A speech from Soledad O'Brien

Back before Martin Luther King junior day, Soledad O'Brien gave the annual MLK address here on campus. As I entered Memorial Hall to take my seat, I noticed something. I was in a mixed crowd. Don't get me wrong, Carolina isn't lily white by any means, we are filled with a diverse student body and faculty, but I am solidly in the majority at almost any event I attend. I rather enjoyed watching people interact with each other, the laughter the hushed conversations.

When O'Brien took the microphone she told a personal story. This was not a speech to dwell on the past, but through her own life show a modern day tale of civil rights. She hinged her speech on what she dubbed modern day context to civil rights ideals: love thy neighbor. She said that this is the new idea because civil rights can't be boiled down into black and white anymore. "Today, racism is less clear and overt than it was in my parents day when they got married in 1965," she said. As a child of a mixed-race marriage, the union of her parents was illegal for many years. The racism experienced by her mother is not the experience of many youth today, she argues. "Today it's 'you don't fit.'"

Her speech was empowering, from a civil rights standpoint, but also from a life standpoint. The struggles she used as examples, and the lessons gleaned from them can be applied to all facets of life. "Just because external forces tell you it can not be done," she said. "Does not mean it can not be done. ... There are opportunities for us mere mortals, and I see them every day." She talked about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and how in the St. Bernard Parish, which is 97% white, there were no cameras on them either. They, too were ignored. But she noted the ways the communities came together to rebuild and to endure together. "Given the opportunity, people can do great things," she said. "Love people. Serve humanity." And while she said that discussions of a "post racial" world are a complete joke, because that world will never happen, she left the audience with an adaptation of the famous "I have a dream" speech. I have a dream is about empowerment. It's "I will stand with you and empower you."

As everyone filed out of the auditorium, people muttered to themselves and their friends. I watched as Soledad graciously chatted with a few fans at the corner of the stage. I left feeling empowered and excited about the impact I could have in the world.

Love People. Serve Humanity.

Imagining the life of an immigrant

One of my favorite buildings on campus is the Fed Ex Global Education Center. I have two classes per week in that building, and it's always interesting to walk through the lobby and become immersed in a culture outside my own. One of the most compelling this year was a display about the immigrant experience, particularly the "illegal" immigrant one. Duct tape lined the floor from the beginning of the lobby to the exit symbolizing the border between the United States and Mexico. On either side of the tape were images of articles of clothing, shoes, toothbrushes, trash etc. Snapshots of a life left behind.

I imagined myself in their shoes for a minute. I'm trying to cross illegally an din the process of coming know I can not be weighed down by excess items. I can't imagine what I would leave behind, how I could start with nothing more than the clothes on my back and have any real expectation of a better life. The exhibit in the Global Ed Center made me consider my position on the US side of that line and how people literally die trying to reach it. How lucky am I?