SOLEDAD O'BRIEN
Did you wonder why she was selected to host the series on being black in America? I did. After all, she's hispanic, not black, right? Wrong. She's both,
Here's a brief resume from Wikepedia: María de la Soledad Teresa O'Brien[1] (born September 19, 1966 in St. James, New York) is a television journalist of Irish Australian and Afro-Cuban heritage. She is currently the host of CNN Special Investigations Unit on CNN.
O'Brien is most known for anchoring the CNN marquee morning newscast American Morning from July 2003[2] to April 3, 2007, with Miles O'Brien; their common surnames are coincidental.
She is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.[3]
O'Brien's parents married in 1959 in Washington, D.C.. Her father Edward, an Australian (from Toowoomba, Queensland[5]) of Irish descent, was a mechanical engineering professor.[6] Her mother Estella, who is Afro-Cuban was a French and English teacher.[6] O'Brien is the fifth of six children, who all graduated from Harvard University. Her older siblings are law professor Maria (b. 1961); corporate lawyer Cecilia (b. 1962), Tony (b. 1963) who heads a documents company;[5] eye surgeon Estela (b. 1964); and anesthesiologist Orestes (b. 1968).[6]
Interracial marriage in Maryland was illegal back then (O'Brien's mother is a black Cuban), so the couple married in Washington, D.C. The O'Briens then moved to the Long Island community of St. James, on Long Island's affluent North Shore, where O'Brien was born and raised. On the NPR quiz show Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!, O'Brien explained that in Spanish her full name means, "The Blessed Virgin Mary of Solitude." When she started working in TV, many people recommended that she change her name, but she refused.[7]
See more on this fascinating woman: view link
Here's a brief resume from Wikepedia: María de la Soledad Teresa O'Brien[1] (born September 19, 1966 in St. James, New York) is a television journalist of Irish Australian and Afro-Cuban heritage. She is currently the host of CNN Special Investigations Unit on CNN.
O'Brien is most known for anchoring the CNN marquee morning newscast American Morning from July 2003[2] to April 3, 2007, with Miles O'Brien; their common surnames are coincidental.
She is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.[3]
O'Brien's parents married in 1959 in Washington, D.C.. Her father Edward, an Australian (from Toowoomba, Queensland[5]) of Irish descent, was a mechanical engineering professor.[6] Her mother Estella, who is Afro-Cuban was a French and English teacher.[6] O'Brien is the fifth of six children, who all graduated from Harvard University. Her older siblings are law professor Maria (b. 1961); corporate lawyer Cecilia (b. 1962), Tony (b. 1963) who heads a documents company;[5] eye surgeon Estela (b. 1964); and anesthesiologist Orestes (b. 1968).[6]
Interracial marriage in Maryland was illegal back then (O'Brien's mother is a black Cuban), so the couple married in Washington, D.C. The O'Briens then moved to the Long Island community of St. James, on Long Island's affluent North Shore, where O'Brien was born and raised. On the NPR quiz show Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!, O'Brien explained that in Spanish her full name means, "The Blessed Virgin Mary of Solitude." When she started working in TV, many people recommended that she change her name, but she refused.[7]
See more on this fascinating woman: view link
