Events & Calendars Callie House and the Struggle for Ex-Slave Reparations

Dr. Mary Frances Berry has been the Geraldine R. Segal Professor of American Social Thought and Professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania since 1987. She received her Ph.D. in history from the University of Michigan and J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School. She is the author of 12 books and recipient of 35 honorary doctoral degrees. From 1980 to 2004, she was a member of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, and from 1993 to 2004, she served as chair.

Berry will discuss the case for reparations and the history of Callie House, a widowed washerwoman who demanded reparations for ex-slaves in the 1890s. This event will kick-off the Provost’s Lecture Series which will focus on “The History of Anti-Black Racism in America” for the 2020-2021 academic year. Students, faculty, staff, alumni and the public are all welcome.