November 8, 1992 - Mary Frances Berry, U.S. Civil Rights Commissioner, giving inaugural lecture in a new series of Hamline University Lectures on "Creating Community Through Diversity". Berry’s speech was titled "Achieving the American Dream". Berry gained national attention in 1983, when she and several other commissioners on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights were fired by President Reagan for criticizing the President's civil rights policies. Berry successfully sued the government and was reinstated by a Federal District Court. She is a former Assistant Secretary for Education in the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, and is now a Professor of American Social Thought at the University of Pennsylvania.
August 27, 1987 - Dr. Mary Frances Berry, historian, civil rights activist, and commissioner on the US Commission of Civil Rights, speaking at Minnesota Meeting. Berry’s address was titled "Civil Rights in America: Liberty and Justice for All." Following speech, Berry answered audience questions. Minnesota Meeting is a non-profit corporation which hosts a wide range of public speakers. It is managed by the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota.