Soledad O'Brien at Slippery Rock University

Soledad O'Brien spoke this month in Pennsylvania to Slippery Rock University students.

Some of her key points: public discourse nowadays revolves around politics, not policy, and that her show, Matter of Fact, is meant to give context to the news.

O'Brien also said that these kinds of on-location trips to listen to people help put America in context. "Anytime I go to a university to talk, I really like talking to students, I find them very gutsy, because they’re not afraid to ask questions."

Students had an hour to ask O'Brien questions and following the chat with students, O'Brien spoke to a larger crowd at the Robert Smith Student Center on campus.

Soledad O'Brien on Campus at William & Mary

Award-winning journalist Soledad O’Brien will visit William & Mary this month as the university’s Hunter B. Andrews Distinguished Fellow in American Politics. She will give a public lecture on November 14.

Her campus visit is part of a yearlong commemoration of the 50th anniversary of African-Americans in residence at William & Mary. Her public lecture, titled “Diversity: On TV, Behind the Scenes, and in Our Lives."

O’Brien is currently the anchor for the nationally syndicated show Matter of Fact with Soledad O’Brien and chair and founder of the PowHERful Foundation (formerly Starfish Media Group).

Soledad is also the host of American Graduate Day, a public media effort to highlight individuals and organizations that are working to improve the high school graduation rate and put the nation's youth on a pathway to career success.

Soledad O’Brien Discusses Service at MLK Lecture at UNC

Photo by Jon Gardiner/UNC-Chapel Hill

Soledad OíBrien concluded her keynote address at the MLK Celebration Lecture and Awards Ceremony at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill by asking the audience, “What are you going to do?”

Her talk was interspersed with clips from her Latino in America and Beyond Bravery: The Women of 9/11 documentaries highlighting how “uncomfortable conversations” could and should be opened and discussed. Her talk focused on the opportunity each and every individual has to spark social change.

“Every step forward toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering and struggle. What will be my service? To tell the stories of all Americans — whether they look like me or not, whether they agree with me or not — and seek to understand them and accurately reflect their stories.”

As with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., whom she described as a regular man who decided he would do great things, “That means for the rest of us that we have that same opportunity,’’ said O’Brien.

O’Brien said her role in sparking social change is to continue to tell — and most importantly listen to — people’s stories.

In 2013, O’Brien launched Starfish Media Group, a multi-platform media production and distribution company dedicated to uncovering and producing stories that challenge the issues of race, class, wealth, poverty and opportunity through personal narratives. She originated the documentary series, In America, which included Black in America and Latino in America and is still produced by her production company.

Sources

• diversity.unc.edu/soledad-obrien-discusses-service-at-mlk-lecture/
• dailytarheel.com/article/2017/01/soledad-obrien-honors-martin-luther-king-jrr-s-legacy-with-celebration-speech
• heraldsun.com/news/look-to-yourselves-soledad-o-brien-says-it-s-our

Soledad Speaks at Vanderbilt University

Soledad O’Brien to seniors: Finding your passion can take time

Finding the inspiration to live a meaningful life is more a “slow, chip-away-at-it process” than a thunderclap of revelation, Senior Day speaker Soledad O’Brien told Vanderbilt’s Class of 2016 during her address.

Mixing anecdotes about her parents’ courtship and marriage with memories of her early career, O’Brien urged graduating seniors to disregard naysayers like those who told her black mother and white father not to marry and have children in segregated 1950s and ’60s Baltimore.

People would spit on the couple as they walked down the street with O’Brien’s two older sisters, she said. Her mother’s answer? “’We knew America was better than that, and we knew we had a part in making it better.’

“That was her philosophy,” O’Brien said.

O'Brien Speaker at "50 Years of Progress: Desegregation of The University of Southern Mississippi"

Former CNN news anchor, reporter and award-winning journalist Soledad O’Brien delivered a keynote address to complement the 50th anniversary of The University of Southern Mississippi’s desegregation.

The featured program, “Celebrating 50 Years of Progress: Desegregation of The University of Southern Mississippi,” will involve discussion of the historical event. Southern Miss accepted its first two African-American students, Raylawni Branch and Gwendolyn Elaine Armstrong, in September 1965.

Soledad O'Brien Will Speak at USM Anniversary of Desegregation Celebration

Soledad O'Brien will be the keynote speaker for the University of Southern Mississippi’s 50th anniversary celebration of the desegregation of the institution.

Her talk will be in conjunction with the university’s “Celebrating 50 Years of Progress: Desegregation of The University of Southern Mississippi” on September 4 at 7 p.m. in Bennett Auditorium.

In September 1965, Southern Miss enrolled its first African-American students, Raylawni Branch and Gwendolyn Elaine Armstrong.

“Fifty years is not a long time considering the great changes that have taken place at USM, in Mississippi and the nation at large. It’s important yet to mark such anniversaries to better understand the past struggles and make even greater strides in the years to come,” said Sherita Johnson, director of the Southern Miss Center for Black Studies. “That is an important mission for the center, through our research, teaching and service activities. Having O’Brien on campus for this occasion illustrates the university’s commitment to educating and empowering the next generation of leaders.”

O'Brien Tells Students To Seek Truth in Media

Soledad O’Brien advised students at De Anza College in California to seek truth in media

“If you were in fact to drop dead tomorrow would there be people who talked about who you were? Not your title, but who you were as a human being? Real value cannot fit on a balance sheet. Real value is if you are creating something that’s meaningful.”

“I believe stories matter. I believe building trust with an audience matters. We can use the platform to tell real stories and have real debates and make people uncomfortable at times and give real information and do what we should do. Dig up those untold stories about who we are: as individuals, as people and as a nation.”

O’Brien left CNN in June2013 and created Starfish Media Group, a media company and distributor to fulfill her desire to focus on stories of people rather than what she calls "fluff" in much of TV news.

“Even though there’s tons to report on in poverty, education, prison reform, those stories don’t get on because there’s this beard story or this skating squirrel they think we should end with. That’s the reality of it.”

O’Brien also talked from the perspective of being the CEO of Starfish. “My biggest regret is that I never took an accounting class,” O’Brien said. “If you have any interest at all in doing anything independently, understand accounting and understand finance. Understand your value. Do great work. Charge people for your work.”

SOURCE: http://lavozdeanza.com

Soledad O'Brien at USF's MLK Convocation Tonight

Soledad O'Brien will speak during the University of South Florida's Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Week, held Jan. 15-23.

O'Brien, the originator of CNN's Black in America series, was selected by the student-run University Lecture Series as someone who represents and speaks to a variety of identities, and provides a wealth of experiences and knowledge, according to USF.

Her free lecture will be at the MLK Convocation tonight, January 20, at 8 p.m.

Soledad O'Brien keynote at Southeast Missouri State University's Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Dinner

Soledad O'Brien, award-winning journalist, documentarian, news anchor, producer and television personality, will present the keynote address at Southeast Missouri State University's Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Dinner on Jan. 21 in the Show Me Center. This year's theme is "Words That Changed a Nation."

Diversity Talk at the University of Chicago for Soledad O'Brien

Soledad O'Brien was interviewed by The Chicago Maroon, the student newspaper of The University of Chicago, while she was on campus recently as the inaugural speaker for the University’s new diversity awareness campaign RISE (Reflect. Intervene. Speak. Engage.)

O’Brien, whose father is white and whose mother is Afro-Cuban, spent the day on campus meeting with students to discuss issues of diversity and gave a keynote address at Rockefeller Chapel in the evening.

Chicago Maroon: Why did you decide to participate in the RISE initiative and headline the first event?

Soledad O’Brien: I was invited, and I think a lot of the reason I am invited to be part of these conversations is because of the bulk of the work I’ve done. Whether it was Black in America, Latino in America, the Muslim in America documentary, or Gay in America, I think there was a sense that there was some insight into how do you both tell stories and live in a world that has become increasingly diverse. I probably would add to that list covering the election, when you look at who voted and all the demographic breakdowns, which really show a shift in this country. So I think there was a sense that since I’ve spent a lot of time studying diversity and really telling stories about individuals in diverse communities—their challenges, opportunities, successes, and failures—that I could sort of kick off this conversation, maybe with a big, 35-thousand-foot perspective on diversity as a whole.

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Photo: Peter Tang/The Chicago Maroon
Soledad O'Brien discusses diversity issues in an address given at the University of Chicago

Soledad O'Brien Delivers Commencement Address in Georgia

Soledad O’Brien, Emmy-winning journalist and CNN special correspondent, delivered remarks at Agnes Scott College in Georgia at the 124th Commencement on May 11. O’Brien was also awarded an honorary degree for her distinguished career as a broadcast journalist, trailblazing documentaries about race, ethnicity and American identity and personal philanthropic commitment to the education and empowerment of young women.

The small women's college had 187 graduates, ranging in age from 20 to 52 years and hailing from 34 states and 12 countries.

“As you leave here, over the next few years, you’ll be told all the things you cannot do, cannot achieve and those things you absolutely, positively will fail in. Please do not listen … if you listen to those naysayers, then you’re the bigger idiot,” O’Brien said.

She recounted the tale of how her Cuban black mother and Australian white father had met in Baltimore, fallen in love, and married in 1958 despite a law against interracial marriage and despite the disapproval of society at the time.

She told the graduates, “You have an opportunity to be a role model to those who look like you and those who look nothing like you.”

Lecture and Seminar at Holy Cross Given by Soledad O'Brien

Soledad O’Brien delivers the 47th Hanify-Howland Memorial Lecture at Holy Cross

O’Brien conducted a seminar on campus
Photography by John Buckingham and Rob Carlin

Soledad O'Brien Speaks at Civility Week Event

Soledad O’Brien was the keynote speaker at an event at Eastern Tennessee State University to kick off their Civility Week.

“Civility is as simple as letting voices be heard,” O’Brien said. “Civility is ultimately about listening and supporting.”

O'Brien said that her mother, a black Cuban, told her stories that were not typically told by traditional media, and that they inspired her to make a career out of telling the stories that would otherwise remain untold.

O’Brien also said she thinks social media will change our views on news. “You know how I get my news? From Twitter,” said O’Brien.

O'Brien To Speak at UT-Arlington

The University of Texas at Arlington’s Maverick Speakers Series lecture will host Soledad O’Brien. The event was rescheduled for February 24 because of production conflicts with O’Brien’s new television show. The lecture had originally been scheduled for Feb. 7, but O’Brien began hosting the new weekday morning show on CNN called Starting Point which debuted in early January.

Soledad O'Brien Will Deliver Lecture at MCLA

Journalist and author Soledad O'Brien, who serves as an anchor and special correspondent for CNN, will speak at this fall's Hardman Lecture Series event at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA), on Thursday, Oct. 20, at 7:30 p.m. in the MCLA Church Street Center.

The lecture is free and open to the public. No reservations are required.

O'Brien is the former anchor of CNN's American Morning and a former reporter for NBC News, where she hosted Weekend Today. Her latest documentaries include Rescued and New Orleans: Rising. Previously, she reported for CNN's critically acclaimed documentary series, Black in America and Latino in America. 

Her memoir, The Next Big Story: My Journey Through the Land of Possibilities, recounts her most compelling moments as a reporter and how they have shaped her perspective on America. 

At MCLA, O'Brien will give an insider's look at what it takes to report for CNN's In America unit. Using her experiences, O'Brien will show all the strategies, hard work, and attention to detail that is needed to report on those untold, in-depth stories that reflect what America is today. O'Brien reports stories about the complex fabric of who we are in this country and brings to you the people, events and issues that are often ignored by mainstream media.

The Hardman Lecture Series is made possible through the generosity of the Hardman Family Endowment.  For more information, go to http://www.mcla.edu/About_MCLA/notablespeakers/hardmanlectureseries/ or www.mcla.edu/speakers.

O'Brien Speaks At Convocation In Greensboro

Soledad O'Brien, anchor and special correspondent for CNN, spoke at Bennett College's annual Founders' Day Convocation this past weekend.


The Founders' Day Convocation is the closing event of the North Carolina college's annual Family and Friends Weekend.


O'Brien received an honorary doctorate degree from the College.

Soledad O'Brien Speaks at Spelman College

Soledad O'Brien was the keynote speaker at Spelman College's 7th Annual 'Woman Of Color College Leadership Conference' awards dinner.

Women heard the edict: "put self first" to attain greater health, career success and overall well-being during the May 11–12 conference.

This year's conference theme, "Reset: Sustaining Women for 21st Century Leadership," offers best practices to help women achieve better personal and professional sustainability. Conference dialogue will address how society's assignment of gender roles on women.

Soledad O'Brien, CNN anchor and special correspondent, shared personal insight on how she sustains while covering world affairs, during her keynote speech at the Legacy of Leadership Awards dinner. This signature event will recognize outstanding women who have faithfully served our country in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

The two-day conference was held at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis and at Spelman College.

www.spelmanwomenofcolorconf.com

O'Brien Speaks at Kent State

Kent State University hosted an evening with CNN anchor and special correspondent Soledad O'Brien on March 10 in the Kent Student Center Ballroom.

Danya Rhodes, event programmer for Kent State's Black United Students, said O'Brien's speech will be valuable to both the general public and the university community.

'O'Brien is the host of CNN's 'Black in America' series,' Rhodes said.

'We believe it is important for the students of Kent State to learn firsthand of her perspective on the series, as well as the issues prominent in our society.'

O'Brien is the anchor for 'CNN: Special Investigations Unit' and has covered global news such as Hurricane Katrina, the 2004 South Asian tsunami and the war in Iraq.

O'Brien is recognized as an award-winning newscaster, receiving a Gracie Allen Award for her 2007 coverage of the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict, and the George Foster Peabody Award and Alfred I. DuPont Award for team coverage with CNN.

CNN's Soledad O'Brien to speak at Kent State | Call & Post

     

A Colloquy with Soledad O'Brien at U of Maryland

On April 11, the Office of the Interim Associate Provost for Equity and the African American Studies Department presented a day-long colloquy on Diversity, Democracy, and Higher Education.

The keynote speaker, Soledad O'Brien, started the day's events.

The program includes panels on Who are we? What do we teach? and presentations from the 'This I believe...' essay contest. Audience members had the opportunity to ask questions.

English Department, University of Maryland

Soledad at Miami University

Soledad O’Brien spoke at Miami University on April 4 and spent time with students and faculty.

She spoke on how diversity operates both on TV and in our own lives. O’Brien took questions from the audience about how she got started in the business, how she has seen CNN evolve and touched on each of her documentaries.

O’Brien has been in television news for 24 years now and has anchored programs for NBC, MSNBC and CNN. Her focus the past few years has been on both covering big stories on location - such as, Hurricane Katrina, the tsunami in Thailand and the events in Japan - and hosting CNN documentaries for the "In America" series.

She is a graduate of Harvard University and currently lives in Manhattan with her husband and four children.