CNN anchor gives speech at Southeast

ELIZABETH DODD ~ edodd@semissourian.com Soledad O'Brien, anchor and special correspondent for CNN, spoke to Southeast Missouri State University students and other community members about overcoming diversity and other life obstacles at the Show Me Center Tuesday night. [Click to enlarge]

Black lawyers, doctors and people with nice children are largely ignored on television news, CNN anchor Soledad O'Brien told Southeast Missouri State University students Tuesday night.

Instead, blacks are disproportionately the focus of crime stories, an issue O'Brien said became painfully clear during research for the special "Black in America."

"I'm not saying we should sugarcoat stories. I'm saying we need to have fair and accurate portrayals of all people," she said at a news conference before speaking to about 775 students and community members at the Show Me Center.

The correspondent for CNN's special investigations unit spoke about diversity for 35 minutes and then accepted questions from the audience. A student organization formed this summer has called for more diversity in campus speakers and entertainment offered.

The historical nature of the presidential election, questions about the response to Hurricane Katrina, the marking of the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and the well-publicized "achievement gap" between white and black students have brought diversity issues to the forefront, O'Brien said.

Hurricane Katrina, in particular, "illuminated a host of problems that had been ignored for decades," she said. The education system, prisons and family structures are issues that must be addressed, she said.

With an Irish Australian father, an Afro-Cuban mother, and the given name Maria de la Soledad Teresa O'Brien, O'Brien has faced questions about diversity her whole life.

As a Harvard-educated working mother, she has had to defend herself against people who questioned her motives and didn't think she could succeed. She falls back on her mother's creed of "Lovey, most people are idiots."

"It's exhausting to continually have to prove yourself," O'Brien said.

Perseverance has gotten her where she is today, she said. Before becoming a special correspondent for CNN, she worked for NBC's "Weekend Today" and then CNN's "American Morning."

Progress in the business world is encouraging, she said. Businesses are hiring diverse people not just because they feel "some sort of moral imperative," but because more diverse groups are more likely to find solutions to problems, she said.

Senior Corey Hawkins said he has seen progress at Southeast as well. "When I first got here, we had African Americans over here and Caucasians over there. I've seen more people mixing," he said.

There is "nothing worse than doing nothing and saying nothing. The time is now," O'Brien said.

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