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

Don LemonNonfiction | Autobiography / Memoir | Adult | Published in 2021

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Prologue-Chapter 1

Chapters 2-3

Chapters 4-5

Chapters 6-7

Key Figures

Themes

Index of Terms

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

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Discussion Questions

Background

Historical Context

The year 2020 was a historic one, in which a contentious presidential election, renewed social activism against injustice and hate crimes, and a global pandemic converged. However, Lemon believes that the current challenges in the US are a result of its reluctance to address historical wrongs that date back to the arrival of slave ships in the 1600s. Rather than acknowledge the contradiction of pursuing democratic ideals while subjugating Black and Indigenous populations, the US celebrates a whitewashed history in which slavery isn’t the primary cause of the Civil War and people don’t learn about massacres like the Black Wall Street attack in school. Confederate monuments and movies such as The Birth of a Nation celebrate this mythology while reflecting the marginalization that people of color face at the time of their creation.

Many analysts compare the George Floyd protests to the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. Lemon, however, feels that this comparison may be unfair. Today’s activists are not continuing their parents’ mission but pursuing their own goals and ideals. The George Floyd protests included people across all races with less inter-coalition feuding that slowed down past movements, and incremental socioeconomic changes favor these groups. For example, businesses now directly advertise to people of color and LGBTQ audiences, and consumers often shun companies that engage in bigoted practices. Lemon sees 2020 as a “rock-bottom moment” that may finally lead to substantial change and the weakening of White supremacy (194). At the same time, he remembers how past movements sputtered into complacency and token shows of support. He also understands how Trumpism will survive in society long after his presidency.

Ideological Context

Lemon does not affiliate himself with either political party. As a child, he witnessed the South’s Republican Party shift from pro-integration policies to hardline conservative views. Throughout his book, he expresses frustration and exhaustion at America’s systemic racism and how the power structure exploits divisions between marginalized groups. At the same time, he believes in the power of practical solutions and gradual change that goes beyond political party or ideology. A culture that is increasingly aware of past injustice and welcoming of new perspectives is as important as any sweeping legislation.

Lemon’s moderate approach will likely inspire criticism from both conservative and progressive groups. Conservatives may view Lemon’s dives into the racist origins of the police, the Confederacy, and other parts of Americana as enforcing today’s social standards on the past. Even Lemon sympathizes with the thankless tasks that police must do and the reality that neighborhoods are better with police than without them. While progressives are more willing to acknowledge US flaws, they may see Lemon’s criticism of activism as disparaging the people who are advancing actual change. Lemon rejects the term “defund the police,” already a toned-down version of “abolish the police,” but then recommends shifting budgets to specialized social programs, which is the goal of defunding the police. Lemon considers marketing campaigns that promote inclusivity proof of progress, but many corporate executives who run these businesses still support far-right causes.

Geographical Context

Don Lemon spent most of his childhood in Louisiana, a place where heat and history “sticks to you” (33). Its history includes the conquest of Indigenous populations and the brutal suppression of slave uprisings. The Baton Rouge of his youth was a place that closed public pools rather than integrate them and where a university professor told him that he wouldn’t amount to anything. While Lemon has strong memories of growing up with his families and crossing the old O.K. Allen Bridge, he notes how the newer bridge represented independence to him and that he wouldn’t mind if the modernizing city replaced the remnants of “plantation culture” (168).

Today, Lemon lives with his partner, Tim, in the exclusive neighborhood of Sag Harbor in Long Island, New York. It is near Azurest, one of the nation’s oldest Black summer communities, which Maude Terry and Amaza Lee Meredith founded by circumventing racist real estate and financial policies. While Lemon is critical of the South, he does not excuse racism in other parts of the US. The high-profile killings of Black people by police occurred in every region regardless of political tendencies: George Floyd in Minnesota, Breonna Taylor in Kentucky, and Stephon Clark in California. Amy Cooper, the woman who faked a call to the police, lived in New York City, the city that conservatives call progressive and elitist. Sag Harbor and Azurest would not exist had their founders not driven the Indigenous Shinnecock from the land.

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As part of a CNN special, Lemon and his mother traveled to Ghana in Western Africa in a region called the Slave Coast. They visited Cape Coast Castle, a slave trade center where elegant guest rooms and a church stood over derelict slave quarters. They returned to Louisiana to visit the Cinclare Plantation, where the two learned about their relation to a White overseer.