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LETTER from HISPANIC CAUCUS -
Article M.I.A.
omits Latinos -
PBS SCANDAL hits Newspaper -
PBS Scandal-article - Update 1 April ‘07
PBS
Scandal
Thursday, March 29, 2007, Latinos Say 'The War'
Excludes Them
By
Debra Dominguez-Lund
Copyright © 2007 Albuquerque Journal; Journal Staff Writer
Louis P. Tellez
is overwhelmed with pride about being a U.S. Army private stationed in the Philippines
and the only Hispanic to serve in his company during World War II.
But the 83-year-old is moved to tears when he talks about
an upcoming PBS documentary that he and others say leaves out the
contributions of about 500,000 Hispanic World War II veterans.
"It's disgraceful," said Tellez, Albuquerque commander
of the American G.I. Forum, a congressional charter Hispanic veterans'
organization with more than 500 chapters nationwide.
"Hispanics have shed blood and fought in every major
battle for this country. It's time Hispanics are recognized in U.S. history
for our accomplishments."
A growing number of Hispanics in New Mexico and nationally— including
groups such as the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, the National Council of La Raza and the League of United Latin American Citizens—
are calling for changes to "The War" documentary.
"The War," produced and directed by Lynn Novick and longtime filmmaker Ken Burns, is already
completed and scheduled to air in September. PBS officials have refused to
require any changes from the producer so as to not violate his artistic
independence.
KNME-TV, PBS' local affiliate, plans to run the
documentary, but will sandwich its broadcast with local programs highlighting
accomplishments of Hispanic World War II veterans, said Joann Bachmann,
associate general manager of the station.
Producers of the documentary have asserted that "The
War" is about the universal human experience and that soldier interviews
were limited to a few "quintessentially American towns."
The documentary includes more than 40 interviews and at
least 14 hours of programming, said Eduardo Díaz,
executive director of Albuquerque's National Hispanic Cultural
Center.
And although it highlights the experiences of
Japanese-American and African-American soldiers, no Hispanics are
interviewed, he said.
"Given the profound and compelling nature of Latino
contributions and sacrifices made during WWII and the impact that the war had
on the Latino community," Díaz said, "it
is fundamentally wrong to exclude the Latino experience on a subject of the
magnitude of WWII, especially in a high-profile, publicly supported project
like 'The War.'
"While we respect the artistic freedom of the
filmmakers, U.S.
history does not belong to Ken Burns."
Burns, in a released statement, said, "We are dismayed
and saddened by any assumption that we intentionally excluded anyone from our
series."
Bachmann said, "We're concerned about the issues
raised by Hispanics on the documentary and are very excited to portray the
stories that exist from Hispanic war veterans in the community.
"I don't think, however, Burns' documentary was ever
intended to be a complete presentation of World War II."
Juan José Peña, state commander
of the American GI Forum of New
Mexico and a vice chairman of the Hispano Roundtable
of New Mexico, said his organizations have been very active in the matter.
They have written letters to PBS officials, and are trying
to raise awareness locally.
"I don't know if Burns leaving Hispanics out was
intentional or we're just invisible to him, but the main thing is we were
left out," said Peña, a Vietnam
veteran. "What we'd like to see is them hold off on broadcasting the
documentary until a segment on how Hispanics contributed to World War II is
included."
Peña and Díaz
say it's especially important to highlight Hispanic contributions during the
war because the group has received at least 12 Medals of Honor for service
during World War II— a number that is proportionally more than any other
ethnic group.
The war, according to Díaz and
New Mexico Department of Veterans Services Secretary John M. García, transformed the Latino community by creating
access to higher education, job opportunities and public services.
"I think PBS has to rethink its love affair with Ken
Burns," Díaz said. "He does not own U.S. history, and has shown an almost wanton
disregard for Latino contributions in building America and shaping American
popular culture. Just witness the job he did on us in his series on jazz and
baseball."
Díaz said in the series
"Jazz," Burns excludes the likes of Machito,
Tito Puente and Eddie Palmieri.
"Going forward, PBS and local public television
stations, including our own KNME, must create opportunities for Latino
producers to tell our stories, first voice, and provide real resources to
achieve success in these endeavors," Díaz
said.
Military History, Americas
Defense Not asking what their country could do for them, but what
they could do for their country, many pay the ultimate price
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