The daughter of a Afro Cuban mother and an Australian father and the fifth of six children that all graduated from Harvard University - CNN’s Soledad O’Brien talks about her journey from Long Island to the CNN anchor desk in The Next Big Story: My Journey Through the Land of Possibilities available now in book stores and online. Soledad’s latest novel is filled with personal encounters from her many reporting assignments from her early days in broadcasting to covering world disasters while shedding light on being Black and Latino in America – Soledad O’Brien spoke to Concrete Loop’s Felicia Mancini on her big story.
FELICIA: I like to ask most of the people I have the pleasure of interviewing this question especially journalists I have spoke to, as a child what did you want to be when you grew up?
SOLEDAD: I had a series of things I was obsessed with when I was a child. I wanted to walk race horses because I wanted to be a Jockey, a doctor, absolutely and positively I wanted to be a doctor. I also wanted to be a musician! We had a family newspaper and I would interview my dad about a vegetable garden you know? I don’t think I necessarily knew I wanted to become a journalist but there were clues.
FELICIA: Who, what or where inspires you?
SOLEDAD: I think that interesting people and interesting stories do! I’m curious to get to the root of what’s going on. I want to interview the main characters and that inspires me. So does my family that always pushes me to do things well- I am really lucky to have friends that raise up important questions with random conversations we have too.
FELICIA: What did you take from your upbringing as a multicultural young woman in America that influences your work now?
SOLEDAD: I think when I was growing up I never really one hundred percent could identify with anybody. I think in a sense being an outsider and still being able to make it work with is what a lot of journalists have to do and jump into a situation for a story. I needed to identify but still had an outside look that came from my childhood having an outsider perspective that you could have a critically eye on something while still understanding the issues and where they are coming from.
FELICIA: You have worn many hats around a newsroom so to speak while taking on the role of a reporter,producer and other various roles but what do you feel most comfortable doing?SOLEDAD: I love traveling and documentaries. I really love doing long form and that I realized that the things I am good at are interviews and I extended it and loved to dig and dig. I have had the luxury of being able to go back when working on a documentary and going over and over it again. I guess that is where my evolution is. I liked the path I was put on – I liked to try new things and at the same time I never felt out of my league – that’s how I think I evolved. I think a good interview is a good interview
FELICIA: While working on “The Next Big Story: My Journey Through the Land of Possibilities” how was the process like when recollecting on not only your professional experiences but personal ones? Did you ever find yourself in a state of nostalgia where you sat back and went “Wow…this actually happened”?
SOLEDAD: Oh gosh no. With the personal moments I was less interested in those and loved the the reporting moments and having the chance at going back to those. I hate talking about myself but in the same time I’m glad I got to tell those stories. They were stories that helped frame where I came from and my perspective that I have, but the reporting moments I could tell these stories all the time because its where I got to tell things that aren’t heard of that were left out and to give the back story with interesting tidbits with what goes on behind stories that usually doesn’t get to be talked about.
FELICIA: In the book you touched upon labeling as a multicultural woman and with your documentaries such as “Black in America” as well as “Latino in America” what do you know now about labeling yourself in regards to being a journalist and as a woman?
SOLEDAD: I think outlook wise it has made me interested in the nature of labeling and who are we and what it means to black and Latino, who has that identity what does it mean? I think it prepared me for a deep investigation with identity and I didn’t feel that way back then but it has been a good thing. Its not like it left a giant scar on me; certainly it just wasn’t fun but now that I think of it I contemplated something I report on now.
FELICIA: If you could say one thing to all of the Black and Latino aspiring journalists out there right now what would you say to them?
SOLEDAD: Its all about telling stories that need to be told and facing them. People always will say this isn’t a good story, don’t say that you know? There are a lot of people that do support our work and stories about our community because the range of our experiences whether its good or bad as Black and Latinos happen to all human beings and there shouldn’t just be black stories- there should be great stories. I want to see more great stories!
FELICIA: You are a journalist, author and mother of four so how do you do the juggling act so well?
SOLEDAD: You’re funny! If you could only see me now looking like a crazy person running around with all these bags in my hand you’d think hmmm maybe she doesn’t balance it all so well. But honestly, I think the thing is not to turn it off and take what you learn from these stories and keep going with them. Save it for a book or use it for a lecture and grow with them because its not about turning them on and off and when you have kids they take up your attention so you cant come back from covering something like Hurricane Katrina and wallow with your children. The beauty with kids is they take up all of your time and effort so I have always appreciated that – I don’t want to get to the point where I am covering things that I find hard to cover. I find that I can get everything out in my reporting and into my work.
FELICIA: I have one last hard hitting question for you that as a Journalist I have been dying to ask you…
SOLEDAD: Sure!
FELICIA: What is in your iPod?
SOLEDAD: *laughs* Chrisette Michele’s latest album is just so great! Also some Curtis Mayfield actually a lot of him and a lot of gospel!
Soledad recently interviewed Veteran White House reporter Helen Thomas after her controversial leave after nearly 60 years of reporting that can be viewed here on CNN
For more on Soledad O’Brien’s work log on to www.cnn.com or check her out on twitter twitter.com/soledad_obrien .
The Next Big Story: My Journey Through the Land of Possibilities is available now on shelves and online.
kudos on getting this interview with soleday o’brien.
soledad seems like a nice person and has good intentions but i was so through with that “black in america” crap that she did for cnn.
i know jesse jackson got a lot of flack when he questioned whether or not she was black or a minority or whatever but i agreed with him, i don’t feel she represents the black community or that she is the best fit to relate our experiences to the masses.
and before anybody gets all crazy on me, i know there is no one singular black experience and we’re not a monolith and all that but i’m sure everybody can agree that they know black when they see it, hear it, and feel it and i don’t feel anything when i see her or hear her and it has nothing to do with her appearance b/c she certainly doesn’t look white to me at all, she def. looks black/bi-racial/latino.
there’s just something about her that doesn’t feel authentic/genuine and it comes through in her work. i feel like she keeps doing these programs and specials to make up for something or prove something and it’s like there’s nothing to prove you either are or you aren’t and i don’t think she feels like she is and that’s the problem.
again, i wasn’t trying to be mean or anything i’m just giving my opinion and i will understand if this post isn’t published, lolol…
I didn’t notice your comment- But I read the whole thing and I do understand where you’re coming from
Like people know when they see Ghetto people when they see them, whether Puerto Rican or what, like all Puerto Ricans don’t look, act or talk alike.neither do black and white people or mixed black/white people like her. In that case, Adam Clayton Powell, Lena Horne, Benjamin Jealous don’t represent the black community if it’s only based on looks. She represents any other upper middle class mixed person and can go both ways culturally, not racially because she doesn’t look white.
@ mookie with all due respect to mrs obrien, i think she is a wonderful, intelligent reporter but i agree with mookie. She just does not embody the ethnicity of a black person and you can tell in the way she reported her story about black America parts 1 and 2. I actually wished that they would have at least given DON LEMon or TJ HOLMES a chance to collaborate with her so that the story would not have been so ONE SIDED. Much respect to MRS. Obrien but next time collaboration may not be a bad idea…
Ditto Mookie & Gettogoin….I’ve always felt that way about Soledad. Nothing against her personally. I know plently of fair skinned/biracial blacks – who may appear something else but when they open their mouths, their mannerisms, their souls emcompass that “black essence”. However I’m glad she is proud to claim her black roots- but I don’t think she’s sincere in her approach. It’s only natural that people question her ethinicity. I don’t understand why people get so up and arms about that. Anyway – good comments.
Yeah I understand where you’re coming from. I just think she’s still trying figure things out on her own too, It’s all a learning process for her. Parents didn’t do a very good job of meshing the two ethnicities and instilling in her the confidence of both.
Kimora is a great example of someone who you know embraces her asian ancestry but also embraces her Black side and she does it without confusion.
I sort of see where you’re coming from in a sense. But honestly, she doesn’t have too prove anything to anyone. For all you know, when she goes home she could be cooking the same food your Mama makes, inherently dancing on the same rhythms to the same oldies, then saying the same grace before supper. But one thing I’m sure of is that she has a Black or Latina beautician lol. So it seems to me that what makes Black or Latino culture is being far too simplified. Familiarly it has been asked, because Pres. Obama is indeed bi-racial and was raised by his White mother and grandparents, is he therefore authentically Black? I honestly believe that there is cultural retention that is inevitable, even if one isn’t very familiar with the culture(s) of their race(s).
As far as the programs ‘Black in America’ and ‘Latino in America’, no, they weren’t perfect. But I’m not mad at it because really do not think that anyone else would have done it. Can you imagine what that meeting was like trying to pitch those ideas to the network? Stories that illustrate people of color as diverse(with in the race), complex and civilized people instead of boxed in caricatures? To a major news network? That has got to be a ballsy lady.
Much Respect.
Way to go CL!!! I am so proud of the founder and its contributors! Great story and keep up the e-journalism!
I <3 Ms. Soledad, she's reflects beauty and intelligence in such a good way
As an Afro-Latino recent journalist graduate, I give you props for this story. However, the interview was dry. I now you were trying to keep it nonthreatening, but you could have pressed her, till she gave you answers that didn’t feel as if read from a script. But, overall good job. Follow me on twitter “Amar_Menes” I have a local segment in the works in NYC.
CL an audio or video recording would have been nice.I spend
my entire day locked in lecture rooms and college libraries the last thing I want to is read an interview when I get home.
@MOOKIE, I don’t think ppl will ever be satisfied as to who represents us and that goes for any race or anything for that matter. Not everybody liked Malcom X or Martin Luther but yet they still had their supporters.
Fotgot to add that Malcom and Martin both understood our struggles from different prespectives. I like them both.
There is something fake and not genuine about Soledad that is why Jesse Jackson questioned her. One day she is Black, the next day she is Latino and I just read an interview she gave to our local newspaper where she said she was neither Black or Latino. She flip flops so much that`s why Jesse questioned her.
Jesse Jackson is a JOKE. I can’t believe you even mentioned that clown. He was all about the fight back in the day. Present – NOTHING!!!! Where is the outcry from him about the black on black crime going on across America?
She DOES come off fake. I don’t like what her or her employer does with those Black in America shows. They are very stereotypical and pathetic.
I don’t really care for this woman. No thank you CL.
this is a huge fucking deal!!! very impressive!!!
What I have noticed about Soledad O`Brien is that she fronts and says that she`s black when she`s around black people.Then she says that she`s latino, and not black when she`s around latino people and then she says that she`s mixed and not black or latino when she`s around mixed people.
NC is proud of you Angel. This is the type of stuff that seperates you from those other sites. Great interview.
Wait Wait She Isn’t Half African American? No Wonder Jesse said she don’t count.
I am Cuban Myself a English on my mother’s side. When I got into the army they wouldn’t let me tick black but rather Mixed or White no matter how much tanned i may look.
Black comes in all shades so does white(go to Italy)
She can’t stand for a black thing in any shape or form because her father probably went to Cuba with Castro/His Brother and Che during the revolutionary Era not like Many African American ancestors(against their will)
The Civil Rights movement started in Cuba and the blacks there suffered the same racist humiliation and hate that they put up with in the states, for centuries. The Blacks in Cuba where slaves, owned, sold, auctioned off just like blacks in America and other parts of the Caribbean. Blacks in Cuba could not live in the same vicinity as whites, they could not go to school with whites, could not eat with whites, marry them, or work besides them. There is still socially ingrained prejudiced against Black Cubans by White Cubans even under communism…
because racism is a part of the White Cuban mentality. She doesn’t have to be African American to be a part of the African diaspora. Her slaves ancestors suffered the same fate as slaves regardless of the country they disembarked on.
She can stand for a Black thing as much as Adam Clayton Powell stood for a Black thing (whatever that is). Powell threatened to paint the White House Black at one point. There is no Black thing since Blacks are as diverse in their appearances as point-of-view as anyone else.
You are the seed of your father. Whatever your father is, is what you are (Numbers 1:18, Ezra 2:59, Job 8:8, etc.). There is no “half black/half white”. This woman is a pawn being used to make black Americans believe that their plight is a concern of mainstream America.
Agree!!! Damn shame. And she’s allowing herself to be a pawn.
Kudos, CL! This interview with Soledad is epic in my opinion. Thanks for giving us news, exclusive interviews and not gossip. Refreshing.
OMG, You scored an interview with Soledad O’brien!!!!!!!!! That’s VERY IMPRESSIVE, CONGRATULATION FELICIA!!!!!!
As an Afro-Cuban I know just what she means. Like Soledad said,”Black is not a credential; it’s not even a skin color. African American culture is so much more than that. I feel like it’s important to say, “I;m Black. “I’m proud of my roots. I am a bit Irish too, by the way of Australia. People looked at me all my life and saw Black. And, i am throughly proud of the Black I am”. She has nothing to prove to anyone. Her parents couldn’t get married in 1959 in Maryland because it was against the law for Blacks and Whites to marry.
Soledad told journalist Patricia Sheridan of the Pittsburgh Post’Gazette, on July 21, 2008. The reason why I do not consider myself white is because my mother is black, which means, I am 50 percent black and in this country just becuase your dad’s white doesn’t make you white. it makes you black.
She looks like any other light-skinned black woman who perms her hair. She and Fredricka Whitfield could be sisters.
There is to this day wide spread racism against Black Cubans, although official racism no longer exist in Cuba, there is yet a culture of racism.There are no blacks among the most important leadership positions and only six of 24 top communist party jobs are held by Afro-Cubans. The Cuban army is overwhelmingly black but they only have one black general. The worst race riot in the Americas happened in 1912 where white Cubans killed 3,000 black Cubans simply because blacks were marching for their rights.
While I commend Soledad’s accomplishments I often question exactly how she got there. I understand individuals of mixed race can often feel like outsiders but what’s wrong with claiming bothgroups 100% of the time and not only when it’s convenient.
Great article, I love the diversity of your blog. I’m a student at UNC and Soledad just did our MLK Jr. lecture yesterday. She doesn’t hide her blackness. By saying that she is also latina is not denying her blackness. I felt that she accepts every part of who she is. She described her mom as being a short black woman with a afro(afro cuban) and her dad as being Australian (scottish/irish). Her mom raised them as black children. I don’t think we can deny someone their identity. She seemed genuine and didn’t hold her tongue when talking about the struggles she had to go through being a minority in America and in journalism. And she pointed out that the white community doesn’t think when britney spears does something badly, it reflects on their whole community; so why do blacks and latinos think that? She said she wants to tell and showcase stories. The more stories about blacks and latinos the better. She can’t dictate whether those stories are positive or negative, they just occur. I call that good journalism.
Agreed. I am very disappointed to read all the other comments. I mean she is mixed. I lived in Europe, where if you are mixed then you were mixed. You are not black or white, you are black and white. I think that she is a great journalist, who reports on all important stories no matter what race or culture the people involved are.
soledad is not like our president who is mixed Barack Obama, all those years that she has been on CNN and I have never heard her say or mention that she was part black. Barack is mixed too, but he has always asserted himself and gotten involved in black issues, He has spoken at the NAACP and at black churches. Soledad in all the time she has been on CNN has never asserted her black side or gotten involved in black issues. And that`s why some people question her motives.
All she ever does are Black issues where have you been. Her Black In American series. Going to Africa with Chris Rock’s wife, doing endless stories about Katrina and follow-up’s. She doesn’t have to run around saying black all the time she has nothing to prove to anyone. She has always described herself as a light-skinned black woman with freckles, as she described in her book. That’s how her parents raised her and that is how she always saw herself. People can question and bitch all they want but it won’t change a thing. She has been involved with black issues more than white issues.
@We Live In…. next time do some research.
Her father is actually Irish not Australian.
Like Soledad said, “My mother is black, which means, I am 50 percent black, and in this country just because your dad’s white doesn’t make you white. It makes you black.” She could never pass for white because she doesn’t look white, she looks 50% percent white, not 100%.
Very good Florida, you know your history. However, racism wasn’t just limited to Cuba, but to all of Latin America. Just watch Telemundo, which only showcase light skin Latinos. This is why I refused to intern there. The things I can write and say about Afro-Latin America is immense. I just hope the majority of us, myself included, is wrong about Soledad. She’s a lovely and obviously an intelligent woman, and i would hate to think she suffers from self-conflicting issues based on any part of her heritage. However, I do have to say that in latin America, whether your light like Soledad or dark like me, most people would just say that they are latino or the country or island they come from. In Latin America the government, though in various degrees are racist, promote nationalism. Where as in the U.S we go by the one drop rule, which is unheard of, or never practiced anywhere else in the world.
Afro-Cubans have always said Afro-Cuban, but in Cuban they just say Black. Plus, Cuba is in the Caribbean. Whether they call themselves just “latino”or not it doesn’t matter, because the societies they live in as well as the rest of the world, sees only their skin color. In Argentina you are also considered Black if you have one drop of African blood. It is not nationalism, it is racism and it is part of the culture of Latin American countries controlled by White Latinos. The Blacks in those countries have very few rights and are always at the bottom of the barrel.
Black Latino=OXYMORON.
In my opinion for real , she is similar to Tiger Woods . I`m not hating on her, but just like Tiger she tries to market herself as something other than black or a mixed minority, she reminds me of that movie called Imitation of Life about a mixed black girl who tried to pass for white and never identified with her black mother until it was too late and her Mother died.
She has always identified as mixed race she couldn’t pass for white anyway she doesn’t look white, she straightens her hair too. She doesn’t have to chose a side and stick to it when she has two sides to her race and ancestry. And if Latin American countries promote nationalism why do they treat their black populations like third class citizens. Obviously, it’s not based on Nationality, but skin color. People try to pretend and play the role of Ostrich when it comes to the treatment of blacks in Spanish speaking countries because they are desperate to be accepted by the same people who mistreat and despise them.
My question is why mrs obrien does all the stories specialized stories surrounding black people when CNN has other well qualified black american to the same or probably better job than she…kind of makes u wonder what really going on ovr there
She’s the house negro they trust to infiltrate stereotypical rhetoric. Each year she does her duty bringing that garbage to the masses and alot of black folks fall for it.
Kudos to the sister who accomplished getting the interview, however there are some black folks who know what time it is with this woman.
I love Soledad O’brien! What a beautiful inspiration she is. I love watching CNN. Her stories are always insightful and her voice makes everything sound so official. Aside from Anderson Cooper and Larry King, Soledad is one of my favs to watch. And who cares what “color” she is! We are all Gods children and we should start treating each other as such!
She does these stories because that is where her heart and interest lies. In Colombia, black Latinos are constantly attacked and brutalize by White Latinos. The blacks have to take refuge inside churches to be protected by the priests.
In the White Latino mind black is synonymous for domestic work, poverty and lawlessness. It is the subconsciousness of the Castilian Cuban.
Hey JUDAH!!! missed you.
keep them coming PLEASE!
think local and think GLOBAL as well.
YOU SHOULD KNOW SINCE YOU AND JUDAH ARE ONE OF THE SAME.
I’d bang her
*shrugs*
Congrats on the article but I cannot stand that b****. I pride myself as a proud black woman in corporate america who loves her culture but Soloedad is a sellout and I didn’t like how she did Jesse Jackson or that black in america mess. Yeah, she claims black because it benefits her. She personafies house ninja’s and reeks of I will tell it, just gimmie a mic. Never in my life do I wish someone was another culture all together. Cant stand her or Clarence Thomas & his dumb azz wife.
She claims black because like she said,”I am 50% black and I have always been seen as a light-skinned black woman with freckles. That is how I was raised and I am proud of it”. Nothing to prove to the naysayers who will never make it in the American corporations that live only in their delusional heads keeping company with their delusional NPD disorder. back on your MEDS MELB2010.
Most of these comments are talking about her race and how many times does she say that she is “black”. Let me ask you this, How many times do you say that you are black? Meaning, is that the first thing that she needs to say when she describes herself. I mean it is obvious looking at her that she is mixed. So why does she need to say it in every interview. When I describe myself to others, I describe myself, as a unique individual, I don’t just describe the fact that am black. And most importantly, they are many different people in every race and to act like if you are “black” then you have to act or talk a certain way is very ignorant.
Those who are responding to my comment, really need to reread what i wrote. I did mention there is racism in Latin America, I never denied it. Also,how is claiming Afro-Latino an oxymoron. Racially we are all African descendants, but many of us come from different cultural background. I don’t know why people hate on others for acknowledging other parts of their heritage besides African American. Some people have West Indian background, some Asian, some Latino, etc; They, just like myself, are entitled to celebrate them all. This doesn’t mean anyone is ashamed of their African heritage, in my case, I know my African history dating back to 3400 b.c…probably more than most.
THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A BLACK LATINO ONLY THE DESCENDANTS THE EUROPEAN SPANISH LEFT BEHIND. SHE DOESN’T LOOK LATINO IN THE LEAST SHE LOOKS LIKE A LIGHTER SKINNED BLACK WOMAN WHO STRAIGHTENS HER HAIR.
You will never get better you will always have your mental illness and it will only get worst as you grow older. There is nothing medical science can do for you except offer medications to keep your worst thoughts of deception at bay. Like diabetes, science can only treat the symptoms, not cure the disease. Mental illness is a bitch.
how come darkskin girls are allways jealous of liteskin girls…. how come lightskin girls are perfect… lightskin girls allways have good hair and pretty skin…. lightskin girls can also get a job easy… you can allways have unprotected wit a lightskin girl .. cause we all kno u cant catch hiv from a lightskin girl
Spoken like a true light-skinned Puerto Rican man who hates the darker Boricua woman like Lala Vasquez and Rosie Perez. There may be hope for you yet, but unfortunately you are still Puerto Rican, that is your major flaw. You can never be in the same club with the white Latinos.
NO BURNT BORICUAS FOR ME NEITHER> I ONLY WHAT A PALE SKKINED LATINA WOMAN!
Soledad O’Brien is a phenomenal woman!
Angelo you are ignorant and you need to go back to school your grammar is atrocious. Third grade dropout.
Thank you for your gentle advice. You are a loony bin to beat all loony bins. You will never get that degree and will be stuck forever with granny, just getting older and loonier by the day isolated and CRAZY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!