Cheap shots aside, I don't think Burns' critics here are on the mark. The program did not claim that no other ethnic traditions improvised musically-- but that the improvisation primarily of African-Americans in NO led to the birth of jazz. This is unmistakably true. If Irish and others improvised, fine, but there is no link from that to jazz. It's similar to the claim that the Citadel firing on Ft. Sumter started the Civil War in Jan. 1861. No it didn't; those shots didn't inspire the mobilization of both sides; the April attack did. Hindsight in history is the critic's convenience. I think Burns is trying to give a multi-ethnic view of this music, but he cannot satisfy those with chauvinist intentions. He's not beyond criticism, though: I'd say he needed far more emphasis on both blues and gospel than he has shown so far. He also climbs on his soapbox a little too eagerly at times. But to call him stupid because he stresses black contributions is to misunderstand both the program and the music. To those disappointed to see their own ethnic agenda ignored, I suggest that they try to pry their minds open.