By Noah Brasseur, Photo Credit Onnie Stone
John Quiñones, renowned journalist and host of the popular “What Would You Do?” television series, spoke at Delta College to a sizable crowd on Wednesday, March 29.
The event kicked off with introductions, followed by a short trailer for his series. Quiñones took the stage after applause.
He wasted no time getting into the meat of the talk. He explained his idea behind “What Would You Do?” was to “hold up a mirror” to American society. That reflection has shown some nasty things.
“I have never seen the country this divided over so many issues,” Quiñones said, “And I grew up during the Civil Rights era, back in the ‘60s and ‘70s.”
Part of that division has surfaced in the form of hate crimes, which he said was at the highest level in a decade.
He’s been victim to this rise in intolerance, saying that he recently had been told at an airport he must’ve missed an announcement because it was in English.
How do we fight this rising tide? As Quiñones said, speak out.
“Silence is complicity,” he said.
He noted that while filming the show, he found people who have been able to “walk in the victim’s shoes.” That is, the people who are used to being picked on and being treated as second-class are more likely to step in. That means people who have historically been marginalized, such as Black people, Latinos, women, and so on.
Quiñones also took the time to explain his own life story, discussing how he had wanted to become a journalist since he was 13, only to be told by teachers he wasn’t college material.
Despite the adversity facing his family, including having to move to Michigan for a time in order to make a living picking cherries, he became the first member of his family to attend college. From there, he covered the plight of illegal migrants in Chicago, which he earned an Emmy for. He was then hired by ABC News, where he’s worked since.
He also shared that, even though hate seems to be on the rise, he believes there are more good than bad people in the world. They’re just hesitant to get involved.
The end of Quiñones’ speech was met with a standing ovation from the crowd.
Alex Clark, a Delta College trustee who attended the event, described it as “awesome.”
He appreciated how Quiñones focused on the positive side of humanity, rather than the constant negativity.
Clark also said that being able to attract him as a speaker showed the “national prestige” that Delta had.
