This Is the Fire: What I Say to My Friends About Racism
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- Create Date：2021-05-01 00:19:50
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Don Lemon
- ISBN：B08TT4XDD8
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Summary
Don Lemon brings his vast audience and experience as a reporter and a Black man to today’s most urgent question: How can we end racism in America in our lifetimes？
The host of CNN Tonight with Don Lemon is more popular than ever。 As America’s only Black prime-time anchor， Lemon and his daily monologues on racism and antiracism， on the failures of the Trump administration and of so many of our leaders， and on America’s systemic flaws speak for his millions of fans。 Now， in an urgent， deeply personal， riveting plea， he shows us all how deep our problems lie， and what we can do to begin to fix them。
Beginning with a letter to one of his Black nephews， he proceeds with reporting and reflections on his slave ancestors， his upbringing in the shadows of segregation， and his adult confrontations with politicians， activists， and scholars。 In doing so， Lemon offers a searing and poetic ultimatum to America。 He visits the slave port where a direct ancestor was shackled and shipped to America。 He recalls a slave uprising in Louisiana， just a few miles from his birthplace。 And he takes us to the heart of the 2020 protests in New York City。 As he writes to his young nephew: We must resist racism every single day。 We must resist it with love。
Running Time => 4hrs。 and 30mins。
©2021 Don Lemon （P）2021 Little， Brown & Company
The host of CNN Tonight with Don Lemon is more popular than ever。 As America’s only Black prime-time anchor， Lemon and his daily monologues on racism and antiracism， on the failures of the Trump administration and of so many of our leaders， and on America’s systemic flaws speak for his millions of fans。 Now， in an urgent， deeply personal， riveting plea， he shows us all how deep our problems lie， and what we can do to begin to fix them。
Beginning with a letter to one of his Black nephews， he proceeds with reporting and reflections on his slave ancestors， his upbringing in the shadows of segregation， and his adult confrontations with politicians， activists， and scholars。 In doing so， Lemon offers a searing and poetic ultimatum to America。 He visits the slave port where a direct ancestor was shackled and shipped to America。 He recalls a slave uprising in Louisiana， just a few miles from his birthplace。 And he takes us to the heart of the 2020 protests in New York City。 As he writes to his young nephew: We must resist racism every single day。 We must resist it with love。
Running Time => 4hrs。 and 30mins。
©2021 Don Lemon （P）2021 Little， Brown & Company
Reviews
Victoria Chinchar
，
Easy， quick read but meaningful journey into racism in Lemons personal life。
Mona
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Excellent book！ Don Lemon’s writing is down-to-earth yet powerful as he shares his views on racism and how we can move toward a just society in America。 Bravo！
VIVIAN JEFFERSON
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This Is the FireI rated this book 5 stars， because it spoke to my soul！ I thoroughly enjoyed the gamut of emotions I experienced while Don Lemon took me on an excursion of self awareness， cultural enlightenment and social awakening。 This Is the Fire is a must read！ The fire has been lit under my feet。 I'm moving from the sidelines as an observer and moving to the front line as a doer and an agent of change。 My community needs action and not empty words。 Too many of our Black and Brown citizens a This Is the FireI rated this book 5 stars， because it spoke to my soul！ I thoroughly enjoyed the gamut of emotions I experienced while Don Lemon took me on an excursion of self awareness， cultural enlightenment and social awakening。 This Is the Fire is a must read！ The fire has been lit under my feet。 I'm moving from the sidelines as an observer and moving to the front line as a doer and an agent of change。 My community needs action and not empty words。 Too many of our Black and Brown citizens are dying/being murdered at the hands ofuntrained Police。 I believe far too many of our elected officials are collecting paychecks and not representing their districts。 This needs to stop。 Accountability is more than catch phrase。 I digress。 。。。more
Bobby Sullivan
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Most useful idea gleaned from this book: describing institutional racism in the US as a caste system。 💯
Eileen Godbout
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“”No more water for the fire next time。 We’re in the fire and I think we don’t have any more fires。 So we need to put this one out。 We need to deal with this one。”James Baldwin - “The Fire Next Time”Don Lemon opens his book， “This is the Fire”， with a powerful letter to his nephew。 The letter is dated May 25， 2020， the day that George Floyd was murdered in America。 James Baldwin opens his book， written in 1963 on the 100th Anniversary of Emancipation， with a powerful letter to his nephew。 Both d “”No more water for the fire next time。 We’re in the fire and I think we don’t have any more fires。 So we need to put this one out。 We need to deal with this one。”James Baldwin - “The Fire Next Time”Don Lemon opens his book， “This is the Fire”， with a powerful letter to his nephew。 The letter is dated May 25， 2020， the day that George Floyd was murdered in America。 James Baldwin opens his book， written in 1963 on the 100th Anniversary of Emancipation， with a powerful letter to his nephew。 Both draw back the curtain on 400 years of racial inequality in America。 Lemon’s book， although edgy at times， offers hope and acts as a springboard for a call to change。 He believes that the important elements of social change are: rage/anger， vision， compassion， solidarity and empathy。 Very relevant。 Very powerful read。 4。5 stars 。。。more
Vnunez-Ms_luv2read
，
Very good book。 Interspersed with personal stories and interactions。 Very good。 Enjoyed this book immensely。 Thanks to Netgalley， the author and the publisher for the arc of this book in return for my honest review。 Receiving the book in this manner had no bearing on this review。
Cathy
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I wanted more maybe 2⭐️His personal stories are interesting I think there are better books on the subject out there
Jim
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A very readable introduction to American racial issues， with a strong focus on the present and the future。 His optimism seems almost naïve。 It seems to me that hope is more merited than optimism， even at this pivotal time。
Laura
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Very personal perspective— greatly appreciated the call for love。
Sheila Berlinger
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Excellent analysis of our current racial state and how to step forward。
John R Sickler
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Racism an under standingVery good read。 Covers the start and current points of the countries problem with racism。 Not much has changed over the last 400 years。
Joseph Stout
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A great readIncredible insight on racism in America 。 Everyone needs to read this insightful book 。 Don Lemmon is amazing 。 Hoping this makes a difference
Farrell
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Insightful
Terri White
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Very thought provoking！I enjoyed this book immensely！ It gave me new ways to think about racism。 I will be recommending it to all my friends！ If we can all see this problem addressed now and start the work needed then hopefully our children and grandchildren can carry on until racism is a thing of the past！ Good job Don！
Lynne
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I love this book。 Thank you Don Lemon。
Geralyn
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you lost me on page 69 "Black Americans have an intimate relationship with death;。。。。。。。。" like no one else does？ how audacious of you throughout the entire paragraph to stereotype anyone's relationship with death no matter the color of their skin。 hopeful for new beginnings。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。 you lost me on page 69 "Black Americans have an intimate relationship with death;。。。。。。。。" like no one else does？ how audacious of you throughout the entire paragraph to stereotype anyone's relationship with death no matter the color of their skin。 hopeful for new beginnings。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。 。。。more
✿✿✿May
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Audiobook narrated by the author had a little bit of everything， his upbringing， BLM and his coming out and of course his opinion on Trump。
Heidi
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I love watching Don Lemon on CNN （especially in the few minutes before his show when he's talking with Chris Cuomo）， so I was excited when I heard he had written a book。 As tough as this subject matter in this book was， it was definitely a necessary read。 I think his stories of childhood really helped elaborate his talking points。 Most of the time， if I read a book about racism/anti-racism， I have a hard time getting through it all because it's just such a heavy topic with trauma after trauma af I love watching Don Lemon on CNN （especially in the few minutes before his show when he's talking with Chris Cuomo）， so I was excited when I heard he had written a book。 As tough as this subject matter in this book was， it was definitely a necessary read。 I think his stories of childhood really helped elaborate his talking points。 Most of the time， if I read a book about racism/anti-racism， I have a hard time getting through it all because it's just such a heavy topic with trauma after trauma after trauma。 But I found myself wanting to read more and more of this one and I ended up flying through it。 I think it was Don's writing style。 I also enjoyed the appendix at the end of the book with other books and resources to check out and I will absolutely be looking into those as well！ 。。。more
Christine Irvin
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Part history book， part autobiography， THIS IS THE FIRE is Lemon's perspective about racism。 Written from the heart。 Well worth a read。 Part history book， part autobiography， THIS IS THE FIRE is Lemon's perspective about racism。 Written from the heart。 Well worth a read。 。。。more
susan fitzgerald
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This is a terrific book！！ It is truly a companion， almost 40 years later， to James Baldwin’s “The Fire Next Time。” Lemon writes informally but with some lyricism that stopped me cold in admiration now and then。 A little history， a little reminiscence of his childhood and family， and a lot of good thinking about racism in America and what to do about it。 This book should be required reading in schools。
Dea Spears
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So excited and I'm already hooked！！ If you have some great stories like this one， you can publish it on NovelStar。 So excited and I'm already hooked！！ If you have some great stories like this one， you can publish it on NovelStar。 。。。more
Charlee Bailey
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This is the best non-fiction book I've ever read！ Since its about current events and the current lives of African American's and largely because I'm directly impacted， because I am a black woman， it was a life changing read for me。 I am not angry， I understand that this is present and future history。 But I've lived this history for 71 years and having that presented in a way that connects all the dots， makes you stop and assess who you are。I purchased this book because， I was interested in Mr。 L This is the best non-fiction book I've ever read！ Since its about current events and the current lives of African American's and largely because I'm directly impacted， because I am a black woman， it was a life changing read for me。 I am not angry， I understand that this is present and future history。 But I've lived this history for 71 years and having that presented in a way that connects all the dots， makes you stop and assess who you are。I purchased this book because， I was interested in Mr。 Lemon's POV。 I had to read a chapter at a time because it was so hard to read。 Our history has never been great， but I learned things that I had never read and you become angry at the injustice of it。This is not a long book， with all the big words some authors use when the subject is weighty。 Mr。 Lemon provides the information and his viewpoint， with direct satements of fact。 I like that it was part family history; part African American history and current status and infomation on our people in this country。He doesn't pull any punches and his facts， perspective and view point are clear and direct。 He knows where we are in this country， at this time and he clearly explains how and why this is happening and what may be the most likely result of current events and past events。I was surprised at the history he provided on the treatment of African Americans in pre-civil war; post-civil-war and current day。 I agree with his assessment。 His voice is clear and his information is not disputable。 Families who had slaves and considered them "livestock" have a lot to answer for。 So does Washington， D。C。; all of this should have been settled years ago。Than you Mr。 Lemon for a clear and direct message， that is easy to understand， hard to read and definitely will stir things up， and muddy the waters。 Hopefully the usual same old stuff will be changed。I told everyone I know how important it is to read this book。 Hopefully more people will read it！ 。。。more
Diane
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This is an enjoyable book because it does deal with the racism in this country。 I loved howhe threw in a little history。 It flows so easily that you enjoy each chapter。 I highly recommendthis book and only wish and pray that more people read this book to get a better understandingof Black people in this country and what they have gone through and are still going through。When will the hate， discrimination end in this country and around the world？ We are allhuman！
Rev Gary
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Don Lemon tells it the way it is。 He had me in tears when I hear how my black brothers and sisters were and are treated。
Ofelia H
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Great insight and such an easy read。 As a Hispanic female， I also have experienced similar racism from society and within my own family。 Especially when I had black or gay friends。 Growing up in a small town， families beliefs are a product of their upbringing。
Sandy
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I wish that every White person would read Don Lemon's "This is the Fire: What I Say to My Friends About Racism"。 Anyone who dreams of eradicating the scourge of White Supremacy， any person who works every day to create a just and caring world for all people， will find inspiration in this book。 I wish that every White person would read Don Lemon's "This is the Fire: What I Say to My Friends About Racism"。 Anyone who dreams of eradicating the scourge of White Supremacy， any person who works every day to create a just and caring world for all people， will find inspiration in this book。 。。。more
Becky
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A powerful and deeply personal look at the history and the presence of racism in America。
Krisette Spangler
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This book was more of a rant about Donald Trump， and his handling of the corona virus。 It really didn't offer much in the way of solutions or helpful information for those who are trying to understand racism in America。 This book was more of a rant about Donald Trump， and his handling of the corona virus。 It really didn't offer much in the way of solutions or helpful information for those who are trying to understand racism in America。 。。。more
Robin Wright
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I thank Don Lemon for this book。 This is part history， part memoir， and a call for change。 All people need to stand up and speak out for change。 This book not only encourages that but gives us hope that change can actually happen。
Anna Amato
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