Freedom walk

BY FRANCISCO E. JIMENEZ

Staff Writer

McALLEN — Two police on motorcycles rolled to a stop Sunday on South 16th Street here in front of a property that was once the only church for African Americans, Bethel Baptist Church. Established in 1936 on the corner of Fresno and18th Street, the church served as a safe space for African-American members of the community before being moved in 1941 to its 16th Street location.

The property has since been rededicated as Bethel Garden with a Texas Historical plaque, murals and signage detailing the vibrant history of the site.

Muralist Cristela Cano smudges sage to the rising sun, chanting in reverence at the start of Day 1 of the Walking the Southern Road to Freedom symbolic walk, commemorating the Underground Railroad path at Sal Del Rey, Monday March 3, 2025 in Edinburg.

Delcia Lopez | The Monitor

“Walking the Southern Road to Freedom,” a seven-day symbolic walk commemorating the Underground Railroad path that many African Americans used to escape to Mexico. The group walks down a path at the Sal Del Rey Monday, March 3, 2025 in Edinburg.

Delcia Lopez | The Monitor

Not far behind the police officers were walkers wearing neon yellow safety vests. The group cheered as they reached their final destination of the 65-mile, seven-day pilgrimage tracing the steps that many runaway slaves took to reach Mexico in the 1800s before slavery was abolished in the United States.

As they slowly made their way onto the property, Cristela Cano, a local muralist, repaired some portions of her mural, “The Substance of Hope,” on a fence running along the side of Bethel Garden.

Another mural of her’s, “The Many Faces of Freedom,” painted on a large canvas, was being prepared to be unveiled near the center of the garden. This particular piece depicts the migrant struggle as they seek to better their lives in the United States.

She said that she felt compelled to show it because she felt that the people depicted in her art go hand-in-hand with those participating in the weeklong walk.

“The people that are shown in my mural have walked thousands of miles to get to this border, the U.S.-Mexico border, and they are searching for their freedom,” Cano said. “When I showed the committee the mural, and Ms. (Linda) Harris saw it through one of those conference calls, she said, ‘Oh yeah, you know, we would love to have it. We want to see it.’” The group shared hugs and posed for photos together, having come together as a family throughout the seven days they spent walking together.

Among them was Dr. Roseann Bacha-Garza, an anthropology lecturer at University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. Aside from walking with the group on each of the seven days, she also had the gargantuan task of researching and creating the 65-mile route.

“I feel amazing. I feel refreshed. I’m not tired at all,” she said just after completing the final 7.4 miles from McAllen-Hidalgo International Bridge to Bethel Garden. She said that she did not walk the entire 65 miles, estimating that she walked between 45 and 50 miles.

“We all enjoyed each other’s company,” Bacha-Garza said. “We got to build friendships along the way. Walking all that time for hours and hours on end, we got to learn more about each other and really form a fellowship of why we’re here and why we’re doing this. It just got better and better and better every day.”

Sunday marked the end of the journey for those participants of the “Walking the Southern Road to Freedom” event. Bacha-Garza estimates that a total of 43 people joined in the walk at one point or another throughout the seven days.

Among those participants were Linda Harris, director of programming activities at the Harriet Tubman Museum Educational Center in Cambridge, Maryland, and her husband, David Cole.

Harris has organized and participated in numerous walks of similar fashion throughout the northern parts of the country, following Underground Railroad routes taken by runaway slaves to find freedom.

She reached out to Bacha-Garza about organizing this event after reading about the Underground Railroad that led south to Mexico. For her, and the Rio Grande Valley, the walk tracing Underground Railroad routes towards Mexico was a first.

“I’m glad it’s over,” she said Sunday. “Walking yesterday was extremely hot, but I’m glad I did it and I would do it again.”

Dr. Raymond A. Howard serves as a member of the Hidalgo County Historical Commission as well as coordinator for the newly created Valley African American Culture and Heritage Council. He participated in the event every day, sometimes driving an RV that followed the group to provide a place for participants to rest, among other attributions.

“I think we have started a flame, and I believe that that flame will grow,” Howard said. “We look forward to next year, and we look forward to more walkers, and we look forward to communicating with our friends next door in Cameron County and what I call our two bookend counties, Willacy and Starr County.”

“We really want this to be a Valley experience, because this is our history,” he continued. “It’s Texas history.”

For full coverage of the “Walking the Southern Road to Freedom” event visit myRGV.com for daily accounts and more photos.

A crowd gathers as muralist Cristela Cano raises her hands to the sun, chanting in reverence at the start of the first day of the “Walking the Southern Road to Freedom” symbolic walk, commemorating the Underground Railroad path at Sal Del Rey Monday, March 3, 2025 in Edinburg.

Delcia Lopez | The Monitor