Bertice Berry

Last updated
Bertrice Berry
Born1960 (age 63–64)
Occupation
  • Sociologist
  • author
  • lecturer
  • educator
NationalityAmerican
Education Jacksonville University (BA, DHL)
Kent State University (MA, PhD)
Website
berticeberrynow.com

Bertice Berry (born 1960) is an American sociologist, author, lecturer, and educator.

Contents

Early life and education

Berry grew up in Wilmington, Delaware, as one of seven children raised by a single mother. The family was poor and her mother struggled with alcoholism. In a 1994 article, Berry reflected on her upbringing and her mother's abusiveness when she was "in one of her frightening stages of drunkenness." [1] Berry ultimately forgave her mother, writing that "her drinking was a way to mask her own pain. I think of the burden she endured as a black woman with few resources for herself or her children." [1]

Despite being told that she should give up on attending college, [2] Berry graduated with a B.A. degree, magna cum laude, from Jacksonville University in Florida in 1982. She subsequently obtained an M.A. degree in 1986 and a Ph.D. degree in 1988, both in sociology from Kent State University in Ohio.[ citation needed ] In 1994, she was awarded an honorary D.H.L. degree by Jacksonville University. [3]

Career

After completing her doctorate, Berry taught sociology at Kent State University. [4] In the early 1990s, she left academia to work as an entertainer, lecturer, and comedian. She was the host and co-executive producer of her own nationally syndicated talk show, The Bertice Berry Show, from 1993 to 1994. [2] According to legend, the show's September 1993 debut was delayed by news coverage of the Oslo I Accord; when the show finally aired an hour later, Berry quipped "We've got peace, now here's Bertice." [5] Alas, the show never found an audience and production shut down seven months later, in summer 1994. [6]

Besides having her own talk show, Berry has also appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show , The Tonight Show with Jay Leno , TEDx Talk, CBS Nightwatch, CNN's Crossfire , and Sonya Live. [7]

She is the author of two memoirs entitled The World According to Me (1996) and I'm On My Way, But Your Foot Is On My Head: A Black Woman's Story of Getting Over Life's Hurdles (1997), as well as several novels. She also wrote The Ties That Bind: A Memoir of Race, Memory and Redemption (2009) about her African American heritage. [8] Berry's self-help book about her weight-loss journey is entitled A Year to Wellness and Other Weight Loss Secrets (2010), and it won an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work (Instructional) in 2012. [9]

Berry lives in Savannah, Georgia, where she is the co-owner of Iona's Gallery & Great Finds. [6]

Bibliography

  1. Walk With Purpose, Collide With Destiny
  2. A Year To Wellness; And Other Weight Loss Secrets
  3. The Ties That Bind: A Memoir of Race, Memory, and Redemption (2009)
  4. When Love Calls, You Better Answer (2006)
  5. Jim and Louella's Homemade Heart-fix Remedy: A Novel (2003)
  6. Redemption Song: A Novel (2001)
  7. Haunting of Hip Hop (2001)
  8. I'm on My Way but Your Foot Is on My Head: A Black Woman's Story of Getting Over Life's Hurdles (1997)
  9. You Still Ghetto: You Know You're Still Ghetto If... (1997)
  10. Sckraight From The Ghetto: You Know You're Ghetto If . . .(1996)
  11. BERTICE: The World According to Me (1996)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cicely Tyson</span> American actress (1924–2021)

Cecily Louise "Cicely" Tyson was an American actress known for her portrayal of strong African-American women. Tyson received various awards including three Emmy Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Tony Award, an Honorary Academy Award, and a Peabody Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jada Pinkett Smith</span> American actress (born 1971)

Jada Koren Pinkett Smith is an American actress, singer and talk show host. She is co-host of the Facebook Watch talk show Red Table Talk, for which she has won a Daytime Emmy Award. Time named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2021.

Arabella Helen Weir is an American-born British comedian, actress and writer. She played roles in the comedy series The Fast Show, Posh Nosh and Two Doors Down, and has written several books, including Does My Bum Look Big in This? Weir has also written for The Independent and The Guardian and the latter's Weekend magazine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meredith Baxter</span> American actress and producer (born 1947)

Meredith Ann Baxter is an American actress and producer. She is known for her roles on the CBS sitcom Bridget Loves Bernie (1972–1973), ABC drama series Family (1976–1980) and the NBC sitcom Family Ties (1982–1989). A five-time Emmy Award nominee, one of her nominations was for playing the title role in the 1992 TV film A Woman Scorned: The Betty Broderick Story.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daisy Bates (activist)</span> American civil rights activist (1914–1999)

Daisy Bates was an American civil rights activist, publisher, journalist, and lecturer who played a leading role in the Little Rock Integration Crisis of 1957.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leah Remini</span> American actress (born 1970)

Leah Marie Remini is an American actress. She starred as Carrie Heffernan on the CBS sitcom The King of Queens (1998–2007) and as Vanessa Celluci in the CBS sitcom Kevin Can Wait (2017–2018), both alongside Kevin James.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holly Robinson Peete</span> American actress (born 1964)

Holly Elizabeth Robinson Peete is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Judy Hoffs on the Fox police drama 21 Jump Street, Vanessa Russell on the ABC sitcom Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, and Dr. Malena Ellis on the NBC/The WB sitcom For Your Love. She also served as one of the original co-hosts of the CBS Daytime talk show The Talk. She is also known for her portrayal of Diana Ross in the 1992 miniseries The Jacksons: An American Dream, which also aired on ABC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lynn Whitfield</span> American actress (born 1953)

Lynn Whitfield is an American actress. She began her acting career in television and theatre before progressing to supporting roles in film. She won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie and received a Golden Globe Award nomination for her breakout performance as Josephine Baker in the HBO biographical film The Josephine Baker Story (1991).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kate Grenville</span> Australian author

Catherine Elizabeth Grenville is an Australian author. She has published fifteen books, including fiction, non-fiction, biography, and books about the writing process. In 2001, she won the Orange Prize for The Idea of Perfection, and in 2006 she won the Commonwealth Writers' Prize for The Secret River. The Secret River was also shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jackie Joseph</span> American actress and writer

Jackie Joseph is an American actress and writer. She is best known for her role as Jackie Parker on The Doris Day Show (1971–1973) and Audrey in The Little Shop of Horrors (1960), as well as a supporting role in Gremlins (1984).

Kellita Smith is an American actress, model and comedian. She is best known for her role as Wanda McCullough, Bernie Mac's wife on the FOX sitcom The Bernie Mac Show.

The Holocaust has been a prominent subject of art and literature throughout the second half of the twentieth century. There is a wide range of ways–including dance, film, literature, music, and television–in which the Holocaust has been represented in the arts and popular culture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ilyasah Shabazz</span> American writer, daughter of Malcolm X (born 1962)

Ilyasah Shabazz is an American author, community organizer, social activist, and motivational speaker. She is the third daughter of Malcolm X and Betty Shabazz, and wrote a memoir titled Growing Up X.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vanessa Williams</span> American singer, actress and former Miss America (born 1963)

Vanessa Lynn Williams is an American singer, actress, model, producer, and dancer. She gained recognition as the first Black woman to win the Miss America title when she was crowned Miss America 1984. She would later resign her title amid a media controversy surrounding nude photographs published in Penthouse magazine. Thirty-two years later, Williams was offered a public apology during the Miss America 2016 pageant for the events.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oprah Winfrey</span> American talk show host, actress, producer, and author (born 1954)

Oprah Gail Winfrey, known mononymously as Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and media proprietor. She is best known for her talk show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, broadcast from Chicago, which ran in national syndication for 25 years, from 1986 to 2011. Dubbed the "Queen of All Media", she was the richest African-American of the 20th century and was once the world's only black billionaire. By 2007, she was often ranked as the most influential woman in the world.

Now or Never (<i>Greys Anatomy</i>) 24th episode of the 5th season of Greys Anatomy

"Now or Never" is the twenty-fourth episode and the season finale of the fifth season of the American television medical drama Grey's Anatomy, and is the 102nd episode overall. Written by Debora Cahn and directed by Rob Corn, the episode was originally broadcast on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in the United States on May 14, 2009.

<i>Brown Girl Dreaming</i> 2014 book by Jacqueline Woodson

Brown Girl Dreaming is a 2014 adolescent verse memoir written by Jacqueline Woodson. It tells the story of the author’s early childhood life growing up as an African American girl in the 1960’s and depicts the events that led her to become a writer. The book has been considered one of the exemplary pieces of modern children’s literature by critics who have analyzed the book and has gained positive reception. It has won multiple awards, including a Newbery Honor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nekima Levy Armstrong</span> American lawyer and civil right activist

Nekima Valdez Levy Armstrong is an American lawyer and social justice activist. She was president of the Minneapolis chapter of the NAACP from 2015 to 2016. She has led a variety of organizations that focus on issues of racial equality and disparity in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul area.

Eva Galler was a Jewish Holocaust survivor, born in Oleszyce, Poland. While being deported to the Belzec Extermination Camp, she escaped by jumping out the train window with her brother and sister. Her siblings were shot and killed as they fell out the train, but Galler managed to escape by landing in a deep hole.

Terese Marie Mailhot is a First Nation Canadian writer, journalist, memoirist, and teacher.

References

  1. 1 2 "Longview News-Journal from Longview, Texas on September 11, 1994 · Page 96". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2017-03-03.
  2. 1 2 Dance, Daryl Cumber (1998). Hush, Honey: An Anthology of African American Women's Humor. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. p. 621.
  3. ↑ Honorary Degrees Awarded Archived 2016-01-06 at the Wayback Machine - website of the Jacksonville University
  4. ↑ Gregory, Deborah (April 1994). "Bertice Berry". Essence. 24: 51. Archived from the original on 2017-03-05 – via EBSCOhost.
  5. ↑ O'Malley, Kathy; Collin, Dorothy (September 14, 1993). "O'Malley & Collin INC". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  6. 1 2 "Berry, Bertice". Encyclopedia.com. Thomson Gale. 2005. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  7. ↑ Winslow, Harriet (1994-01-18). "They Get Passing Grades at Talk-Show U". LA Times. Retrieved 2010-08-23.
  8. ↑ Bertice Berry, The Ties That Bind: A Memoir of Race, Memory and Redemption, Broadway Books, 2009, p. 8.
  9. ↑ "NAACP Image Awards 2012: Full list of winners". ABC7 Los Angeles. Archived from the original on 2016-01-06. Retrieved 2017-03-04.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.