Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Recall racist Mexican stamps

An image depicting black characters with exaggerated lips, wide-open eyes and derisive mannerisms would never be displayed in polite company. So what is it doing on a widely circulated postage stamp?

Mexican officials have refused to acknowledge the racist image of its Memin Pinguin character, a still-popular comic book cartoon from the 1940s, which evokes classic images of the hurtful "coon" stereotypes depicting black people from years past.

In a statement defending its decision to place the character on a series of five postage stamps, the Mexican government compared Memin Pinguin to the American character Speedy Gonzales. But the Cartoon Network initially resisted airing films featuring the Sombrero-wearing, thick-accented Gonzales, deeming the character an offensive ethnic stereotype.

It is that rare issue which has united Jesse Jackson, the NAACP and the Bush White House, all of whom have condemned the Pinguin images and urged Mexico to withdraw the stamps. The controversy also has fueled arguments that Mexican officials are too dismissive of racial issues, a criticism that surfaced in May when President Vicente Fox noted Mexican workers take jobs in America that "not even blacks" want.

Mexico's unwillingness to see overtones of prejudice in the stamp may reveal a broader insensitivity to racial issues. The Memin Pinguin controversy is an opportunity for Mexico to face up to the problem. It could start by recalling the stamps.

[Last modified July 1, 2005, 01:24:21]