America’s face is changing, said CNN reporter Soledad O’Brien at the David C. Hardesty Jr. Festival of Ideas Monday night. But along with the acceptance of different cultures and races, Americans must also embrace a diversity of opinions.
“We have an opportunity now to hear from all of our voices and celebrate the value of diversity,” O’Brien said. “Not better, not worse, just different, to create some of the solutions that I think we clearly need in this country.”
O’Brien referenced the life and writings of Martin Luther King Jr. during her lecture and also described a variety of insights she learned about racial equality in her own home and throughout her career.
Click to hear O'Brien
The product of a black, Cuban mother and a white, Australian father with Scotch and Irish descent, O’Brien said she once asked her mother how she was able to endure disparaging comments and ignorance about race. Her mother’s answer was “America is better than this,” a theme Soledad thought exemplified the nation’s progress toward equality in the 1950s and 60s. Soledad heard the comment repeated word for word when she interviewed one of the “Little Rock Nine” for her Black in America documentary.
O’Brien urged the audience to study the text and messages of Dr. King’s speeches and letters rather than rely on standard quotes such as “I have a dream.” She said King’s “Letters from a Birmingham Jail” provides a primer for leadership and decision-making. As America grows more diverse, she said, the need for inclusion from all aspects of race and thought will be essential.
“It’s making clear to others that there’s value to what you do. What do you see is possible? What can you bring from your experience?,” she said.
“One thing I’ve learned is that we’re all in this boat together. There’s no ‘Wall Street versus Main Street’ as much as the media likes to say it. The health of one of us is dependent on and relates to the health of the rest of us.”
O’Brien, anchor and special correspondent for CNN/U.S., was the third speaker in WVU’s 2010 David C. Hardesty, Jr. Festival of Ideas.
The 2010 David C. Hardesty, Jr. Festival of Ideas lecture series is scheduled to feature nine events and seven outstanding professionals. The series will continue through April. The series is supported in part by the David C. Hardesty Jr. Festival of Ideas Endowment, which was established in 2007 by the WVU Foundation, a private, nonprofit corporation that generates, receives and administers private gifts from individuals and organizations for the benefit of WVU.
O’Brien’s presentation was co-sponsored by WVU’s Center for Black Culture and Research.
Please visit the 2010 Festival of Ideas Web site for a complete schedule at http://festivalofideas.wvu.edu