Posted on 03/31/2007 7:33:05 AM PDT by Graybeard58
Hispanic groups unhappy with an upcoming Ken Burns documentary on World War II are stepping up pressure on PBS because they say the series omits mention of the role Latinos played in the war.
The latest group to take their grievance to PBS is the American GI Forum, a Hispanic veterans group that has waged numerous civil rights battles for Hispanics and Hispanic veterans.
The Burns series documents the war from the perspective of four U.S. communities: Waterbury, Conn.; Laverne, Minn.; Birmingham, Ala.; and Sacramento, Calif. Burns has produced several highly acclaimed series on American history, including PBS-aired programs on the Civil War and baseball.
The American GI Forum is appealing to Hispanic veterans and other Latino groups to write members of Congress and their local PBS affiliates about the documentary that has been six years in the making.
This week, GI Forum President Antonio Morales of Fort Worth, Texas, and other Latino leaders met in Washington with PBS President Paula Kerger to lodge their complaints about the 14-hour Burns documentary set to air this September, Hispanic Heritage Month.
"We are not going to tolerate this omission," Morales said after the meeting.
PBS said it would respond in two weeks. In the meantime, the publicly funded network issued a statement: "While PBS has been a leading forum for these voices to be heard, there is more that needs to be done. We will expand upon our commitment, particularly around the creation and delivery of content that better represents the diversity of the audiences we serve."
In a statement issued by his publicist, Burns and co-producer Lynn Novick said they were "dismayed and saddened" by any assumptions they intentionally left out any group. "Nothing could be further from the truth," they said.
They urged viewers to see the series before judging it, and they said they hope it will prompt discussions about World War II.
"We have attempted to show the universal human experience of war by focusing on the testimonies of just a handful of people mostly from four American towns. As a result, millions of stories are not explored in our film," they said.
The GI Forum also met with Hispanic members of Congress this week to plan a strategy to raise the issue nationally.
The GI Forum was founded in 1948 in Corpus Christi, Texas, by a physician who recognized that Mexican-American veterans were not getting equal treatment in veterans hospitals or receiving benefits they were promised for their service.
Their meeting followed one earlier this week by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus with Kerger and earlier meetings with PBS officials and a coalition of Hispanic groups that first took up the issue. The coalition is calling its fight the Defend the Honor campaign.
The controversy over the Burns documentary has been simmering for months, since University of Texas journalism professor Maggie Rivas-Rodriguez learned the film did not include Hispanics.
Liberals getting beaten over the head with their own sensitivity club...... Ah poetic irony.
Not a single one? Fascinating.
The beginning of the end. This country will be completely Balkanized in 20 years.
I think we need the "Oh, no, not this (blank) again" guy.
Well, then, what role did Latinos play in World War II? Those protesting the omission have curiously neglected to elaborate.
Maybe hispanics can pool some money together and make their own documentary about all their great contributions during war time. Don't know if it's true but I have heard that hispanics have been awarded a higher percentage of Medals of Honor, based on their representation in the U.S. population.
PBS will cave. Not a doubt in my head.
Great post!
You said what I was basically thinking, only better than I would have said it.
It's a documentary Maggie... it needs to be truthful.
Yeah, entertaining to see these racist "Hispanics" call Ken Burns (of all people) a "racist".
Burns ought to defend his artistic integrity by selling the broadcasr right to Fox, and suing these racist Latinos (or whatever they are) for slander.
Because, as we all know, the purpose of studying history is to make each ethnic group feel good about itself.
Didn't Mexico sign a secret agreement with NAZI Germany?
Mark
Whaddyamean? They should actually *gasp* take responsibility and do it themselves? *shock* This is America! Everything is to be provided free to minorities!
(/sarc)
Well, this really makes me angry.
My mother had a cousin who was in his late teens, who was born in Russia but was living in Cechoslavakia (his parents were killed in the gas ovens), was rescued and brought to the United States and immediately enlisted into the United States Army and returned to fight in Europe.
Does the Ken Burns history mention this Russian-born-Cech-Jew-not-yet-a-US-citizen-enlisted-in-the-US-Army-used-his-skills-as-a-linguist-and-a-medic-and-fought?
Well, if he is not mentioned I want to know why not?
How dare PBS use my tax money and not mention my cousin.
Ken screwed the pooch.
Funny, I haven't heard that...can you name one?
"Didn't Mexico sign a secret agreement with NAZI Germany?"
YES. And the bastards will side against us in a heart beat again the first chance they get.
If it were me, I'd oblige these snivelers and show the great sympathies that existed then - and now - between Latin countries and the fascists. Maybe another documentary showing how lefties in this country conspired early on with the Nazis and also infiltrated FDR's cabinet and gave away national security information to the Soviets. I'd also detail the enclaves of Nazi's that enjoyed the protection of Latin governments during - and after - the war.
Yes, there's a real proud history of subversion and collusion here. It should be examined in full - in another documentary.
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