Don Lemon Set to Release New Book on Racism Sparked by the murder of George Floyd

CNN's Don Lemon recently announced the upcoming release of his lasted book This Is Fire: What I Say To My Friends About Racism. Currently available for pre-order, the book is set to release on March 16.

Lemon says while the idea for the book was sparked by the murder of George Floyd, it was inspired by James Baldwin's The Fire Next Time.

"This is an ode to James Baldin and The Fire Next Time, and it's called This Is The Fire. For me, this is not about selling books, because you know I have a full-time job. I have two hours here (CNN) and I do a bunch of other things. But I really think that this book will help heal America. This book is about grace," Don Lemon shares.

According to Lemon, the book starts off with a letter to his great-nephew, and shares reflections on his slave ancestors, his upbringing in the shadows of segregation, and his adult confrontations with politicians, activists, and scholars.

He went on to tell Chris Cuomo during a CNN interview, "I just want to help. Because people are going to have conversations that are even stronger than the conversation you had with Secretary (William) Cohen, that's even stronger than the conversation that you and I have every night. That's more fulfilling than the conversation that I had with that officer Michael Fanone."

Since 2006, Lemon's career with CNN spans 15 years. He's received three Emmy Awards for his work.

His last book, a memoir called Transparent, gained popularity in 2011 as the medium Lemon chose to announce to the world that he's gay.