Fort Lauderdale’s Stonewall museum features celebrity-donated memorabilia: See what Don Lemon just gifted

One of Don Lemon’s neckties — in a way — is now part of LGBTQ+ history.

The former CNN and NBC newscaster donated the apparel accessory to the Stonewall National Museum, Archives & Library in Fort Lauderdale last month, where it joins other notable contributions such as sneakers from Ellen DeGeneres, an outfit from RuPaul, pants from Ricky Martin, a tennis racket from Martina Navratilova, boots from Billy Porter, a T-shirt from Bruce Vilanch and more.

Following Lemon’s visit to the museum back in November, when he discussed his memoir, “I Once Was Lost: My Search for God in America,” the openly-gay journalist was asked “for something to record his being in our archives,” according to Stonewall president and CEO Robert Kesten.

“He decided to sign and send the tie. And it seemed almost appropriate, although he doesn’t wear ties very much at all anymore, now that he’s not on a national cable news network. But nonetheless, it really personifies, in a sense, someone who really can put himself together quite well,” Kesten said.

The three-time regional news Emmy Award winner was a correspondent for NBC News before joining CNN, where he led programs such as “CNN Tonight with Don Lemon.”

But for a while, Lemon was in the news more than covering the news. He made headlines when it was revealed that he’d sent Jussie Smollett text messages while covering the actor’s alleged 2019 hate-crime hoax case for CNN. Lemon was later accused of sexism after commenting on politician/ambassador Nikki Haley. This was followed by accusations of alleged misogyny by colleagues. CNN cut him loose in April 2023. A little over eight months later in 2024, “The Don Lemon Show” on X (formerly Twitter) was announced only to get canceled by X owner Elon Musk — also the guest for the debut episode — before the show could air on the social media platform.

Currently, “The Don Lemon Show” is a podcast seen on YouTube and other digital platforms.

Kesten, who moderated Lemon’s appearance/book signing at the museum, considers the necktie to be a “very important” donation.

“It’s significant for any number of reasons,” he said. “One, he’s a gay Black man who had a very important perch in conveying what was going on in this country for a certain period of time. And if he was just Black, it would be important. If he was just gay, it would be important.

“But the fact that he represents two very seriously marginalized communities in our country makes him symbolic of the promise of change and the promise of equity and equality and justice in the United States.”

What Kesten remembers most about the media star was his directness.

“He didn’t skirt around the issues,” Kesten said. “He said exactly what he thought. He expressed how he felt the country was at this particular moment in time. He had no ambivalence about saying this is why we are here, and this may be the only way we have of getting out. And I thought that was really important for people to hear from someone who sat in a position where they dealt with a lot of these people.”

Kesten feels the Stonewall museum has a role to play in the current political climate, including giving “communities that are not necessarily fully part of the mainstream the understanding that we do not have to be fearful, that we have a long history of standing up and speaking out, and we have a litany of ways that we have overcome the problems that our community has faced.

“In the archives, you will also find that the LGBTQ community stands on the shoulders of the fight for justice in employment, the fight for justice against racism, for women, for all these groups that have come before us,” he added. “And that the best and the brightest, often from these groups — from labor, from civil rights, from the women’s movement — found their way into this movement. … Knowing that we have such talent, such ability, that we have overcome one crisis after the other when we have been scapegoated, I think that’s one of the most important things about an archive and a museum and a library, is that we have those stories.”

Yes, the Stonewall archives feature lighthearted items such as Harvey Fierstein’s robe from “Torch Song Trilogy,” Alan Cumming’s hat and dress from “Cabaret,” and a pair of comedian Kate Clinton’s glasses. But there are also “more serious things,” he added, “like Nancy Pelosi’s gavel that she used to stop ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ when it finally was repealed in the United States Congress. So there are many things that are both fun and there are things that are equally serious.”

And then there’s the museum’s location in South Florida, which is vital, according to Kesten.

“You have to be at Ground Zero. … If we move the needle here, we save the rest of the country. We are under attack and have been under attack since this entire movement has started. Then it is here where we have to have the ability to start changing minds, one at a time, two at a time, community by community,” he said. “And if we do that, there is not one community across the United States, maybe not one community around the world that will not be touched by that.”

The Stonewall National Museum, Archives & Library is located at 1300 E. Sunrise Blvd., Fort Lauderdale. Call 954-763-8565, email inquiry@stonewall-museum.org or visit stonewall-museum.org.