MSNBC was quick to apologize after an on-air gag about Cinco de Mayo angered viewers and others.
The apology should not be the last word. Michigan State University journalism students just published “100 Questions and Answers About Hispanics and Latinos” and found that a lot of people know less than they should about the holiday. MSNBC, with all its reach, could do something to close the knowledge gap.
Items of interest from the 100-question guide:
* Hispanic or Latino? There is no consensus. The guide covers several terms besides those.
* At more than 50 million, this is the largest ethnic group in the United States.
* Most of its members are U.S. citizens by birth. Most, too, have Mexican ancestry
* Cinco de Mayo is a Mexican celebration, not one that is celebrated in the more than 20 other Hispanic and Latin American countries.
* It celebrates the 1862 victory over France, not Mexico’s independence from Spain.
MSNBC could help spread the word, after it gets through apologizing.
(This series of guides to cultural competence does not repeat slurs or legitimize them by repeating them. The We decided to not link to the MSNBC clip.)
