Author, historian, professor and civil rights leader Mary Frances Berry will serve as the keynote speaker during the University of Michigan Library’s lecture, “Race, Protest, and Politics: Where Do We Go From Here?”
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The event, part of U-M’s 2021 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Symposium, will take place virtually at 2 p.m. Jan. 18.
For more than four decades, Berry has been an activist in the causes of civil rights, gender equality and social justice. As chair of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission, she led the charge for equal rights and liberties for all Americans over the course of four presidential administrations.
Berry was assistant secretary for education in the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare from 1977-80. President Jimmy Carter named Berry to the U.S. Civil Rights Commission, and she became the first woman to head the commission in 1993.
In 1984, President Ronald Reagan attempted to dismiss her from the commission, along with other critics of his administration. She sued for her reinstatement, which was ordered by the U.S. District Court. President Bill Clinton named her to head the commission in 1993.
In addition to public service, Berry taught both American history and law at several universities, including U-M, Howard University, Central Michigan University, Eastern Michigan University and the University of Maryland.
She is a two-time U-M alumna, receiving her doctorate in American constitutional history in 1966 and a law degree in 1970.
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Berry became the first woman to head a major research university as chancellor of the University of Colorado at Boulder. Currently, she is the Geraldine R. Segal Professor of American Social Thought and professor of history at the University of Pennsylvania, where she teaches the history of American law and the history of law and social policy.
“Dr. Berry believes that each generation has the responsibility to make a dent in the wall of injustice,” said Jamaine Wourman, a library operations service support manager at U-M and one of the organizers of the discussion.
“She speaks boldly for those who can’t speak for themselves and motivates all of us to take action. Her clarion call challenges everyone to stand up, stand tall and to never give up the fight.”
