Mary Frances Berry
Scholar, Author and Civil Rights Activist
Thursday, March 1, 2007
A300 Auditorium
The recipient of 32 honorary doctoral degrees recognizing her scholarship and public service, Mary Frances Berry teaches social thought and history at the University of Pennsylvania. From 1980 to 2004 she served on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. When President Reagan attempted to remove her, she went to court to keep her seat—and won. President Clinton elevated her to Chair. Her many books include The Politics of Parenthood: Child Care, Women’s Rights, and the Myth of the Good Mother and Black Resistance, White Law explore race and gender in legal history.
