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.
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