Was I the only one who got the shock of my life at all of the black folks celebrating Cinco De Mayo on the tail end of Washington for a couple of blocks up onto 14th Street? Did they decide on Black Twitter for a meetup? Either way, it was deep down there with folks getting their party on in the name of May 5. If I hadn’t already been downtown, I would have missed it altogether. It was mostly young folks, but a few people of a certain age mixed in – particularly the people who decided to crash the spot after visiting the 2nd Annual Black Rodeo Open. The general population was looking confused as all get out when they saw black people in cowboy boots and matching hats kicking it for Cinco De Mayo. One man in a group, who appeared to be Eastern Indian or Middle Eastern said something barely under his breath about cultural appropriation. He got the right one. Somebody said, “Do you know what Cinco De Mayo is?” That person proceeded to follow them and school them – as they attempted to briskly walk away. He said Cinco De Mayo celebrates the battle where the Mexican forces staved off the French, who were secretly trying to aid the South during the Civil War. He ended with a “there might be some appropriation on this day, but it ain’t coming from us. We are celebrating the Mexicans for helping the Union – which emancipated our people.” You mean to tell me that all of these tacos, tequila and margaritas over all of these years were in fact me celebrating my freedom! I did some research and he was lowkey right. As I was reading up on it, I was thinking, “I’m ‘bout to be so extra for every Cinco De Mayo here on out, nobody will be ready.”
