CNN anchor Don Lemon is under fire following comments he made on his weekly show about problems in the Black community. During one of his “No Talking Points” segment, Lemon began his lecture on respectability by saying that he agreed with conservative talk show host Bill O’Reilly’s comments that “the disintegration of the African-American family,” was due to “the drug situation” and “gangsta culture.” “He’s got a point,” said Lemon. “In fact, he’s got more than a point…In my estimation, he doesn’t go far enough.”
“Black people, if you really want to fix the problem, here’s just five things that you should think about doing,” Lemon continued, saying those five things included Black men pulling their pants up, Black people not using the N-word, picking up the trash in our neighborhoods, getting a higher education and not having children out of wedlock.
Simple enough, right? I guess if we all “dress well,” get an education and speak well, we will be respected by White folks. I wonder what professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. would say to that?
Lemon later appeared on The View to clarify his comments, adding that he was simply trying to give “suggestions” to African-Americans.” “That’s advice my mother gave me in kindergarten,” he said. Of course, Twitter responded by the clever hashtag #DonLemonLogic.
Where do you stand? Were Don Lemon’s comments out of line or did he hit the nail on the head? [poll id=350186]