She has followed a path paved by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in her own life.
    On Tuesday, television news anchor Soledad O’Brien reminded a crowd of thousands at Georgia Southern University’s Hanner Fieldhouse that they can, too.
    O’Brien was the featured speaker for Georgia Southern’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration.
    “People have said to me, ‘Dr. King was like Jesus come to earth.’ But, no, he was not. And that is the point,” O’Brien said. “Martin Luther King was a regular man who decided to do great things — who decided he would step forward.”
    A veteran journalist with CNN, O’Brien has produced special reports and documentaries on subjects that tackle race, gender, class and civil issues facing Americans some 50 years after King’s “I Have a Dream Speech.”
    She has become a central figure in national discussions regarding equality and is acclaimed for sharing the stories of people and communities that often aren’t given a voice.
    “To truly understand the value of Martin Luther King’s speech, we must figure out how to listen to others, so we can move forward in a world that we all share,” O’Brien said.
    “You learn the most by hearing from people with a different voice. These voices come together to give us an accurate picture of who we are as a nation.”
    She told the Hanner crowd that the essence of leadership remains the same, whether you’re Martin Luther King Jr. or a freshman student at Georgia Southern.
    “Leadership is about justice. It is about taking a stand for people who do not necessarily have a voice,” O’Brien said. “True leadership is about going off script because you want to be on the right side of history.”
    O’Brien also reflected on changes seen in her lifetime.
    She told the story of her parents, her white father and black, Cuban mother.
    The couple were refused service at several restaurants in Baltimore, and were forbidden by the state to marry.
    Friends of O’Brien’s parents went so far as to encourage the couple to not have children — suggesting that there would be “no place for interracial kids in this world.”
    Fast forward 50 years, “and I represent what America looks like today — diverse and cultural,” O’Brien said.
    When asked why she was willing to push onward, despite the disapproval of so many people, friends, and the government, O’Brien said her mother answered: “We knew that America was better than that.”
    It is a statement that the newswoman said she still believes. O’Brien encouraged students Tuesday that progress, even if slow, is possible.
    “It only takes one. Just one person helping another at a time,” she said. “Then, maybe others will be encouraged too.”
   
    Jeff Harrison may be reached at (912) 489-9454.