The petition was started by Jamell Henderson from Brooklyn NY. In it, Mr. Henderson stated that “Don Lemon has consistently antagonized and defamed the characteristics of African-Americans on the national scale.” Mr. Henderson used multiple examples to make his point, listing Lemon’s coverage of the Trayvon Martin murder, “the holding of the ‘N’ word sign before the national audience to disrespecting the Mayor of Baltimore.”
But it was Lemon’s coverage and comments on the recent events in South Carolina where a teenage school girl was attacked and dragged by a school resource officer, that prompted Mr. Henderson to get this petition started.
But what concerns me is that Lemon has repeatedly failed to fulfill his responsibility to remain objective and unbiased in his work. As a news anchor, Mr. Lemon’s job is to present the facts to the public, but time and time again, he has presented his opinion as fact—even when that opinion is contradicted by reality and common sense. That’s unacceptable for a journalist.
I’m disappointed that someone I used to look up to now is someone that I have trouble respecting as a journalist. Please join me in calling on CNN to remove Mr. Lemon from his role at the network.
