Fox Apologizes After Racially Insensitive Comments
Amsterdam News, News Report, Josh Barker, Posted: May 19, 2005
NEW YORK -- Mexico’s President Vicente Fox, who had been dogged by Black leaders for making what some considered racist remarks, apologized this week after days of insisting that his comments were not racially insensitive.
Rev. Al Sharpton and Rev. Jesse L. Jackson had demanded that Fox apologize after he gave a speech in Puerto Vallarta last week where he said that Mexicans who have dignity are willing to do jobs “that not even Blacks would do in the United States.”
Fox was addressing the Texas Frozen-Food Council, where he was protesting U.S. immigration reform. Following the remarks, a chorus of African American leaders chastised Fox for using divisive language to pit African Americans against Latinos.
Sharpton, who heads the National Action Network, a civil rights group that he founded in 1991, said that Fox’s comments were racially motivated and offensive by placing Blacks in a lower tier of the nation’s workforce.
“The cover-up and follow-up is worse than the experience,” Sharpton said before he accepted a phone call from Fox, who apologized for his comments. The two reportedly spoke by phone for 12 minutes and Fox invited Sharpton to visit Mexico with a delegation.
For days, Mexican officials had insisted that Fox had said nothing offensive and added that his comments were taken out of context. They argued that Fox has respect for Blacks, as well as all minorities.
But that explanation was not good enough for Black leaders including Sharpton, who held a press conference last Monday to demand an apology.
“If I step on your toe, I’m not going to explain to you why I did it; I’m going to apologize to you first,” said Sharpton, speaking before reporters.
Despite the comments, Sharpton said that he would continue to advocate for Mexican immigrants in demanding that they receive equal rights. Just last year, he rallied in Corpus Christi, Texas, for Mexican immigration rights.
Sharpton wasn’t alone in protesting Fox’s comments.
Civil Rights leader Rev. Jesse L. Jackson had also expressed concern, adding that “President Fox misspoke on the issue of Blacks and Mexican migrants.” Jackson, who heads the Rainbow-Push Coalition added, “Our fight against discrimination and unity in a common quest for jobs and livable wages for our families is a common concern.” Fox also called Jackson to apologize.
President Fox met with Jackson in Mexico on Wednesday, and Jackson said Fox's comment was "at best, insensitive," according to the New York Times.
Mexican immigrant Juan Alberte said that Fox’s comment was a mistake.
“Everyone is not the same. If you want to work you should be able to work,” said Alberte, 31, a cook who works in Queens.
Mark Silverman, director of immigration policy for the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, called Fox's statements “inappropriate and insensitive,” adding that they could “increase tensions instead of bringing about more understanding” between African-Americans and Latinos.
"Fox now realizes the harmful effects of it," said Jackson in the Times report. "He seeks to correct it by acting and by reaching out."
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