Journalist Soledad O'Brien Reflects on Race Relations Coverage

Award-winning broadcast journalist Soledad M. O’Brien ’88-’00 visited the John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum on Thursday for a discussion on her career and experiences in journalism.

The conversation covered many different issues, but focused on her coverage of race relations in CNN documentaries, “Black in America” and “Latino in America.”

O’Brien, a member of both the National Association of Black Journalists and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, also reflected on her personal experiences and her mother’s strong influence on her developing identity when she was younger.

She said that her mother always instructed her, “Don’t let anyone tell you that you aren’t black or Latina,” she said. “[My mother] did a great job in helping me define who I was,”

O’Brien also discussed that society needs to change the discourse surrounding race and poverty.

“When we talk about people in poverty, we make them a collection of dysfunctions of their families,” she said.”

O’Brien proposed that people speak about those in poverty as individuals and not merely as products of their environments.

O’Brien described that some of her most memorable experiences in journalism were during reporting on Hurricane Katrina. She described her experience living in an RV for a week with the rest of the film crew after just giving birth to twins.

“It is the stuff like this that really matters,” O’Brien said. “That is what I want to spend my time on.”

Shaquilla T. Harrigan ’16 said she was impressed with O’Brien, adding that she also enjoyed how O’Brien kept “in contact with the human side of journalism, while keeping in contact with the story aspect as well.”

O’Brien—who is also one of next year’s visiting fellows for the Graduate School of Education—shared her enthusiasm for returning to Harvard for the first time in over a decade.

“I am so excited to be a part of what is a great experience academically,” she said. “What I felt tonight—people want to push, challenge, ask good questions, hold you accountable, and be part of the debate…that’s what great education is about.”

This article has been revised to reflect the following clarification and correction:

CLARIFICATION: May 6, 2013

An earlier version of this article included a statement and a photo caption indicating different class years for broadcast journalist Soledad M. O’Brien. To clarify, O'Brien took time off during her senior year in 1988 and then completed her bachelor's degree in 2000.

CORRECTION: May 6, 2013

An earlier version of the photo caption accompanying this article incorrectly stated the middle initial of broadcast journalist Soledad M. O’Brien ’88-’00.