Fox 'regrets' remark about blacks
Mexican president invites Sharpton, Jackson to collaborate
(CNN) -- Mexican President Vicente Fox called two American civil rights leaders late Monday and told them he regretted any offense to African-Americans when he said Mexican immigrants in the United States take jobs "that not even blacks want to do."
Fox spoke separately by phone with Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, according to a statement from the Mexican Foreign Ministry. The statement said Fox invited them to Mexico to "join forces" on working for immigration rights and civil rights for immigrants in the United States.
Fox told the men that he "regretted if he offended the African-American community" and said he has "great respect for the African-American community," according to the statement.
The ministry said Fox understands the African-American community has worked hard to fight against discrimination and that as a result of that fight the Mexican community in America has benefited greatly.
Sharpton said the phone call was a "step in the right direction," but he called on the Mexican president to issue a formal apology. "If in fact what he expressed to me on the phone was so, then he needs to demonstrate that those statements, one, do not reflect how he feels; and two, he needs to formally apologize," he said.
http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/americ...16/mexico.fox/
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