Just over a week ago, our very own Russell Simmons wrote an open letter to Don Lemon, responding to the CNN host’s opinion of black teenagers being the cause of their own demise and now Mr. Lemon has responded. He first tweeted:
My response to @UncleRush Russell Simmons tonight on #CNN & read my open letter to him on http://t.co/G4eKNUwgYB. @globalgrind @vladtv
— Don Lemon (@DonLemonCNN) August 10, 2013
And he did just that.
Opening by saying he wasn’t even going to respond to Russell, Don continues:
“We are in a crisis right now, you of all people need to understand what I’m saying and what you’re doing.”
He continues, saying:
So, first. You say I sound like conservative hosts or pulling strings writing, you write this, conservatives love when we blame ourselves for the conditions that have destroyed the fabric of the black community.
My response is, you should take that up with a conservative or a liberal or someone who is concerned about political affiliation in this particular situation. That does not save lives. It shouldn’t matter if someone is black, white, brown, purple, green, democrat, or Republican. If the truth they speak is saving lives, then no matter their intentions or background, we should listen, attack the problem, not the messenger.
Don also questions if the mogul wrote the letter himself, and points out Russell comparing baggy pants to afros.
Russell, afros came out of the struggle of the after American civil rights movement. The dashiki is a traditional form of African dress.
Sagging, Russell, the hip hop community which you helped established, dropped the G on the word so that spelled backwards the word reads n- i-g-g-a-s. It came from Riker’s island in New York, one of the largest attention centers in the U.S. It was originally called wearing your pants Riker’s style.
Nothing like a healthy debate! But it doesn’t end there, Uncle Rush did start a comeback! Check that out here and Don speaking his mind in the video above and let us know your own thoughts!
