BERRY SHARES INSIGHTS ON RACISM

Dr. Bertice Berry gave a sparse crowd insight on living in a racist society during a speech at Southeast Missouri Academic Auditorium Saturday night.

Berry spoke to about 100 people on the theme of "Help Somebody," a theme which has tied together all of the activities during the Dr. Martin Luther King celebration on campus. Berry's appearance was the final event in the celebration.

"The theme of helping somebody is so important," Berry said. "We all know that there is a desperate need for change. The issue is how are we going to share information and evolve."

Berry, who has been as an entertainer, college professor, talk show host and author, among a number of other professions, used humor to deliver her message of the need to build diverse relationships and end the subtle forms of prejudice that exist. She focused on the need for university students, faculty and staff to work for change, because a college campus is one of the most diversified populations that exists.

Berry said humor often helped people accept truisms about themselves, and she said it should be used to teach rather than to separate. She gave examples of how she has used humor in the past to confront racist situations and battle the "random" ignorance that always makes her a target of luggage checks in airports.

"How can something be random when it happens all the time," Berry asked the audience. "When you're young, you have no idea of all of these negative values society has put on being different. A blonde joke is a recycled everybody-else joke. When you hear one, you ought to tell that person that it's wrong. There's a point when you start to realize we're all the same and we are all different."

At one point in her speech, Berry asked the audience to give her examples of stereotypes. After discussing each example, she told the audience that it was very easy to internalize negative ideas, and everyone needed to fight the need to belittle others because of their differences.

"Isn't it amazing that you all know the same lie?" she asked. "It's very subtle. In sports, Larry Bird is a genius -- Michael Jordan is a natural. It's very subtle. And imagine how much of this you internalize on a daily basis."

Berry told the audience they should stop looking for an organization and start building relationships with those who are different from them. It's not about being politically correct, she said, it's about being correct.

"We need to reclaim those dreams that our ancestors had," Berry said. "You don't need an organization to bring about change. Sit and talk with someone different. You will learn something about yourself by simply talking with someone different."