With about 30 percent of MSU’s student population made up of black students, international students, Hispanics, Asians and other non-white students, campus isn’t homogeneous.
On Thursday, well-known media figures Soledad O’Brien and Isabel Wilkerson discussed diversity and minority experiences for the College of Arts and Letters Signature Lecture Series at Wharton Center.
O’Brien is a journalist known for her coverage of tragedies such as Hurricane Katrina and her documentary series “Black in America,” which is one of CNN’s most-viewed programs.
“The problem with this documentary was that people thought only blacks were going to watch it, but there were blacks, Latinos, whites, Asians — everyone watched it. Everyone can relate,” O’Brien said.
O’Brien said she never thought that she would have the opportunity to be a voice for so many Americans who felt they were being ignored.
“Being different has value. I worry that we have lost our connection to people, the ‘others’”, O’Brien said. “We chop off impoverished black kids and tend to forget that they are human.”
O’Brien related the idea of acceptance to her own life. Before the Civil Rights Act of 1964, it was illegal for her parents, an interracial couple, to dine together.
Wilkerson addressed inclusion among the black community.
For her work as a reporter for The New York Times, Wilkerson became the first black woman to win a Pulitzer Prize in journalism. She is also the author of the best-selling book “The Warmth of Other Suns.”
Wilkerson’s book takes a historical look at the impact of America’s Great Migration.
“The migration was about freedom and how far people were willing to go to get it,” Wilkerson said. “The people who were a part of the migration were a proxy of the people in our families.”
Wilkerson said systems were created to separate black immigrants and lower their status.
“I was surprised to hear how terrible the situation was in the South even after reforms, and how African-Americans were forced to move,” physiology senior Brian Wegner said.
Elizabeth Simmons, dean of Lyman Briggs College and acting dean of the College of Arts and Letters, said O’Brien and Wilkerson were chosen for the lecture series because they are dynamic speakers and storytellers.
“They reminded us to listen to the voices that don’t always get heard,” Simmons said.
To the organizers, the purpose of the lecture was to make students aware that they should always be educated about racial history so that they can improve these issues moving forward.
Paulette Granberry Russell, director of the Office for Inclusion and Intercultural Initiatives, said students shouldn’t take events such as the lecture for granted. They allow students to understand current civil rights topics, she said.
Wegner also said students should try to understand and accept.
“It’s so important to embrace other cultures here at MSU. It’s so diverse — give yourself that opportunity to connect with others,” Wegner said.
