Activist speaks Monday

Mary Frances Berry has been at the center of numerous controversies throughout her life. \nAs one of the founders for the Free South Africa movement, she launched protests in support of South African democracy, for which she was arrested and jailed many times. \nIn 1980, she was appointed by president Jimmy Carter as commissioner of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. But when Ronald Reagan took office, he fired Berry because she criticized his civil rights policies. Berry sued and won re-instatement from a federal judge.\nIn 1993, keeping with her presidential service, Bill Clinton designated her chairperson of the Civil Rights Commission.\nBerry has made appearances on "Nightline," "Crossfire," "Lead Story," "Face the Nation," "The Today Show," "Oprah," CNN and C-Span. \nAt 6 p.m. Monday in Whittenberger Auditorium, she will speak at IU. Berry is the headline event in the campus celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.\nIn Dec. 2001, Berry made her face familiar to many Americans as she chaired long hearings about the Florida elections, accepting testimony from many voters and questioning election officials about events in Nov. 2000. \n Last summer, she refused to swear in a Bush appointee to the commission, arguing the commissioner whom Bush sought to replace still had four years left in her term. \n The case is still unresolved. Berry has been a leader in a number of national civil rights initiatives and has received 28 honorary degrees and numerous awards for her public service according to release from the Office of Multicultural Affairs.\n "(Berry) will be lecturing on MLK's legacy and his attainment of his dreams," said Gloria Gibson, associate vice chancellor for multicultural affairs. \nBerry will also address the issue of total equality, Gibson said.\n"Civil rights opened the windows. When you open the windows, it does not mean that everyone will get through. We must create our own opportunities," Berry said in a statement. "When it comes to the cause of justice, I take no prisoners, and I don't believe in compromise"