The skanner., August 21, 2013, Page 8, Image 8

Arts & Entertainment
‘We Were There: The March on Washington’ Interview
By Kam Williams
Special To The Skanner News
B
orn in Baton Rouge, La on March 1, 1966, Don
Lemon anchors CNN Newsroom during weekend
prime-time and serves as a correspondent across
CNN/U.S. programming. Based out of the network’s New
York bureau, Don joined CNN in September 2006.
In 2008, he reported from Chicago in the days leading up
to the presidential election, including an interview with
Rahm Emanuel on the day he agreed to serve as President
Barack Obama’s Chief of Staff. He also interviewed Anne
Cooper, the 106-year old voter Obama highlighted in his
election night acceptance speech.
Don has covered many breaking news stories, including
the George Zimmerman trial, the Boston Marathon bomb-
ing, the Philadelphia building collapse, the Sandy Hook
Elementary School shooting, the Colorado Theater shoot-
ing, the death of Whitney Houston, the Inaugural of the
44th President in Washington, D.C., the death of Michael
Jackson, and the Minneapolis bridge collapse, to name a
few. And he anchored the network’s breaking news cover-
age of the Japan tsunami, the Arab Spring, the death of
Osama Bin Laden and the Joplin tornado.
I think it’s empowering for a
person to live an authentic life
... It can only help when
prominent and successful
people of color come out and
live authentically,
Don began his career at WNYW in New York City as a
news assistant while still attending Brooklyn College. He
has won an Edward R. Murrow award for his coverage of
the capture of the Washington, D.C. snipers, and an Emmy
for a special report on real estate in Chicagoland.
In 2009, Ebony Magazine named him one of the 150 most
influential Blacks in America. A couple of years later, he
came out of the closet, and discussed his homosexuality in
an autobiography entitled “Transparent.”
Don recently caught a lot of flak from a number of
African-American pundits for agreeing with Bill O’Reilly’s
criticisms of the black community, especially since he even
suggested that the conservative talk show host hadn’t gone
far enough.
Here, he talks about We Were There, an oral history of
The March on Washington featuring the only surviving
speaker Congressman John Lewis as well as Harry Bela-
fonte, U.S. Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton, and
other attendees. The special is set to debut on CNN on Fri-
day, Aug. 23 at 10 p.m., 1 a.m., and 4 a.m.
Kam Williams: Hi Don, thanks for the opportunity to
interview you.
Don Lemon: Hi, Kam. How are you?
KW: Great! And you?
DL: I’m not complaining, but it’s a crazy-busy day. I have
to anchor, do my radio hits, prepare for my show tomorrow,
make tapes, and do press for We Were There!
KW: What interested you in doing a special about The
March on Washington?
DL: We had been talking about it for awhile as the 50th
anniversary approached, and I kept indicating that I would
love to be a part of it. Somewhere, somehow, somebody
heard that, Kam, and they said, “Don really wants to do this.
Let’s have him do it.”
KW: Being an Emmy and Edward R. Murrow Award-
winner, I don’t think you’d have to beg too much.
DL: Just because I’m here at CNN, I never rest on my lau-
rels and presume I can coast now. I still throw my hat in the
ring and push to have a voice. I am the face of this docu-
mentary for CNN, and I think that says a lot about how far
we’ve come. Here I am a young African-American who has
a voice at this major network. That is part of the fulfillment
of Dr. King’s dream.
KW: Does the documentary have a theme?
DL: There are, for me, a few different themes. People like
John Lewis and A. Philip Randolph put their lives on the
line to participate. So, the first theme that stands out to me
is courage. The second theme was the hope they exhibited
in “the teeth of the most terrifying odds,” as James Baldwin
said. Thirdly, Bayard Rustin, who many call The Architect
of the Civil Rights Movement, finally gets his due. I think
that’s a fair characterization to some degree. He’s the silent,
strong man who made The March happen. But because he
was gay and people tried to use that against him is probably
why we don’t hear so much about him.
KW: I remember feeling admiration as a child for the
folks from my neighborhood who were going down to The
March on Washington, because of everyone’s palpable
Don Lemon on the mall in DC during Obama's
2009 inauguration
sense of concern for their safety.
DL: I think admiration is a good way of putting it. When-
ever I see John Lewis, I invariably say, “Thank you.” And I
will never stop. I don’t know how he’s still standing,
because what he endured took courage and strength that I
don’t know that I have.
KW: I interviewed Ellen DeGeneres the day after Barack
Obama won the 2008 Presidential Election. She felt his vic-
tory had been bittersweet because Proposition 8 had passed
in California, banning gay marriage. The measure had suc-
ceeded with the help of the black community. I asked her
whether she thought African-Americans would feel differ-
ently about homosexuality, if a famous black icon came out
of the closet. How do you feel about that, as probably the
most prominent black celebrity to come out?
DL: I don’t consider myself a celebrity. I’m just a jour-
nalist. Frank Ocean is a celebrity. Yeah, I was in the
forefront, and took a lot of heat for it. I think the President’s
evolution in terms of gay marriage has helped change many
people’s minds. I think it’s empowering for a person to live
an authentic life. It can only help when prominent and suc-
cessful people of color come out and live authentically,
because younger people, who are being bullied and might
be questioning whether they should continue to live, might
have second thoughts about taking their own lives. So,
yeah, I think any celebrity who comes out can only help a
young person struggling with the stigma.
KW: Do you think your coming out started a snowball
among black gays?
DL: I don’t know. But I do think it helps the next person,
because I get positive feedback every day from someone
who has read my book.
KW: See, you’re not just a journalist. Plus look at all the
blowback from your recent remarks agreeing with Bill
O’Reilly about the black community.
DL: I don’t feel any blowback, but I will say this, whether
you agree with whatever I said or not, at least I got a con-
versation started. That was my goal, and I think I
accomplished it. I think if you’ve watched or read my work
over the years, you know that I’m pretty much at the top in
terms of taking on issues that have to do with African-
Americans and profiling, and with race and racism. What I
love about CNN is that, yes, we believe in diversity of bod-
ies, but we also believe in a diversity of opinion. So,
whether my bosses agree with what I said or not, it doesn’t
matter. We’re in the business of journalism here. Journalism
is about having a diversity of opinion. And just because I’m
African-American does not mean I have to feel a certain
way because I’m black. You don’t have true freedom until
you allow a diversity of opinion and a diversity of voices.
KW: I always feel that I’m black, so whatever my opin-
ion on an issue happens to be is a black opinion.
DL: That’s a good way of putting it. [Laughs]
See LEMON on page 11
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