SpringfieldNewsSun.com

SPRINGFIELD — Mary Frances Berry almost didn't do a speech for Martin Luther King Jr. Day this year.

"I thought that what is going on in this society is so complicated and I was trying to sort out what I think about what is going on," she said.

But after exploring her thoughts more for recent opinion pieces in the New York Times and USA Today, Berry agreed to speak at Wittenberg University's annual Martin Luther King Jr. Convocation Monday, Jan. 20.

King was an "ordinary man who did extraordinary things," said Wittenberg senior Brittani Sterling, president of Concerned Black Students.

"There's nothing stopping us all from doing the same," she said. "Dr. Berry is an excellent example."

Berry, an author, educator and historian, is a past assistant secretary of education and chair of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. Currently the Geraldine R. Segal Professor of American Social Thought and Professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania, Berry has written nine books and is the recipient of 32 honorary doctoral degrees, among other awards.

While King would have celebrated Barack Obama's election as America's first president of color, King and other civil rights activists' work is not over with that triumph, Berry said.

"Obama has potential for greatness," Berry said at Wittenberg's Weaver Chapel on the eve of the president-elect's inauguration. "He can be great because he has great challenges and great talents.

"If he can make it work, he will go down in history as one of the greatest American presidents. But he can't do that if those of us who support him don't do what they have to do."

Obama's supporters must continue to challenge him to make the right decisions to create a place where everyone is equal, regardless of race, religion, gender, sexuality and other differences, said Berry.

"If we do that, we will honor (King's) legacy and make his vision of a World House come true," she said. "If we do that, we will reach the goal of liberty and justice for all."

Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0373 or mgildow@coxohio.com.