(Reviewed by JD Jung)
“Racism is a cancer that has been metastasizing throughout this land ever since Columbus showed up. It’s persisted because the right people had the luxury of ignoring it. Not anymore.”
In fact, Donald Trump, a blatant racist, forced us to reckon with it. Don Lemon tells readers the choices they must make in order to create a “more perfect union” in his new book, This Is the Fire: What I Say to My Friends About Racism.
The title is from James Baldwin’s book, “The Fire Next Time”, published in 1963. Baldwin was dead by the time Lemon read his works, but he felt a connection with the author and refers to him and his writings throughout the book.
This is also evident in the eloquent and emotional prologue, where Lemon writes a letter to his thirteen-year-old nephew, as he tries to explain the cycle of what happens after racially-motivated events like the murder of George Floyd: “Weeping…Rage…Blame…Promises…Complacency”. He explains how far back it started and though progress has been made, how far we, as a country, really need to go.
Part historical study on racism –from slavery to today– , part auto-biography -growing up gay and Black in 1970s Louisiana-, and part “call to action”, this book will convince readers that there is no sitting on the sidelines. We will judge ourselves on how we respond to the events of the current day.
This Is the Fire: What I Say to My Friends About Racism, is targeted for all readers, regardless of race, gender or age. Lemon hopes that this book will show readers how they can act, how they can find their call to purpose. He succeeds in that, and it will take all of us.
