On Saturday evening, leading up to his network’s coverage of the White House Correspondents Dinner, CNN anchor Don Lemon appeared on the air sporting a bow tie.
Lemon appeared alongside Professor Marc Lamont Hill. Lemon asked Hill how he looked, and Hill responded “bean pie,” a sly hint that Lemon’s bow tie made him look like a member of the Nation of Islam. Its adherents are known for wearing bow ties and selling bean pies and copies of the NOI newspaper, Final Call, on street corners in cities where the group is prevalent.
Rather than reject the comparison to the Nation of Islam, Lemon said “He was asking me…I have a Final Call for you. Where is it? And a bean pie. He’s saying that I look like a member of the Nation if Islam. That’s okay. I like them. I live on 123rd Street. They’re always at 125th Street subway stop and I buy my Final Call.” Lemon added that he had read that day’s edition of Final Call, and the two got into an exchange over how “black” Lemon is because he reads the NOI newspaper.
Has Lemon read this piece, about Donald Sterling and his “alleged” comments? It calls for black separatism in professional basketball. Has Lemon read this piece, in which Louis Farrakhan provides “proof” of Jewish “evil” influence on world affairs?
Don Lemon came out as gay in 2011. He may like the Nation of Islam, but the Nation of Islam does reciprocate.
Until recently, the Southern Poverty Law Center rated the Nation of Islam a “hate group” for its anti-Semitic, anti-white and anti-gay rhetoric. In 2006, Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan warned that Israel will be “cleansed with blood” because it allows gay parades.
Watch video of Don Lemon’s unabashed endorsement of the Nation of Islam here.
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