09
February
2012

Don Lemon: Race and Sexuality.

In 2011 people come out everyday, even celebrities and sports players (after they retire), but none of them have been making such an educational impact like CNN’s Don Lemon. As many of you have heard by now, on Sunday night Don came out publicly on Twitter. He had a nice article in the New York Times, but the real value in his coming out has been in his television interviews.

See what Don is able to do that many people haven’t is talk openly about race, sexuality, homophobia, racism, and how they’re all tightly woven together. Don is no doubt opening minds, he’s even talking about the “Down Low” and how the stereotype that it only exists in the black community just isn’t true. Don has also been talking about the extreme pressure black gay men have on them from the gay community and black community. On one side you feel pressured to come out and on the other it’s the worst thing you could possibly think about doing. “You have to get to a certain point in order to be comfortable enough to do this.” he explains. All of us at The Pride Network are thrilled to add Don Lemon to our list of role models for the LGBTQ community. “If I had had someone like me who had chosen to live their lives out and proud, there would be no need for the Tyler Clementis of the world.” “I was born gay, just as I was born black.”

 

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