Before Zimmerman was found not-guilty on second degree murder charges and manslaughter, Lisa Jackson, a former employee of celebrity chef Paula Deen alleged that she was racist and had used racial slurs. In a deposition Deen had admitted that she had indeed used a racial slur causing a backlash for which her camp tried to smooth over.
"During a deposition where she swore to tell the truth, Ms. Deen recounted having used a racial epithet in the past, speaking largely about a time in American history which was quite different than today," read a statement from Paula Deen Enterprises. "She was born 60 years ago when America's South had schools that were segregated, different bathrooms, different restaurants and Americans rode in different parts of the bus. This is not today." [SOURCE]Since a 46-second video of a teary eyed Deen apologizing for her use of the word surfaced in the media, four former employees have filed a complaint against her with United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
This past week Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Riley Cooper was caught on tape at a Kenny Chesney concert saying,"I will fight every nigger here, bro." Cooper was upset that a Black security guard would not allow him access backstage.
After the video surfaced Cooper released a statement via Twitter.
I am so ashamed and disgusted with myself. I want to apologize. I have been offensive...I owe an apology to the fans and to this community...there are no excuses. What I did was wrong and I will accept the consequences.Cooper received a fine for his inexcusable use of the hateful word, one that I'm sure CNN's Don Lemon would have a problem with.
Lemon agreed with Fox News' political commentator Bill O'Reilly when he stated on his show The O'Reilly Factor that the president had no clue on how to deal with the problems that plague the African-American community. He also criticized the glorification of the "gangster" culture and offered solutions to the problems that plague our community.
Here is a portion of his thoughts on the Black community.
"The reason there is so much violence and chaos in the black precincts is the disintegration of the African-American family…Raised without much structure, young black men often reject education and gravitate towards the street culture, drugs, hustling, gangs. Nobody forces them to do that. Again, it is a personal decision."During Lemon's "No Talking Points" segment he compiled a list of starting points to assist in the revolution of our community:
PULL UP YOUR PANTS
“Here’s number five. Pull up your pants. If you’re sagging, I mean — I think it’s your self-esteem that is sagging and who you are as a person it’s sagging. Young people need to be taught respect and there are rules. [...]
STOP USING THE N-WORD
Number four now is the n-word. I understand poetic license, but consider this: I hosted a special on the n-word, suggesting that black people stop using it and that entertainers stop deluding yourselves or themselves and others that you’re somehow taking the word back. [...]
RESPECT WHERE YOU LIVE, DON'T LITTER
Now number three. Respect where you live. Start small by not dropping trash, littering in your own communities. I’ve lived in several predominantly white neighborhoods in my life, I rarely, if ever, witnessed people littering. I live in Harlem now, it’s an historically black neighborhood, every single day I see adults and children dropping their trash on the ground when a garbage can is just feet away. Just being honest here. [...]
FINISH HIGH SCHOOL
Number two, finish school. You want to break the cycle of poverty? Stop telling kids they’re acting white because they go to school or they speak proper English. [...]
STOP HAVING CHILDREN OUT OF WEDLOCK
And number one, and probably the most important, just because you can have a baby, it doesn’t mean you should. Especially without planning for one or getting married first. More than 72 percent of children in the African-American community are born out of wedlock. That means absent fathers. And the studies show that lack of a male role model is an express train right to prison and the cycle continues. So, please, black folks, as I said if this doesn’t apply to you, I’m not talking to you. Pay attention to and think about what has been presented in recent history as acceptable behavior. Pay close attention to the hip-hop and rap culture that many of you embrace. A culture that glorifies everything I just mentioned, thug and reprehensible behavior, a culture that is making a lot of people rich, just not you. And it’s not going to.”While some applaud Lemon for going Bill Cosby on us Goldie Taylor of The Grio finds flaws in his expedition.
O’Reilly told us Lil’ Wayne is to blame for “black culture.” While I have personally pressed against the hyper-sexualized misogyny so prevalent in hip-hop today, one look at the demographics behind iTunes sales tells a different story. Who buys more “gangsta rap” than any other consumer segment? Who buys those expensive concert tickets and fills arena seats? White, suburban children.
A swift kick to the backside, or “tough love” as CNN anchor Don Lemon calls it, will not tear down the strictures of race, class and gender in this country. To say so gives rise to the poisonous notion that distressed communities are simply the manifestation of a collective moral failing.
Maybe, just maybe, Lemon did not understand what he was co-signing his name to when he said O’Reilly “didn’t go far enough.” Maybe he was stoking controversy for the sake of improving his poorly rated weekend show and raising his profile. But if his half-hearted explanation on ABC’s The View is any indication, it is a little of both. Despite his self-professed humble upbringing, Lemon betrayed a barely nascent understanding of the societal and political pathologies that left generations of devastation in their wake.
“Blacks are only to blame for their problems,” tweeted Crystal Wright, a conservative black Republican who makes regular appearances on Lemon’s show. “This isn’t 1850.”
Maligning millions of peace loving, law-abiding African-Americans in this country, as O’Reilly and company did, is offensive on its face. However, willfully and capriciously advancing that idea that “black culture” or any other should be judged by its fewest and worst bad actors — the “lowest common denominator” — is destructive. [SOURCE]Lemon's efforts are worth acknowledging, but his points aren't deep enough to solve the issues of racism. His points are directed solely towards our community, and not the outside forces that so have an affect on us. We aren't racially profiled because of the way we dress or because we use the N-word. We are profiled because of our skin color alone.
Why is it that we as African-Americans have to be perfect to be treated fairly in America? The same problems that plague our community are also present in every other race. Despite Lemon's perfectly creased slacks and perfect speech, according to him actor Jonah Hill treated him like "The Help" during an event. So how did these points for which he follows so religiously, save him from being profiled himself? Maybe he should have let Hill know that he recycles.