WATCH: Don Lemon Tackles Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones Shocking Segregation-Era Photo With Little Rock Nine Survivor

CNN anchor Don Lemon confronted the shocking unearthed photo of Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones in a pro-segregation crowd by getting the perspective of Ernest Green, a surviving member of the Little Rock Nine.

On Wednesday morning’s edition of CNN This Morning, Lemon and co-anchor Kaitlan Collins played video of Jones explaining his presence in a crowd that shouted slurs and blocked the path of Black students on September 9, 1957, at North Little Rock High.

“That was, gosh, 60, 65 years ago and curious kid, I didn’t know at the time the monumental event rally that was going on. And I’m sure glad that we’re a long way from that, I am. And we just — would that would remind me, just continued to do everything we can to not have those kinds of things happen,” Jones said.

Lemon and Collins then brought in Green, who just weeks later integrated Little Rock Central High School with eight other Black students, who reframed the issue in a current context:

ERNEST GREEN, MEMBER, “LITTLE ROCK NINE”: Well, good morning to both of you and to the audience. Well, my view is Jerry Jones as an opportunity to make that picture, have a different ending, by pursuing diversity and inclusion and involvement of the African American community, people of color, all throughout this country.

Dallas Cowboys is an institution that most Americans know something about it. Professional Football is an entity that everybody has some interest in. And I think that rather than talk to Jerry about what happened in 1957, let’s go forward and see what we can do in this year.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: I think it’s — listen, I have to tell you, Mr. Green — thank you so much for doing this. Good morning to you. Happy Thanksgiving. It is indeed an honor to be on with you, because of — people like you in large part is why I’m able to be able to sit in the seat and do what I do.

So I think it’s tremendous that you want to stay in the present and move forward. But if you look at that picture, in the faces in that crowd, you faces — you faced similar faces, you saw those people, those people grew up to be adults, many of them still alive today, functioning in this society. So for those faces, like the Jerry Jones and others that you witnessed, what’s your message to them right now?

GREEN: Well, that they have an opportunity today to write — to make that picture a different outcome, to show that this can be a country that involves people, not once to keep them out. I mean, the reason I went to Central High School was, one, it was nearer to me than the school that I was attending. And two, that Central had more classes, diversity of classes. They had physics, we didn’t have physics.

All of that was to show that a segregated life in Arkansas was not something that was going to have a good outcome. And I think today, as head of the Dallas Cowboys, he has a opportunity to have a tremendous impact on expanding opportunities in this country.

COLLINS: And that’s been a big question is, is he using his role — that’s been the question kind of raise, I suppose. Is he using his role and to further black coaches to elevate them, not just Jerry Jones, but other organizations in the NFL? Because that’s been — it seems like a big blind spot for them.

GREEN: Well, and I think you’re right. I mean, the article that I read showed that, while the Cowboys have a African American quarterback, they did — I follow that daily part ownership, an opportunity to bring in black coaches and people of color, all of that is within their grasp. And that Jerry Jones is somehow, he has more attention on him than many of the other owners.

He’s a pacemaker, he can set the tone. And I hope he will, I hope he’ll use this as a stepping stone and not a rock to throw at somebody. But I applaud you done for raising this because the NFL sets a tone for more than just a sports, it really is sets a tone for the country as a whole and going forward as what we need.

We need more involvement of the business community. We need to be able to show that there’s a relationship between education and success. All of this is tied together and I think Jerry Jones would — have an opportunity to try and right or wrong.

LEMON: Yes. Well, I think you’re right, if you look at the change that’s often made through sports, to Jackie Robinson, with Arthur Ashe, with Muhammad Ali, Wilma Rudolph and all of those people who broke barriers in this country, and they did it through sports. You did it through, you know, integrating schools.

I’m so honored and happy that you’re here to give us some perspective, Ernest Green. Thank you so much. You’d be well.

GREEN: Thank you, and wish everybody a great holiday season.