DON LEMON (HOST): So, here's my take. I've been thinking about it a lot this weekend. We can't have an honest discussion about what happened this weekend without discussing or at least being aware of history. We cannot pretend that these things happen in a vacuum. They say those who don't learn their history are doomed to repeat it. You've heard that before. Since a lot of people this weekend and today are forgetting this country's history, let's take a short walk down memory lane.
African-Americans got here to America on ships. Not by choice. There were no Ninas, Pintas, or Santa Marias for my people. They were brought here to be slaves to white people. Tortured, beaten, lynched, murdered. They helped build this country, build the White House even and could not take part in the country's success. No voting, no education, no ability to accumulate wealth, no freedom. All the while, white people from all over the world came here for a better life, were allowed the opportunity to realize the American dream.
And once slavery was abolished hundreds of years later, it is no surprise that an organization like the Ku Klux Klan began to take root. They wanted it to take their country back stay or should I say make sure it stayed the same way, with black people in chains, enslaved.
And in case you haven't seen the images, them gathering in the dark of night carrying torches, here they are, but at least they wore hoods then. The racist white supremacist cowards this weekend evidently feel they have no reason to hide. They boldly showed their faces. Perhaps they feel emboldened or even legitimized for some reason. The former grand wizard of the KKK is David Duke and he says, “Yes.”
