Nonfiction

This Is the Fire: What I Say to My Friends About Racism

This Is the Fire: What I Say to My Friends About Racism

  • Downloads：2368
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-03-17 08:15:39
  • Update Date：2025-09-07
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Don Lemon
  • ISBN：0316257575
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Summary

In this ‘vital book for these times’ （Kirkus Reviews）， 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。

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Reviews

Joyce Hamel ，

An Eloquent Vital Book I do watch Don Lemon on CNN a few times per week。 I enjoy his themes of the night， usually appropriate to the political or possibly social news of the current day or week。 I relish his repartee between Chris Cuomo and himself。 They provide a good segue into Lemon’s late-night show。This book， like so many， discusses our nation’s ongoing racism。 Lemon’s remarkable prose piqued my interest immediately。 His sentences flow one into the other and he is saying something。 It’s not An Eloquent Vital Book I do watch Don Lemon on CNN a few times per week。 I enjoy his themes of the night， usually appropriate to the political or possibly social news of the current day or week。 I relish his repartee between Chris Cuomo and himself。 They provide a good segue into Lemon’s late-night show。This book， like so many， discusses our nation’s ongoing racism。 Lemon’s remarkable prose piqued my interest immediately。 His sentences flow one into the other and he is saying something。 It’s not banter。 Similar to James Baldwin， he opens his book with a letter to his nephew， he evokes a sorrowful pitch to his words。 Alluding to the death of George Floyd， he reflects on his own outrage。 I agree that racism has been present in this country since Columbus met the American Indians。 We have not had much progress， some， but not enough。Lemon more than alludes to our white supremacist President Trump。 He gave permission for racism to rear its ugly head before he took office。 “I never met David Duke。” Despite the political stance， Lemon speaks to the reader about his family and his partner， Tim。 The death of his beloved sister， Leisa in 2018 was a grief-stricken time。 I looked up her accidental drowning and read the most brutal comments from racists and Trumpers， I imagine。。 Their personal cruelty was more than despicable。Lemon offers a tiny bit of hope。 If the country or large federations can no longer ignore a problem， realistic ideas may arise。 He didn’t really add more information or definitive solutions to the blatant racism in our politics or lifestyles。 But his prose and vocabulary are eloquent and it is worth reading every word。My gratitude to NetGalley and Little Brown for providing me with this pre-published book in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more

KELLY SILVEIRA ，

Thank you to Little， Brown & Company for the ARC of this book （won via a Goodreads giveaway。） As a long time viewer of CNN Tonight， I thought I pretty much knew what to expect from Don Lemon's book。 And， Mr。 Lemon doesn't disappoint。 Through personal stories and historic references， he's written a call to action for this country。 Reading this book feels like sitting at a table with Mr。 Lemon and having a personal conversation。 Let's see if people listen。 Thank you to Little， Brown & Company for the ARC of this book （won via a Goodreads giveaway。） As a long time viewer of CNN Tonight， I thought I pretty much knew what to expect from Don Lemon's book。 And， Mr。 Lemon doesn't disappoint。 Through personal stories and historic references， he's written a call to action for this country。 Reading this book feels like sitting at a table with Mr。 Lemon and having a personal conversation。 Let's see if people listen。 。。。more

Emily ，

So many thanks to Little， Brown and Company and NetGalley for the opportunity to read Don Lemon’s This Is the Fire before it’s 3/16/21 publication date！ I was hooked from the first sentence; what an excellent read！ Disclaimer before jumping into the review: I love politics and I happen to align with many beliefs Lemon reflects in this work so I am inherently biased。 It read as though we were sitting down having a conversation about what has happened over the last few years in this country。 His So many thanks to Little， Brown and Company and NetGalley for the opportunity to read Don Lemon’s This Is the Fire before it’s 3/16/21 publication date！ I was hooked from the first sentence; what an excellent read！ Disclaimer before jumping into the review: I love politics and I happen to align with many beliefs Lemon reflects in this work so I am inherently biased。 It read as though we were sitting down having a conversation about what has happened over the last few years in this country。 His detailing of the U。S。’s history of institutional racism and white supremacy was well researched and explained。 His personal connections to the historical events enhanced the reader’s connection to the work。 However， the biggest thing for me was Lemon’s writing style。 I just felt like we were sitting in a room， having an honest and frank conversation about racism。 I also loved his choices of references， from the great James Baldwin， to Isabel Wilkerson。 I implore everyone to read this and then let’s get to the work that needs to be done。 5 stars， no question。 I’ve already pre-ordered a hard copy。 。。。more

Patricia Romero ，

Don Lemon， the anchor of CNN Tonight， is a very popular reporter who has the most conversational writing style I have ever seen。 To watch him and to read his words are very much like having a conversation with a friend。Known for his monologues on racism， broken systems， and administrations that do more harm than good， this book seems even more personal。 Showing us what is wrong， how wrong it is， and how we maybe can begin to repair what is broken。I enjoyed the beginning， which is a letter to his Don Lemon， the anchor of CNN Tonight， is a very popular reporter who has the most conversational writing style I have ever seen。 To watch him and to read his words are very much like having a conversation with a friend。Known for his monologues on racism， broken systems， and administrations that do more harm than good， this book seems even more personal。 Showing us what is wrong， how wrong it is， and how we maybe can begin to repair what is broken。I enjoyed the beginning， which is a letter to his black nephew。 He talks about their slave ancestors， activists， politicians， and people he has met and interviewed。 We hear about the slave port where his ancestor was shipped to America as a slave。 He talks about his growing up and his experiences。 Even the 2020 New York protests。 The most important thing we can do is to resist racism every single day。 EVERY DAY。 With Love。 Which is hard to do。I was so comfortable with this book。 It honestly felt as if Lemon were talking to me about some really important issues in his famously calm and steady voice。 I am from the deep south and understood everything he said。 This has to stop or we will never be truly free people。Very impressed with his words。NetGalley/ March 16th， 2021 Little， Brown， and Company 。。。more

Kate ，

Thank you to Goodreads for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review。In this book， Don Lemon asks this question about America's institutional racist caste system "What am I supposed to do about it？" He then goes on to answer this question through discussions of his family and through conversations about the the ugliness that has been brought back into the public eye over the past few years。 I was glad to have read this book， and am personally working hard to find my own personal answe Thank you to Goodreads for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review。In this book， Don Lemon asks this question about America's institutional racist caste system "What am I supposed to do about it？" He then goes on to answer this question through discussions of his family and through conversations about the the ugliness that has been brought back into the public eye over the past few years。 I was glad to have read this book， and am personally working hard to find my own personal answer to this question in my daily choices and intentions。 This book reminds me that profound change has not yet happened， and we need to remember our work is not yet over。 。。。more

Cathy ，

In his own unique conversational style， Don Lemon weaves current and past Black History events into his own story。 #ThisIsTheFire is informs， teaches， and challenges the reader。 #NetGalley

Donna Hines ，

First and foremost - Thank you Little Brown and Company and Don Lemon for this wonderful new addition entitled， "This Is The Fire。" This is a book with more than just a story to tell because it's a revolution， a spark for change， a time to get up and have your voices heard not just through action but necessary and needed legislation。We cannot join hands and become united until we address our differences and come together to form a more perfect union。Much like marriage we are in this together， we First and foremost - Thank you Little Brown and Company and Don Lemon for this wonderful new addition entitled， "This Is The Fire。" This is a book with more than just a story to tell because it's a revolution， a spark for change， a time to get up and have your voices heard not just through action but necessary and needed legislation。We cannot join hands and become united until we address our differences and come together to form a more perfect union。Much like marriage we are in this together， we cannot harp， we cannot yell， we cannot hate - We must love。Communication is key。 Community policing is a must。 Proactive not reactive is essential。Many act out of fear。 Many retaliate。 White supremacy works out of both。They are fearful of losing what they feel is their God given right via their Constitution without acknowledging the death， destruction， and abuse of power upon those less fortunate and those of color。I must note here: I'm a family of mixed race。 Both my older brothers （two of three- as I'm the only daughter） have married outside their race。 Their kids are 'Welcome' into my home any day of the week。 "My Casa is their Casa。"I couldn't care less what race， what nationality （my brother's wife is Cuban decent the other St。 Lucian） nor what economic or any other distinguishing characteristic they possess。You see when my brothers wanted to marry they asked for my father's blessing。 In the same breath my father noted， "Do you love her？"It was that simple， the obvious answer was， "Yes。"Children aren't born hating one another。We can and must do better。I've also married and happily divorced a malignant narcissist。I'm still trying to recover from the aftermath which takes years to heal from not just the abuse and the outward appeal but the inward and the financial damage。Bankrupt， Homeless， LT Unemployed， Zero Income， No Assets nor Credit， not a drop of Savings。 My ex spouse even emptied our three kids college funds and then refused to pay child support after I gave up my career to raise our family。This is the world today- It's the "Hurray with Me-The Hell With You"- and Yes， I too as a white woman have been subjected to these alpha males， white supremacist， and ignoramas。I live in Northeastern Pennsylvania an area that cannot be pronounced （Wilkes-Barre） Scranton is my hometown。 The birthplace of our 46th President Joe Biden。Yet， this area is well known for stagnancy， corruption， racism， sexism， misogyny， and more。It's impossible to even drive down the road without these white men hogging the road， spitting on my car， yelling profanities， mocking or terrorizing me and or my kids。 I've had police pull up behind me and wait behind my car as I'm pulling out of my very own driveway。It's because I've spoken out。 I've worked on the front lines of volunteering。 I see the empty promises and broken dreams。 Much of the same as our country。 I was sold the Kool-Aid and fell for the con artist。We as a nation must know brainwashing， gaslighting， manipulation， threats， intimidation， fear， anger， sexism， racism， and more all stems from a certain group that are beneath us。 They want our attention， they craze adulation， they seek praise for their work。Without that spotlight they're nothing。Do not feed the NARCS！They are toxic， dangerous， and operate from a false sense of self。 Lacking in their own self they try to steal， conjure up， and claim the actions of others as their own。 They'll take credit for work they themselves never performed while enticing others to do their dirty work for free。These enablers as we've seen over the last four years in particular are ruthless and worthless。Offering nothing but taking everything。 It's the ME mentality as the Us vs。 Them philosophy。We cannot change until we call these ill-fated and mentally unhinged individuals out。 I'm in awe of your work and love watching CNN （at least during the free trial run I received at the start of the pandemic） as I'm in extreme poverty and just cancelled cable。Therefore， one day I shall hope that "Silence is no longer an option。"As you noted many said Trump wasn't what we needed but as you and I know he spotlighted exactly what we are！I'm actually happy he was in office because up till this point nobody believed my story of survival nor my claims of abuse。 Perhaps his actions can spotlight the danger that lies behind closed doors because he worked his magic for the entire world to see。God bless， stay safe， much love my friend！ 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=This Is the Fire: What I Say to My Friends About Racism

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=This Is the Fire: What I Say to My Friends About Racism&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,This Is the Fire: What I Say to My Friends About Racism&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0