Don Lemon's N-Word Sign

About

Don Lemon’s N-Word Sign, also known as Don Lemon: Does This Offend You? refers to a sign featuring the ethnic slur “nigger” held up by the American TV news anchor while discussing the propriety of using racially insensitive words and symbols during a special segment on the nightly news program CNN Tonight, aired in late June 2015. Immediately after its broadcast, screenshots of Lemon holding up the sign were turned into a photoshop meme with many participants superimposing alternate messages over the original sign.

Origin

On June 22nd, CNN Tonight broadcast a special segment titled Does This Offend You?, which begins with the host Don Lemon holding up a Confederate flag, followed by a sign featuring the racial slur in its uncensored form, before rhetorically asking the audiences if they found it offensive.

Background

In the aftermath of the mass shooting of nine African American churchgoers in Charleston, South Carolina on June 17th, 2015, a national debate ensued over whether the display of the Confederate flag should be banned from official government buildings, such as the one flying over South Carolina’s state capitol. That weekend, President Barack Obama appeared on the WTF with Marc Maron podcast for an interview, where the president used the word “nigger” during a discussion about the state of racial relations in America, which prompted a concurrent public discussion on whether it is appropriate to use the slur regardless of context.

Spread

Soon after the broadcast, the popular blog Boing Boing tweeted at Twitter user darth, asking him to photoshop something else onto the sign The tweet received 543 retweets and 388 favorites in less than 24 hours.

It also inspired a barrage of users to create similar images. Between June 22nd and June 23rd, 18,000 people tweeted about Don Lemmon, with thousands more tweeting “Does This Offend You” with images attached.^[1]

Notable Examples

Search Reference

External References

^[1]Topsy – Search: Don Lemon, #donlemon, #DoesThisOffendYou

^[2]The Daily What – Photoshop of the Day: Don Lemon Holds Up N-Word Sign on CNN, Internet Turns Him Into a Meme