Controversial textbook calls Mexicans 'lazy'

Controversy has erupted in Texas over a textbook due to it negatively portraying people of Mexican descent.

Hundreds of people gathered in Austin ahead of a State Board of Education meeting on Tuesday which was convened to hear concerns about the proposed book, titled Mexican American Heritage.

Among the issues raised is the book's racial bias. One passage cited as example reads, "Stereotypically, Mexicans were viewed as lazy compared to European or American workers."

See social reactions of the controversial book:

Another segment of concern characterizes Chicanos as individuals who, "adopted a revolutionary narrative that opposed Western civilization and wanted to destroy this society."

In addition to these disparaging descriptions, a state committee tasked with assessing the material pointed out 68 factual errors and 73 other errors in a lengthy and critical report.

However, according to NPR, "The publisher, Momentum Instruction, stands behind the book. Its CEO, Cynthia Dunbar...said in an interview that some passages have been taken out of context."