Soledad O’ Brien: 'Ownership is about equity, economic freedom, and not having to ask permission'

In total, people of color made up 40% of the population in 2019, but owned only about 9% of stations with a majority interest in either race or ethnicity. Across the board, Black ownership of television stations remains particularly low, despite the attempts by the Federal Communications Commission to even the playing field. Award-winning journalist and author Soledad O’Brien joins ‘Velshi’ to discuss why Black ownership is equally as important as representation on-screen, and why it’s still so rare. “Support and access to capital” are still major obstacles, says O’Brien. "You have to push people to say, 'you can find it, you can fund it, you can commit to it.' You can't just talk about it.”June 17, 2023