Fox News contributor Juan Williams blasted a PBS host, claiming the journalist invited and then disinvited him to a discussion about race on a news program because of his Panamanian heritage.
During an acceptance speech at the CultureX Awards, Williams stated that the he was initially invited to speak at PBS's "This Is America & the World" on issues of racial injustice and unrest following the the death of George Floyd.
The show is a weekly international affairs television series produced in Washington, D.C., New York and other places around the world.
"Recently, Fox got a request for me to do an interview for a PBS show. The host of that show wanted to talk about the last year of protests for racial justice that began with the death of George Floyd, who, as you'll recall, died after a policeman kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes," Williams, who is also a contributor to The Hill, said.
"But before I responded to the invitation, it was withdrawn. The host explained that his research showed, and here I'm going to quote him, Juan's background is 100 percent Panamanian, end quote. The white host said he is a fan of my work on television, but my background didn't fit with a program about black protest."
Williams continued, calling the incident "insulting."
"Yeah, I was born in Panama. It's also true that I have lived in the USA since age 4," Williams said. "And it's also true that my dad is a Black man. He was born in Jamaica. My mom is a woman born in Panama to a father from India and a mother of African descent who was born in the Caribbean."
A request for comment on Williams's account to PBS's "This Is America & the World" was not immediately returned.
The journalist and author went on to cite his extensive work spanning more than 30 years covering race issues in America for major media outlets such as The Washington Post and his biography of the late Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall.
"When that PBS host decided that I was the wrong voice to discuss civil rights, he rejected someone who knows a lot about the subject," Williams said.
A longtime journalist and political analyst, Williams worked in public broadcasting with NPR for 10 years. He was fired from the company in 2010 after making controversial comments about Muslims during an appearance on Fox News.
Williams pointed to the alleged snub by PBS as an example of "the kind of racial, cultural and gender blindness that still limits opportunities for too many in American media."
"Some seem to think their ratings are safest in the hands of blonde women and white men," Williams said.
"Instead of seeing an increasingly diverse America that's hungry for real debate from authentic voices from all walks of life, you know, real people with viewpoints and information to offer and to share, somehow they see only risk in staging a realistic symphony of American voices, a symphony that would carry across lines of race, culture and gender," he added.
MSN
www.msn.com
Williams was born in Panama. His mother was from that country; his father from the West Indies.
"My family all spoke Spanish," he said. "For folks who don't understand race, they don't understand that black people can also be Hispanic."
Juan Williams' Takedown | RealClearPolitics
SAN DIEGO -- So now a prominent media figure can get fired for remarks that someone finds offensive. In that case, as a Mexican-American, I've compiled a list of commentators who -- in discussing...
Juan Williams: Fox News Lets ‘Black Guy With A Hispanic Name’ Host O’Reilly’s Show
Juan Williams said Tuesday that he’s still upset about his firing from NPR, and added that NPR does not understand the Fox News culture or audience.
In an interview with Baltimore Sun columnist David Zurawik, Williams said he remains emotionally “roiled” by the incident and said, despite being hired full-time by Fox News with a three-year, $2 million contract, “there’s an emotional disconnect, because the way it feels to me is like I just got fired and I’m not even sure what I did wrong.”
Williams said he was particularly upset over NPR CEO Vivian Schiller’s comment that he should have kept his remark — that he gets “nervous” when he sees Muslims on planes — with “his psychiatrist or his publicist.”
And he added that NPR executives simply do not understand Fox News:
Williams was fired from NPR shortly after making his controversial comment on Fox News’ “O’Reilly Factor.” Williams has said he stands by his comments, and NPR CEO Schiller has apologized for the way she handled his firing but has also defended the decision. The situation has prompted a backlash, with conservative politicians and commentators calling for the government to de-fund NPR in the wake of the episode; NPR also received a bomb threat Monday in an apparent response to its firing of Williams.
Juan Williams: Fox News Lets 'Black Guy With A Hispanic Name' Host O'Reilly's Show
Juan Williams: Fox News Lets 'Black Guy With A Hispanic Name' Host O'Reilly's Show
Man fuck Fox News
Also, I think you intended to say sorority 
