The skanner., November 21, 2012, Page 5, Image 5

Arts & Entertainment
Soledad O’Brien: ‘Who Is Black in America?’
Soledad O’Brien is the
anchor for the CNN morn-
ing show, Starting Point,
and a special correspondent
for CNN/U.S. Since joining
the network in 2003,
O’Brien has reported break-
ing news from around the
globe and has produced
award-winning,
record-
breaking and critically
acclaimed documentaries
on the most important sto-
ries facing the world today.
In 2010, she wrote a criti-
cally-acclaimed memoir
“The Next Big Story: My
Journey through the Land of
Possibilities,” which chroni-
cles her biggest reporting
moments and how her
upbringing and background
have influenced these expe-
riences.
A graduate of Harvard
University, Soledad lives
with her husband and four
children in Manhattan.
Here, she talks about her
upcoming Black in America
special “Who Is Black in
America?” which is set to
premiere on CNN on Sun-
day, Dec. 9 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
(Check local listings)
Kam
Williams:
Hi
Soledad, thanks for another
interview.
Soledad O’Brien: Thank
you, Kam.
KW: Let’s talk about your
upcoming special. Where
did you come up with the
idea for Who Is Black in
America?
SO: We were thinking
about universal themes for
Black in America that really
touch people, that really
nating to hear the conversa-
tions that were happening
between people who
were light-skinned,
C ELEBRITY people who were
I NTERVIEW dark-skinned, and
people somewhere in
between. Just the
by Kam
hurt, the pain and
anger on all sides
Williams
was very interesting.
So, we thought we
would explore that
because it seemed
coming up with was col- like a very interesting story
orism, discrimination based to tell, especially since we
on skin tone. It was fasci- were seeing a big change,
matter to people, and one of
the themes that we kept
generationally. The conver-
sations I was having with
men and women of my age
group were very different
from the conversations
younger men and women
were having with people of
their age group. It’s fasci-
nating to hear the take of
those that we feature in the
doc around 17, 18 and 19, as
they kind of grapple with
their identity and with
where America is today.
See O’BRIEN on page 7
27 TH ANNUAL
M ARTIN L UTHER K ING , J R .
B REAKFAST
Monday
January 21, 2013
8:30-10:30 a.m.
Hilton Portland, Grand Ballroom
921 SW Sixth Avenue
Portland, Oregon 97204
R
R
Reserve a table: MLKBreakfast@theskanner.com
Call 503-285-5555 for more information
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November 21, 2012 The Portland Skanner Page 5