Soledad O'Brien Accepts HOLA Award 2006

Soledad O'Brien speaks about her parents and influences upon receiving HOLA Award in 2006.

Latino in America Book Excerpt

An excerpt from Latino in America by Soledad O'Brien with Rose Marie Arce published by arrangement with Celebra, a member of Penguin Group (USA), Inc. is posted on CNN's website at
http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/05/13/soledad.obrien.heritage/

"When you have a name like María de la Soledad Teresa O'Brien, you have a lot of explaining to do. My mother is black and also Latina, more specifically Cuban. She is a devout Catholic who credits the Virgin Mary with any success she's had in this country. But it was my father, a man who spoke no Spanish, who chose the name María de la Soledad to honor the Blessed Virgin Mary of Solitude ("solitude" in Spanish is soledad).

My name is altogether too long for Americans, who've always struggled with it. It's even too long for a driver's license. African-Americans assume I'm named after the notorious Soledad prison or Mount Soledad in California. Latinos want to know if I'm lonely. That doesn't fit because I grew up with five siblings and I have four kids of my own, so I'm not lonely at all, though I do often seek solitude, the actual meaning of my name."

Soledad O'Brien Will Host CHCI Annual Awards Gala

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI) is the premier Hispanic non-profit and non-partisan leadership development organization in the country.

CHCI announced September 12-15, 2010, as the dates for its 2010 Hispanic Heritage Month celebration in Washington, D.C. with the theme "Celebrating History, Heritage and the American Dream."

CNN anchor and special correspondent Soledad O'Brien will celebrity host the 33rd Annual Awards Gala on September 15, 2010. O'Brien is a recipient of CHCI's 2009 Medallion of Excellence Award for Leadership and Community Service.

CHCI hosts the nation's premier events commemorating Hispanic Heritage Month, which draws over 3,000 Latino leaders from across the country to its Public Policy Conference, Reyes of Comedy Night, and Annual Awards Gala.

"This year's theme reflects the historical contributions of Latinos in the United States as we join the celebration of Latin American landmark independence anniversaries all over the hemisphere and the 400 year anniversary of the founding of the city of Santa Fe," said Rep. Nydia M. Velazquez, CHCI Chair.

"Our theme also embodies the Latino community's embrace of the American Dream and its commitment to the success of this great nation. We expect a huge turnout this year to hear from members of Congress, Cabinet secretaries, and other national leaders on how the Latino community will play an integral role in leading this nation forward in the 21st century."

Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated annually from September 15 - October 15. For CHCI, it also represents an opportunity to highlight its competitive and nationally acclaimed Latino youth leadership development programs, including two fellowship programs, a congressional internship program, scholarship awards, and a college readiness program, Ready to Lead (R2L) for high school students.

CNN's BLACK IN AMERICA Series Will Continue with "CHURCHED"

BLACK IN AMERICA – CHURCHED - Coming in October 2010

Martin Luther King, Jr. described 11-o’clock on Sunday mornings as “the most segregated hour in America.”

He hoped the Black Church would become a “Beloved Community,” where everyone – sharecropper to businessman – would be treated equally, working together for social justice. Indeed, the Black Church provided the vision and the foot power for the movement that reshaped America.

Churches have long been central to African-American community life, supplying food, money, and social connections.

Four decades after the Civil Rights Movement, CNN anchor and special correspondent Soledad O’Brien uncovers how close the Black Church remains to this vision and talks to church leaders and believers about today’s role of the Black Church in America.

SoledadOBrien.info

Womens Heart Health

WomenHeart is the only national organization dedicated to promoting womens heart health through advocacy, community education and patient support.

As the leading voice for the 44 million American women living with or at risk of heart disease, WomenHeart advocates for equal access to quality care and champions prevention and early detection, accurate diagnosis and proper treatment of womens heart disease. A nonprofit, 501(c)(3) patient advocacy organization, WomenHeart is a coalition and community of thousands of members nationwide, including women heart patients and their families, health care providers, advocates and consumers committed to helping women live longer, healthier lives.

• American Heart Association Complete Guide to Women's Heart Health
• Finding Peace For Your Heart A Woman's Guide To Emotional Health 
• Womens health

IN AMERICA – KATRINA PLUS FIVE

IN AMERICA – KATRINA PLUS FIVE (working title) - Coming in August 2010

Five years after the famous hurricane that nearly destroyed the city of New Orleans, CNN anchor and special correspondent Soledad O’Brien investigates what progress has been made and what, if any, lessons have been learned from the events that followed the storm.

O’Brien reveals what has happened to survivors and what officials are doing to prevent “another Katrina” from ever happening again.

SoledadOBrien.info

Children, Parents and Race - "Black or White: Kids on Race" on CNN

CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360° teamed up with a renowned child development psychologist to measure children’s thoughts about race by recreating and updating the famous Doll Test of the 1940s. The original Doll Test explored how African -American children interpret race, discrimination and stigma. Sixty years later, AC 360° and a team of psychologists led by Professor Margaret Beale Spencer, designed and executed a pilot study to help us answer one major question: where are we today?

In the special series airing the week of May 17th and titled "Black or White: Kids on Race", CNN anchors Anderson Cooper and Soledad O’Brien will share with the viewers the children’s answers and the conclusions our researchers drew from their responses. Later we spoke to groups of parents for their thoughts and reactions. One conclusion our pilot study revealed surprised Spencer, who has been a leading researcher in this field for over 30 years, and that is that the research suggests that children set their opinions on race at a very early age and maintain those opinions. After watching this series, parents of all races, will see that children are not colorblind and that talking to them about race is crucial.

In the original Doll Test, Kenneth and Mamie Clark viewed the results as evidence that children had internalized racism caused by discrimination and segregation. The study was cited in the landmark Supreme Court Case of Brown versus Board of Education, which outlawed segregation in education. CNN aims to spark a national discussion about what has changed and what hasn’t more than half a century later.

CNN's "Gary and Tony Have a Baby"

CNN's IN AMERICA series continues with "GARY AND TONY HAVE A BABY," a two-hour special tentatively slated to air June 24, 2010.

Gary and Tony are life-long gay activists. They also share a classic, traditional dream – marriage and a baby. Unable to legally marry in the U.S., they travel to Canada, get married, and spend thousands on an arduous journey toward parenthood via surrogacy and in vitro fertilization.

CNN anchor & special correspondent Soledad O’Brien finds that though Gary and Tony had hoped for a happy extended family, they discover instead ambivalence about same sex marriage. With court battles, and struggles against their hometown community – can these men achieve a life as mainstream as their parents?

CNN DOCUMENTARY: THE ATLANTA CHILD MURDERS

CNN DOCUMENTARY: THE ATLANTA CHILD MURDER -  June 2010

Almost thirty years after the murders of over 25 Black children, teens and young adults, CNN anchor & special correspondent Soledad O’Brien investigates the nearly 2-year siege of fear that gripped the city of Atlanta.

Although Wayne Williams continues to profess his innocence from behind bars, with his arrest and conviction, he was described as both a “monster”– and the nation’s first Black serial killer.

With exclusive access, O’Brien examines new evidence to offer viewers a new look at the persistent doubts, and decide for themselves who was responsible for all those lost young lives. Viewers will be able to vote for their verdict on this case on CNN.com.

SoledadOBrien.info

BLACK AND WHITE: KIDS ON RACE

AN ANDERSON COOPER 360°INVESTIGATION – BLACK AND WHITE: KIDS ON RACE  A CNN multi-part series coming in June 2010

CNN anchor Anderson Cooper revisits the watershed 1947 “Doll Test,” conducted by married African-American psychologists Mamie and Kenneth Clark. The study explored how children interpret race and discrimination, and their original research was included in the arguments for the plaintiffs in the U.S. Supreme Court case, Brown vs. Board of Education (1954).

CNN anchor and special correspondent Soledad O’Brien and Cooper engage a 21st-century team of child psychologists to design and analyze this culturally pivotal social experiment. They explore what has changed in the 60 years since those original children taught the nation powerful lessons about prejudice and segregation that helped to desegregate America.

SoledadOBrien.info

Soledad O'Brien Q&A on CNN's Haiti Documentary, Rescued

CNN's latest documentary, Rescued, premiered this weekend with the initial airing on May 8th. The program is a moving look at the suffering in Haiti in the aftermath of the earthquake.

O'Brien answered some questions exclusively for the Huffington Post including some personal connections like these two:

Q: How does being a mother of four yourself influence your desire to do a story like this?

A: I hope that any good journalist would say--this is a story that people need to know about. But as a mother--I guess any parent full grasps the horrible choice in handing off your child because you just can care for him because you have no job, and a result, no food. It's heartbreaking. We capture some of those moments in this documentary: a mother who begs to stay in the orphanage. But they can't take her--it's already too crowded. The orphanage is also running out of food. So, she hands over her infant--"please take him". It's so powerful and so desperately sad

Q: How do you explain the difficulties you report on to your children?

A: My children are young, ages 9, 8 and 5 year old twins. We talk a lot about the stories I'm covering and the work I'm doing. They've seen the documentary and were riveted--all four kids! Then watched it again! It's a story anyone of any age can understand. I think they feel good about the stories I tell--they get to ask lots of questions (the main one is "did babies die") and we discuss in great depth the why. Why slavery? Why poverty? Why hurricanes? Why earthquakes? I can't always answer the questions but we always discuss the issues. I think that they're developing a special understanding about the world through the stories I tell.

CNN Haiti Documentary "Rescued" Premieres Today

Rescued

Premieres: Sat. May 8,and Sun., May 9, 8 p.m., 11 p.m., 2 a.m. (one hour; all times Eastern)

CNN anchor and special correspondent Soledad O’Brien investigates the plight of those left most vulnerable in the wake of Haiti’s devastating earthquake – Haiti’s children in a new documentary, Rescued.

Told through the eyes of 7-year-old Cendy Jeune and former child slave Marckenson Oliphi, O’Brien reports on how Haiti’s orphans struggle to overcome immense obstacles – crushing poverty and the shame of child slavery.

Along the way, O’Brien interviews people connected to Haiti’s almost 400,000+ orphans – missionaries, aid workers, and relatives, all who themselves must overcome bureaucracies and a frail recovery from the powerful earthquake.

SoledadOBrien.info

CNN's "Rescued" Sneak Peek in Miami

Soledad O'Brien hosted a sneak peak of CNN's newest documentary, Rescued, at the University of Miami's Cosford Cinema this week.

The one-hour documentary describes the plight of hundreds of thousands of Haitian orphans before and after the January 12 quake.

The story is told through the eyes of two orphans, six-year old Cendy Jeune, described as a "gem with a tough exterior", and former restavek (child slave) Marc Kenson Oliphi. Two American missionaries, Susette and Bill Manassero saved the two young Haitians by bringing them into their orphanage, The Lighthouse.

O'Brien's team picked up the project from visual journalist Jonathan Olinger, who began shooting the orphanage in 2007. Beginning less than one week after the quake, O'Brien traveled to the island three times to complete the story.

The invitation-only event was presented by  The Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center and the UM School of Communication.

Rescued will air this Saturday, May 8, at 8 p.m.




SoledadOBrien.info

'Rescued' CNN Promo Clip

SoledadOBrien.info

Haiti’s Innocents in CNN Documentary, RESCUED

Rescued, premieres this Saturday, May 8 at 8pm ET

CNN was the first news organization to report from Haiti following the earthquake that devastated the tiny Caribbean country in January. That’s when CNN anchor and special correspondent Soledad O’Brien began a journey reporting on Haiti’s remarkably inspiring children.

Told through the eyes of two abandoned children and two American missionaries, O’Brien reports this powerful one-hour CNN documentary on Haiti’s children’s before, during and after the earthquake.

The two children, six year old Cendy Jeune and former child slave Marc Kenson Oliphi are Haitian orphans abandoned years ago by their parents. They represent the children whose faces appear on the worldwide appeals for charity. They survived some of the worst poverty imaginable and escaped their hardship when they were taken into an orphanage of an American missionary family.


Susette and Bill Manassero are the American missionaries who have devoted their lives to Haiti’s children. They are part of an expansive and controversial missionary community that shelters thousands of Haiti’s abandoned children. They manage the Lighthouse Orphanage, and live in Port-au-Prince with their family so that the young Haitians they care for do not have to leave their homeland.

Haiti has 380,000 children living as orphans, though O’Brien learns, in a country with unbelievable capacity challenges, the term ‘orphan’ has a complicated meaning.

"From the moment I met the children at the Lighthouse orphanage, I knew I had to return to Haiti to help put a face on the hundreds of thousands of orphans living there. Not only are they incredibly strong and inspiring, but they tell the larger story of Haiti and its struggles before and after the devastating earthquake."

After viewing an initial screening of the documentary and being so moved by what he saw, hip hop music artist and philanthropist Wyclef Jean, a son of Haiti, provided voice-overs of the Creole translations in the program, along with award-winning Haitian novelist Edwidge Danticat.


Geraldine Moriba is the executive producer for Rescued and Rose Arce is the senior producer.

SoledadOBrien.info

Soledad O'Brien Interview "Black in America"

Soledad O'Brien interview - talks about CNN's Black in America series. (2008)

The NAHJ Soledad O’Brien Scholarship

The National Association of Hispanic Journalists announced new scholarships totaling $40,000 from the Gannett Foundation, Soledad O’Brien, anchor and special correspondent for CNN and Maggie Rodriguez, co-anchor of The “Early Show” on CBS.

“Hispanics remain woefully underrepresented in mainstream U.S. newsrooms. One of NAHJ’s goals is to help more qualified Hispanic students move from the classroom to the newsroom,” said Iván Román, NAHJ’s Executive Director. “We’re thankful to the Gannett Foundation, Soledad and Maggie for stepping up to the plate and investing in the next generation of Latino storytellers.”

The Gannett Foundation/NAHJ Scholarships will be reserved for students attending Florida International University and will be awarded to those pursuing careers in print, broadcast, online and visual journalism.

The NAHJ Soledad O’Brien Scholarship will award up to $5,000 to undergraduate or graduate students pursuing a career in TV broadcast journalism.

“I’m particularly thrilled that we are kicking off the first NAHJ Soledad O’Brien scholarship, especially in the face of a recession,” said Soledad O’Brien. “We can’t let the efforts to diversify the ranks in journalism lose steam–it’s critical to our community that all of our voices are heard in media. Educating young journalists to tell the stories across the globe is the future of fair and responsible journalism.”

SoledadOBrien.info