Byron Pitts Visits North Carolina

By: Marisela Burgos/Eyewitness News 9 | WNCT
Published: April 08, 2008

He's currently a National Correspondent for CBS News. He came back to the east on Tuesday for a lecture at ECU. He called it “Leading the way to Social Justice: The High Cost of Failure".

“Despite any obstacles we may have in life, this is still a wonderful country. There are still opportunities available to people,” Byron Pitts says.

Pitts wants people to remember. Pitts talked about the struggles Americans face. One of his most important issues is literacy. Pitts says he was illiterate until the age of 12 and had a stuttering problem.

“I think I had people around me, my mother, other relatives, you know who believed in me when I didn't believe in myself who encouraged me, who kicked me in the butt when I needed to be kicked in the butt,” Pitts says.

He wants people to stand up and create change. He told this ECU audience, they should get involved with the community and take charge of their lives.

“I am a firm believer that none of us are successful in this life by yourself and I think if you work hard that people will meet you along the way that you don't have to go looking for angel. I think angels will find you,” Pitts says.

He says he had lots of angels help shape his career. He says it doesn't matter where you live, it’s how you live that counts.

“I'm so grateful for the time I spent in Greenville. So, grateful for the time I spent at Channel 9. It was difficult at times, but I wouldn't be where I am now professionally, if it wasn't for my time in Pitt county,” Pitts says.