Latino Activists Rip Brokaw for ‘Xenophobic,’ ‘Disrespectful’ Remarks About Assimilation

Latino activists blasted NBC’s Tom Brokaw on Sunday after Brokaw said he personally believed that Hispanics should “work harder at assimilation.”

On Sunday’s Meet The Press, after claiming that Republicans do not want “brown grandbabies,” Brokaw said that he has long held the belief that Hispanics need to assimilate more.

“I also happen to believe that the Hispanics should work harder at assimilation. That’s one of the things I’ve been saying for a long time,” Brokaw said. “You know, they ought not to be just codified in their communities but make sure that all their kids are learning to speak English, and that they feel comfortable in the communities. And that’s going to take outreach on both sides, frankly.”

Latino Rebels said Brokaw’s comments were “xenophobic, disrespectful and insulting.”

“We as a community are creating the new America right before your very eyes, Mr. Brokaw. Sorry if it doesn’t fit your perceptions of what America should be like,” Latino Rebels wrote. “That future is bilingual, bicultural, at times in English, other times in Spanish. Our community is defining this future. Not you.”

Other activists ripped Brokaw for his “racism,” “ignorance,” and “xenophobia.”

Brokaw later apologized, saying he was “truly sorry” that his remarks offended after first tweeting that he felt terrible that his comments on Hispanics had offended “some members of that proud culture.”