This Is the Fire: What I Say to My Friends About Racism
- Downloads：1168
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-04-17 12:33:04
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Don Lemon
- ISBN：1549108441
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Cindy
，
Even though Don Lemon is not one of my favorite CNN anchors，this book captured my interest。 He writes clearly and persuasivelyabout the history of black Americans and the effects of racism， not only on them but on all of America。He says that Trump was a good thing that happened in America becauseit revealed the underbelly of racism。 You don't know what you don't knowand now we know。His last chapter "How Change Happens" is smart in its simplicity。 Even though Don Lemon is not one of my favorite CNN anchors，this book captured my interest。 He writes clearly and persuasivelyabout the history of black Americans and the effects of racism， not only on them but on all of America。He says that Trump was a good thing that happened in America becauseit revealed the underbelly of racism。 You don't know what you don't knowand now we know。His last chapter "How Change Happens" is smart in its simplicity。 。。。more
Bill Gable
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Extremely insightful Enjoy D Lemon on CNN and interested in reading this book。 Exceeded my expectations which were pretty high to begin with。
Mary Lite
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Good job writer！ If you have some great book like this one， you can publish it on Novel Star， just submit your story to hardy@novelstar。top or joye@novelstar。top
Nancy
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Using real life experiences， Lemon explains what it's like to be black in America。 And although he has no "quick fix" to the problem of racism in our country， he does lay out a proposal for how we begin to change our country for the better。 Well worth your time to read。 Using real life experiences， Lemon explains what it's like to be black in America。 And although he has no "quick fix" to the problem of racism in our country， he does lay out a proposal for how we begin to change our country for the better。 Well worth your time to read。 。。。more
Korra
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You are knowledgeable in terms of writing a novel， I really enjoyed it！ Well done！ 。。。 If you have some great stories like this one， you can publish it on Novel Star， just submit your story to hardy@novelstar。top or joye@novelstar。top
Cynthia Young
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Don Lemon and I share the same hometown of Port Allen， Louisiana。 Shout out to PA💖
Judy
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The subtitle of this memoir/extended essay is pretty descriptive: What I Say to My Friends About Racism。 Lemon combines personal experience with historic events and research to present a compelling case for committing to the antiracist battle now。 The title references James Baldwin's book from decades past: The Fire Next Time。 The subtitle of this memoir/extended essay is pretty descriptive: What I Say to My Friends About Racism。 Lemon combines personal experience with historic events and research to present a compelling case for committing to the antiracist battle now。 The title references James Baldwin's book from decades past: The Fire Next Time。 。。。more
Donald Powell
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Don Lemon is clearly a very intelligent， well read， thoughtful person。 He is very careful with his language in his direct assessment of history and our culture。 This book is part of the volume of material in literature trying to move us to Love rather than Hate; to see our history in the light of truth rather than distorted lies。 I am glad he relied upon the book CASTE。 I agree with his assessment of that important book。 Many other references were well selected and used。He makes the book persona Don Lemon is clearly a very intelligent， well read， thoughtful person。 He is very careful with his language in his direct assessment of history and our culture。 This book is part of the volume of material in literature trying to move us to Love rather than Hate; to see our history in the light of truth rather than distorted lies。 I am glad he relied upon the book CASTE。 I agree with his assessment of that important book。 Many other references were well selected and used。He makes the book personal with much of his story， heartwarming and instilling hope。We all play a role while on this rock。 CNN is lucky to have Don Lemon and we are lucky to have his book to add to our arsenal of what is becoming an important call to action， now。 。。。more
Suzanne
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An intelligent， logical， factual yet emotional look at racial issues。 Don Lemon illustrates the ways that our divisive racism is more accurately caste-ism， and putting it in economic terms makes the problem much more potentially solvable。 I admit， I do not really believe any news until I hear Don Lemon say it， and if anyone can lead us out of this mess and into the light， it is him。 I read this in one sitting， and feel like letting out a big sigh。
Lloyd Cruz
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The author is so talented， I suggest you join NovelStar’s writing competition this April。 If you are interested kindly check this link https://www。facebook。com/104455574751。。。 for the mechanics of the writing contest this April and also， I am sharing your book in Facebook to help reach readers。 Thank you The author is so talented， I suggest you join NovelStar’s writing competition this April。 If you are interested kindly check this link https://www。facebook。com/104455574751。。。 for the mechanics of the writing contest this April and also， I am sharing your book in Facebook to help reach readers。 Thank you 。。。more
Kelie Killu
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Great read！ Audiobook read by author which I love。 Felt like I was in a deep conversation with a good friend who was “keepin it real” with me。 Personal stories from Don that made me understand who he is today。
Bruce
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Pity that the people who need to read this won't。 Pity that the people who need to read this won't。 。。。more
Crystal
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I enjoyed the second half better than the first half。 I liked the background info Lemon throws in - it helped me to understand him a little better。 Overall very well written and thought provoking。
Karen
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Fabulous book， modeled after THE FIRE NEXT TIME， by James Baldwin。 The voice， the pacing， the information， and the argument are all superior。 Lemon reads this audiobook and his delivery is spot on， based on his experience as as a CNN anchor。 Highly recommended。
Nikki Penda
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A fluff piece but easy read。 Suggest listening to his podcast instead
Amanda
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Frank and personal thoughts on racism。 A quick and worthwhile read。
Vickie
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I watch Don Lemon on a fairly regular basis and enjoy his intensity and integrity。 The book left me with no real solutions。 I heard what he was saying but didn't find resolve。 I watch Don Lemon on a fairly regular basis and enjoy his intensity and integrity。 The book left me with no real solutions。 I heard what he was saying but didn't find resolve。 。。。more
Freda Witt
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Don Lemon talks about racism。
Karen
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4+ powerful READ IT stars。 Previous reviewers far more eloquent than I
Linda Riley
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I really learned a lot from reading this book。 It came from a completely different perspective from other books I have read。 I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about race issues。 Mr。 Lemon is instructive and inflective。 I think is book is a great service to those of us who are anxious to learn more about this national problem。
Sarah Smith
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Great story！ You can broaden your audience by publishing your story on NovelStar Mobile App。 Also， I am sharing your book in Facebook to help reach readers。
Leigh
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I really enjoyed this book a lot。 The writing flowed like a conversation which kept me wanting to read more and more。 The juxtaposition of Don’s personal stories to the anecdotes in this book are spot on and make it a must read。 Very insightful and I learnt a lot of the history I wasn’t aware of。
Peacejanz
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I am a fan of Don Lemon。 I find him well-spoken， knowledgeable about his subject and a commentator about abuse of law， white racism and things that seem to be going wrong in my country。 And he is， like me， a hopeless liberal - and always looking for the good， for ways to help。 This book was exactly what I expected。 Lemon points out situations， places， interactions that I never realized were racial in tone。 I have been aware of race for decades， have worked to educate myself to be an anti-racist， I am a fan of Don Lemon。 I find him well-spoken， knowledgeable about his subject and a commentator about abuse of law， white racism and things that seem to be going wrong in my country。 And he is， like me， a hopeless liberal - and always looking for the good， for ways to help。 This book was exactly what I expected。 Lemon points out situations， places， interactions that I never realized were racial in tone。 I have been aware of race for decades， have worked to educate myself to be an anti-racist， and work in my community to regard everyone as a human being， rather than a member of a race。 Lemon wrote about situations that I never realized。 I never dreamed they happen。 The good thing is that he is a good writer， a good speaker， and we get a great view of his image of family。 Parts of this book also introduce you to the typical Black family - it is not what I grew up with。 Of course， my parents did not have to warn me about the potential abuse I would receive because of the color of my skin。 A good book and a good book to use for educating others。 Ideal for book groups or for introducing the topic of racism to someone。 。。。more
Anthony Puglisi
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Really good thought provoking book。 Told in conversational narrative。 Personal。 Honest。 Engaging。 Book starts off slow from the narrative perspective。 Second half of the book really picks up and gets you into it。 First half is good substantively just slow and lacking narratively。 Stick to it because you appreciate the first half and what it is building to for thought and discussion later。 The quote from Jacqueline Stewart， “If we can get people to embrace educating themselves rather than resisti Really good thought provoking book。 Told in conversational narrative。 Personal。 Honest。 Engaging。 Book starts off slow from the narrative perspective。 Second half of the book really picks up and gets you into it。 First half is good substantively just slow and lacking narratively。 Stick to it because you appreciate the first half and what it is building to for thought and discussion later。 The quote from Jacqueline Stewart， “If we can get people to embrace educating themselves rather than resisting information that can disrupt their pleasure， then I think we could really get to some actual change that we need in our society” is perfect。 Recommend。 。。。more
Mary Sisney
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I watch MSNBC more than I do CNN， but Mr。 Lemon is my favorite of the CNN anchors and not just because he’s black。 I like his common sense approach to issues， so I assumed I would enjoy his book。 For the most part， I did。 I especially liked the way he structured it， beginning and ending with allusions to James Baldwin’s classic essay THE FIRE NEXT TIME。 My favorite passages in the book dealt with his personal experience （his trip to Africa with his mother， his sister’s death， his reporting about I watch MSNBC more than I do CNN， but Mr。 Lemon is my favorite of the CNN anchors and not just because he’s black。 I like his common sense approach to issues， so I assumed I would enjoy his book。 For the most part， I did。 I especially liked the way he structured it， beginning and ending with allusions to James Baldwin’s classic essay THE FIRE NEXT TIME。 My favorite passages in the book dealt with his personal experience （his trip to Africa with his mother， his sister’s death， his reporting about the first Presidential debate and the announcement that Trump had Covid）。 I also liked the way he extended the racism is like the Covid virus metaphor， describing just how the body fights a virus and connecting it to the fight against racism。 My occasional problems with the book are the same problems I have with news commentators in general—misinformation， a lack of self-awareness， and promotion of themselves and/or friends and family。 I thought that Lemon had misinformed his readers about how much money Jacob Blake and Kyle Rittenhouse received because I knew that Rittenhouse had collected over two million dollars and wasn’t aware that the Blake family had collected that much。 I realized after some research on Google that Rittenhouse’s collection took longer， so at the time Lemon wrote that section of the book his numbers were probably accurate。 However， he was totally wrong in describing Emmett Till’s murder。 We now describe lynching differently from the way we did in the 20th Century and earlier。 Many people， for instance， are calling what Chauvin did to Floyd a lynching。 But Till wasn’t killed by a lynch mob。 He was killed by two men。 That kind of mistake undermines the credibility of a person whose job is to report the facts。 I was also disappointed （but as we black people have said too often about Trump and about juries who set killer cops free） not surprised that Lemon didn’t take any responsibility for promoting Trump on his show。 Why didn’t CNN and the other stations ban Trump for his racist birther lies the way Kathy Griffin was banned from CNN for a mildly tasteless picture and the way Matt Lauer was fired by NBC for whatever sexual misconduct he engaged in off camera？ Does Lemon think Trump would have become President if he had been banned from television （in 2011） for his racist attack on the first half-black President？ I was also disappointed （after recently hearing a great Lemon monologue that ended with “Us Too”） that he didn’t compare the METOO movement and the BlackLivesMatter movement。 Why were the mostly white women in the METOO MOVEMENT treated better than the black female BLM leaders？ Although I agreed with most of Lemon’s commentary on race and racism， I thought the discussion of blackface was superficial and wrong。 There is a difference between a white comedian’s darkening his skin to play a black man he admires （like Billy Crystal and Jimmy Fallon） and minstrels blackening their face to ridicule blacks。 If white people can’t darken their skin to play black folks is it wrong for blacks to whiten their skin （like the Wayans brothers， Whoopi Goldberg， Eddie Murphy， and Arsenio Hall） to play white folks？ And what about men playing women？ Tyler as Madea？ Flip as Geraldine？ Come on， Lemon！ Usually my problem with lists of references that cover an area where I have some expertise is that I can think of many more sources that weren’t included in the lists， but in this case I was annoyed that Lemon seemed to be just promoting people he liked。 He even includes his fiancé’s podcast （with W。 Kamau Bell） and his good friend， “brother” Chris Cuomo’s CNN show。 Chris does discuss race more frequently than his MSNBC competitor Rachel Maddow， but I can think of at least six people on MSNBC and a couple besides Mr。 Lemon on CNN who are much better at discussing race than the privileged Mr。 Cuomo。 But what annoyed me more than those plugs for friend and family was the inclusion of three books by Bob “I Just Woke Up To My Privilege In 2020 But Still Don’t Interview Women” Woodward。 Come on， Lemon！ 。。。more
Rebecca Grant
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Excellent！！！！
Pete West
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Listen to the audiobook。 While Don Lemon writes beautifully， listening to him read the script， adds a personal touch to the experience。
Robyn
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I knew I'd love this， of course。However， I didn't expect a strike so close to home - it makes a difference when you share a hometown and can specifically identify the WHO/WHAT/WHY/WHERE。 I knew I'd love this， of course。However， I didn't expect a strike so close to home - it makes a difference when you share a hometown and can specifically identify the WHO/WHAT/WHY/WHERE。 。。。more
Sara
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So， Don Lemon writes how he speaks。 And if you've ever watched Don Lemon on CNN， he speaks quite well。 In fact。。。 I would say that it was even more impressive than expected。 He has a sizeable vocabulary and can certainly turn a phrase。 There's a certain lyrical quality to his writing that makes it very engaging。 Onto the content: the book is about systemic racism in the United States plus Lemon's own experiences。 It's a rather short read， truth be told， and I would probably have enjoyed even mor So， Don Lemon writes how he speaks。 And if you've ever watched Don Lemon on CNN， he speaks quite well。 In fact。。。 I would say that it was even more impressive than expected。 He has a sizeable vocabulary and can certainly turn a phrase。 There's a certain lyrical quality to his writing that makes it very engaging。 Onto the content: the book is about systemic racism in the United States plus Lemon's own experiences。 It's a rather short read， truth be told， and I would probably have enjoyed even more。 It's a mix of historical events， modern day travesties， and personal anecdotes。 I quite enjoyed highlights of his close relationship with his mother in those segments。 You can really see their bond in his stories。 The rest is reflections on where we are with the BLM movement and how we can forge ahead as a nation。 I didn't think anything was particularly revelatory or new if you read/watch the news regularly （though admittedly I wasn't aware of all the extent of the brutality of the slave revolt he highlighted in one section）， but I liked reading his thoughts on many topics including defunding the police and the role of Black artists in media。 I will say that I think Lemon assumes his readers ARE aware of the news， because he isn't interested in recapping it all for you。 There is an assumption about the knowledge of his readers in current events for the most part。 This book is already popular （not sure how I snagged it so quickly） and deservedly so。 I hope that Lemon continues to write more books in the future。 。。。more
Michael Mason-D'Croz
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