This is the Fire : : What I say to my Friends About Racism

Locations
Call Number: 305.896 Le, Black Studies 305.896 Le, Adult Book / Nonfiction / Social Science / Race & Ethnicity / Lemon, Don
On Shelf At: Downtown Library, Malletts Creek Branch, Westgate Branch

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	305.896 Le	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	Black Studies 305.896 Le	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Malletts Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Nonfiction / Social Science / Race & Ethnicity / Lemon, Don	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Westgate Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Nonfiction / Social Science / Race & Ethnicity / Lemon, Don	4-week checkout	On Shelf

Includes index.
Prologue: A letter to my nephew -- Do I but dream -- We didn't get here by accident -- My Lord, what a mourning when the stars begin to fall -- Seeking justice in the land of law and order -- Of movies, myths, and monuments -- About the Benjamins -- How change happens.
"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"-- Provided by publisher.

REVIEWS & SUMMARIES

Library Journal Review
Booklist Review
Publishers Weekly Review
Summary / Annotation
Table of Contents
Author Notes

COMMUNITY REVIEWS

not yet read submitted by ecyee on March 17, 2021, 12:12pm not yet read

Highly recommended submitted by Susan4Pax -prev. sueij- on June 18, 2021, 10:23pm (Full disclosure: I have no personal connection to the author, but he interviewed my boyfriend in June 2020, and it is referenced in the book. I added the book to my To Read list before I knew this particular interview was included.)

This book was fantastic, and may become my go-to recommendation for what to suggest to people after Robin DiAngelo’s _White Fragility_ if they are beginning to engage with racism and White supremacy. It works for those long engaged in the struggle, too.

Here’s why: Don Lemon writes with a storyteller’s skill matched with his journalist’s expertise in getting to the core of the matter. He invites readers on a journey that is both personal and global, familial and societal, inward and outward. He challenges us to reflect on the past and the future, and offers a path from one to the other. He calls out that which is harmful and wrong about racism, but with a call to grow, rather than condemnation for the place that a person or society is. He pulls no punches that harm has been and is being done, and yet comes across as hopeful that we, as a country, are at THIS moment at a turning point to make things different.

I think this would be an excellent book for individual reading and reflection, for a class, or for a book group to take on and discuss (either a few chapters at a time or as a whole). It’s not terribly long, it's easy to read, and there’s a lot to engage with. This one has my highest recommendation.