Bertice Berry (born 1960) is an American sociologist, author, lecturer, and educator.
Bertrice Berry | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1960 (age 63–64) |
| Occupation |
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| Nationality | American |
| Education | Jacksonville University (BA, DHL) Kent State University (MA, PhD) |
| Website | |
| berticeberrynow | |
Early life and education
editBerry 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
editAfter 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
edit- Walk With Purpose, Collide With Destiny
- A Year To Wellness; And Other Weight Loss Secrets
- The Ties That Bind: A Memoir of Race, Memory, and Redemption (2009)
- When Love Calls, You Better Answer (2006)
- Jim and Louella's Homemade Heart-fix Remedy: A Novel (2003)
- Redemption Song: A Novel (2001)
- Haunting of Hip Hop (2001)
- I'm on My Way but Your Foot Is on My Head: A Black Woman's Story of Getting Over Life's Hurdles (1997)
- You Still Ghetto: You Know You're Still Ghetto If... (1997)
- Sckraight From The Ghetto: You Know You're Ghetto If . . .(1996)
- BERTICE: The World According to Me (1996)
References
edit- ^ a b "Longview News-Journal from Longview, Texas on September 11, 1994 · Page 96". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2017-03-03.
- ^ a b Dance, Daryl Cumber (1998). Hush, Honey: An Anthology of African American Women's Humor. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. p. 621.
- ^ Honorary Degrees Awarded Archived 2016-01-06 at the Wayback Machine - website of the Jacksonville University
- ^ Gregory, Deborah (April 1994). "Bertice Berry". Essence. 24: 51. Archived from the original on 2017-03-05 – via EBSCOhost.
- ^ O'Malley, Kathy; Collin, Dorothy (September 14, 1993). "O'Malley & Collin INC". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
- ^ a b "Berry, Bertice". Encyclopedia.com. Thomson Gale. 2005. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
- ^ Winslow, Harriet (1994-01-18). "They Get Passing Grades at Talk-Show U". LA Times. Retrieved 2010-08-23.
- ^ Bertice Berry, The Ties That Bind: A Memoir of Race, Memory and Redemption, Broadway Books, 2009, p. 8.
- ^ "NAACP Image Awards 2012: Full list of winners". ABC7 Los Angeles. Archived from the original on 2016-01-06. Retrieved 2017-03-04.