Hispanics Go To 'War' With PBS

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus has joined a campaign to include Hispanics in an upcoming PBS documentary on World War II, vowing to "put the squeeze" on top public television executives.

"We're very much concerned about the lack of Hispanics in the documentary," Chairman Joe Baca (D-Calif.) said. "That's appalling. That's a no-no to us."


The Hispanic Caucus and other Latino interest groups have been troubled that the 14-hour series -- "The War," by renowned filmmaker Ken Burns and scheduled for broadcast in September -- features no Hispanics, even as it highlights African-Americans and Japanese-Americans. They note that 500,000 Latinos served in World War II.

Rep. Ciro Rodriguez (D-Tex.) echoed Baca's concerns.

"There is a lot of outrage and anger and disappointment," he said. "We've come so far, and then we haven't. It's our responsibility to put the squeeze on people and educate them."

Baca, Rodriguez and a half-dozen other caucus members met with PBS President Paula Kerger on Capitol Hill on Tuesday to discuss the issue. They did not rule out trying to restrict federal funding of public television if PBS officials do not address some of their concerns.

"The bottom line is we also have the right to do what we can economically with PBS to show our displeasure," Rodriguez said. "I hope it won't come to that."

The meeting was also attended by WETA Washington President Sharon Rockefeller and PBS board member Lionel Sosa. Lobbyist Mickey Ibarra, who is representing PBS in the dispute, was also there, Rodriguez said.

"They definitely got the message we were extremely upset and a line had been crossed. I think they realized they had made a mistake," Rodriguez said. But he noted that the PBS officials had not agreed to change the film, but rather to report back to the Hispanic Caucus in several weeks with a proposal.

Baca said he was searching for "some kind of remedy" that might involve delaying the documentary's debut, redoing it, or adding material.

The Hispanic lawmakers are hoping to meet with Burns. He finished the project last fall and has been touring the country giving previews to veterans groups. It was after one screening that Latino groups sounded an alarm.

A PBS spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but in a written statement provided to the San Diego Union Tribune, Burns and co-producer Lynn Novick said they were "dismayed and saddened by any assumption that we intentionally excluded anyone from our series on the Second World War. Nothing could be further from the truth."

PBS has argued that the film focuses on individuals rather than groups and centers on four locales: Sacramento, Calif.; Waterbury, Conn.; Mobile, Ala., and Luverne, Minn.

"For 30 years we have made films that have tried to tell many of the stories that haven't been told in American history," Burns and Novick said. "In this latest project, we have attempted to show the universal human experience of war by focusing on the testimonies of just a handful of people. As a result, millions of stories are not explored in our film."

Baca remained skeptical: "There were no Hispanics in Sacramento?"