HOUSTON , Texas ( CNN ) -- A comic-book character popular in Mexico for generations has run into a cultural barrier at the border , where Americans see him as a racist caricature . Comic book character Memin Pinguin is `` a disgrace , '' an African-American activist says . For more than 60 years Mexicans have followed the adventures of `` Memin Pinguin . '' But the dark-skinned Memin 's exaggerated features in `` Memin for President '' came as a shock to Houston , Texas , Wal-Mart shopper Shawnedria McGinty . `` I was like , OK , is that a monkey or a boy ? '' McGinty said . `` To me it was an insult . '' She 'd never heard of `` Memin Pinguin . '' She bought a Spanish-English dictionary and tried translating but still did n't like what she saw . Watch what upset McGinty » . `` So I asked my boyfriend , does that look like a monkey to you ? '' she said . `` And we went back and forth and he was like , no , that 's a black woman , '' referring to the character 's Aunt Jemima-like mother . McGinty and Houston community activist Quannel X want the comic books removed from the stores . `` This is absolutely insensitive toward race , in particular the African-American culture , and also people of color , '' Quannel X said . `` This is poking fun at the physical features of an entire people . '' But Mexican readers who grew up following the shenanigans of Memin say critics need to look beyond the cover and understand the stories . `` They will bring a smile to their face because we 're so fond of that character , '' said Javier Salas , a Spanish-language talk show host on Chicago radio station WRTO . `` We respect him , we love him . And that 's why it 's so absurd for us to hear complaints from people who do n't know , do n't understand Memin . '' Memin is a poor Cuban-Mexican kid with bug eyes , thick lips and protruding ears . The mischievous and caring boy helps his mother by selling newspapers and shining shoes . `` We grew up reading , learning and educating ourselves with a lot of the topics they always touched on , which was honesty , justice , tolerance . He was a very unique character , '' Salas said . Wal-Mart spokesman Lorenzo Lopez said the retailer has instructed stores to remove the books from shelves and discontinue sales . `` We received the customer complaint regarding the book , which we knew was based on a popular cartoon character in Mexico . We looked into it further , and we decided to no longer distribute the book and are in the process of removing the books from the stores . '' The store has received no other complaints about Memin , Lopez said . `` We have a wide array of products that we provide to Hispanic customers , but when we looked at this more carefully and given the sensitivity of the topic , we thought it was best to no longer carry the book in our stores , '' he said . He did not know how many copies of Memin books the chain had or how long it would take to remove them from displays . Memin is no stranger to controversy . Three years ago , a series of Mexican stamps honoring Memin ignited an international uproar . The stamps were discontinued because of protests from African-American leaders . `` This is saying we respect and regard the African-American community by making them look like Sambos on a stamp ? '' the Rev . Al Sharpton said at the time . `` This goes over the line . '' Quannel X called the comic book `` a disgrace . '' `` Look how they portray his mother , with huge ethnic lips , dark skin , making her look like the big gorilla and him like the little monkey . '' But fans of Memin say the valuable lessons of a beloved comic book character tackling real-life problems have been lost in translation .
Characters ' pulls popular African-American books after shopper complains . Javier Salas has been cherished in Memin for generations . Wal-Mart features insult blacks , say activist and shopper . Stories teach valuable lessons about life , defender maintains .