By Stephen Georgestaff Writer

It’s rare that a university like this one has the opportunity to witness a true political face-off on its campus. But that is precisely what happened the week of March 5, when two leaders of the national African-American community spoke about civil rights and the progress our nation has made since abolitionism.

Dr. Mary Frances Berry, chairwoman of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, was the keynote speaker in the annual Minx Auerbach lecture in women’s studies on March 5, giving a speech entitled “Race, Gender, and the American Courts.” The following evening, the Cardinal Leadership Institute welcomed Reginald Jones, a nationally renowned entrepreneur, record producer, and political activist, to speak on how African-Americans have been “sold out” by the civil rights movement. The two speakers share a common goal: sociopolitical equality for all races, both male and female. But the ways each goes about achieving that goal are not only entirely different, but are necessarily conflicting.

When asked his feelings on the performance of Dr. Berry in government and of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights as a whole, Reginald Jones responded by accusing her of campaigning for Democrats while heading a commission that must by law be non-partisan. “She has done a terrible job,” Jones said. “If you’re going to be the head of the Civil Rights Commission, you shouldn’t be partisan. She’s got carte blanche to do whatever she wants, and that’s a shame.” Jones also accused Dr. Berry of being less interested in the struggles of African-Americans than in the game of politics.

Dr. Berry claimed to have never heard of Jones when asked. “I don’t know who he is,” she said. “There is no civil rights movement now, so whoever sold him out must’ve done so a long time ago.” As for her accused partisanship, Dr. Berry explained, “I just look for people whose commitment is strong to do the right thing.”

The Minx Auerbach lecture was preceded by a one-on-one interview between Dr. Berry, a co-founder of the Free South Africa Movement, and WHAS-TV anchor Lisa Brones. Dr. Berry took the opportunity to speak more personally about her views on everything from the Supreme Court, to the Congress, to the Bush administration, to her job as chairwoman of the committee, to the impact September 11 has had on the judicial process and civil rights in the U.S. today.

“It’s clear that we’ve made progress in every area of civil rights,” Dr. Berry said. “But there are still disparities and gaps that exist.” She pinpointed the increased tightening of the governmental grip on civil liberties post-September 11 as a sign of a detrimental national trend. “I think almost everybody is scared today,” she said. “There’s a lot we don’t know, but I think what we’ve got to do is just hold on to our values, despite our new concerns about security.”

Jones was critical of the African-American leadership structure of today.

“Today’s black leadership is mostly protest-oriented,” he said. “People focus on slavery and on Jim Crow during Black History Month, as if that’s the only contribution we’ve made to history.” He spoke of what he called the “civil rights trinity” of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., John F. Kennedy, and his brother Robert F. Kennedy, and how it is an injustice that such an idea even exists. He went on to talk about the Kennedys’ involvement, or lack thereof, in the civil rights struggle of the mid-20th century.While Dr. Berry maintained the accomplishments not only of her committee but also of the civil rights movements