Born:
Feb. 17, 1938, Nashville, Tenn., U.S. (age 86)

Mary Frances Berry (born Feb. 17, 1938, Nashville, Tenn., U.S.) American professor, writer, lawyer, and activist whose public service included work in three presidential administrations. From 1980 to 2004 she was a member of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, serving as chairwoman from 1993 to 2004. She was also an outspoken advocate of the Equal Rights Amendment. Berry graduated from Howard University (B.A., 1961; M.A., 1962) and taught at Howard and at the University of Michigan, where she received a Ph.D. in American constitutional history in 1966 and a law degree in 1970. She became the first African American ...(100 of 422 words)