Memphis”. Elmore argues that Memphis the largest Black-majority city in America is trapped in a contradiction. – Memphis proudly maintains a Cotton Museum, celebrating the industry built on enslaved labor, – Yet Memphis has no Black Memphis History Museum, despite its overwhelming Black population.

Anthony “Amp” Elmore himself created the first Black Memphis History digital website titled: Black Memphis History .com. This website remains digital and marginalized.

Black elected officials in Memphis have not responded to “Orange Mound Juneteenth” and its historic significance Black Memphis leaders meaning 100% refuse to correct the history of Orange whereas Black leaders turn their head regarding White Supremacy, Racism and Black on Black Racism whereas in January of 1889 the Shelby County Quarterly Court passed a resolution to build the 1st School in Shelby County for Blacks called “District 18.” The school was built on the corner of Boston and Spottswood directly behind MT Moriah Baptist Church. This school proves there was a prior Black Community in Orange Mound before the White Real Estate Salesman E.E. Meacham can up with plans to sell plots of land.

The White man by the name of E.E. Meacham a Real Estate Broker aware of the school being built for Blacks in Shelby Country purchased 64 acres of land 1.8 milea away whereas he took the name Blacks used and called Orange Mound and registered plans to sell 982 lots 25 x 100. The math does not work and no Shotgun house community was ever built. The Whiteman E.E. Meacham is credited for starting Orange Mound in 1890 whereas there is no evidence of a community he allegedly built. All Memphis African/Americans elected official are silent regarding the erasure of the Black historical Community of Orange Mound.

Elmore invokes Dr. King: said; “Silence is betrayal.” Anthony “Amp” Elmore argues that while White Tennessee legislators erased the 9th District, Black Memphis leaders have erased Black Memphis history including: – The Black city of Fort Pickering. and the 1879 birth of Orange Mound founded by two Black churches

Elmore’s own historic achievements, including: The 1st to Bring ESPN to Memphis in 1981, creating the first kickboxing film in world history The Contemporary Gladiator (1988) Producing Memphis’s first independent 35mm theatrical film. – Establishing the first African American–African government trade deal in Kenya in (1990) such is the 1st Trade deal between an African Government and an African/American business. Elmore states that Memphis cannot condemn the moral failures of the Tennessee Legislature while remaining silent about its own.

Elmore emphasizes that Congressman Steve Cohen has been the only Memphis political figure with the courage to support him consistently. In a city where Black history is often suppressed, Elmore sees Cohen as the only leader willing to stand publicly for truth.

Elmore writes: While White Memphis Congressman Steve Cohen has been my greatest supporter, silence is betrayal. “Orange Mound Juneteenth” is right — but Memphis remains silent. Elmore’s letters to Memphis elected officials and Congressman Cohen outlines a bold, international cultural strategy: “Unite African Americans and Afro‑Mexicans through Orange Mound Juneteenth. Reconnect African Americans and Africans through Kenya. Establish the African Cultural Embassy in Orange Mound as a sovereign cultural institution. Use Education, Diversity and Democracy as a response to political erasure. Make Orange Mound Juneteenth a global symbol of Black resilience.

Anthony “Amp” Elmore ends this story “They erased our District — but we expanded our Destiny. “

About Us
“If Lions were historians, hunters would no longer be heroes.” This powerful African proverb encapsulates the mission of the Orange Mound News Network (OMNN). Founded by Anthony Amp Elmore, OMNN aims to reclaim and reshape the narrative of Orange Mound through the power of filmmaking, education, and content creation. Our goal is to challenge the negative stereotypes and biased portrayals that have long plagued our community, creating a positive space for family, Black culture, history, and education.

Our Journey and Mission
Orange Mound, established as the first community in America built for Blacks by Blacks, has a rich history often overshadowed by negative stereotypes. Mainstream media and societal biases have painted Orange Mound as a “ghetto,” contributing to a 30% decline in property values while surrounding communities have prospered. The Orange Mound News Network was created to
counter this narrative and highlight the true spirit and resilience of our community. Anthony Amp Elmore, a five-time world karate kickboxing champion, filmmaker, and community activist, has been a beacon of change in Orange Mound. With over five decades of community service, Elmore has dedicated his life to uplifting Orange Mound. From becoming a homeowner at 19, establishing businesses, to founding the Proud Black Buddhist World Association, Elmore’s contributions
have been immense.

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