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Power of the individual
by Claire Moses
News | 10/16/07
Posted online at 8:53 PM EST on 10/15/07
/ Last updated at 5:34 AM EST on 10/15/07
One individual can make a difference. This is the message Carol Moseley Braun, the first African American woman to serve in the United States Senate, conveyed at the fourth annual Eleanor Roosevelt lecture in the Shapiro Campus Center Theater last Wednesday.
Braun's speech, called "Colored Water and the Power of One," was held to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Women's and Gender Studies Center. She served as a Democratic senator for Illinois from 1993 to 1999, and was the United States ambassador to Antarctica and New Zealand from 1999 to 2001.
"What you do, what you say and what you think matters," Braun, 60, said. "Your actions will make things better for more people than you'll ever know."
She drew anecdotes from her time as an ambassador in New Zealand as well as from her youth to illustrate this point. Braun stressed that the actions of one person can change the course of history and affect future generations. In that same respect, she praised the progress American society has made since her youth, citing racial segregation as an example.
After announcing that she would run for the Democatic party's presidential nomination in February 2003, Braun dropped out of the running in January 2004, four days before the Iowa caucuses, and endorsed Democratic candidate Howard Dean instead.
"I really had nothing to lose being against the [Iraq] war and pro-choice," she said of her presidential campaign in an interview before her speech.
In her speech, Braun recalled how she decided to run for president in the first place. She was at a family gathering and suddenly got called by her little niece. "Auntie Carol," her niece asked her, "all the presidents are boys." Braun said she decided to change that and show her niece that women, too, can run.
Braun explained in the interview, however, that she ultimately had to drop out of the race because she couldn't raise enough money.
"The political class didn't take [my campaign] seriously, but I didn't let that bother me," Braun said. "People were open to what I had to say, without looking at race or gender."
Braun's speech, called "Colored Water and the Power of One," was held to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Women's and Gender Studies Center. She served as a Democratic senator for Illinois from 1993 to 1999, and was the United States ambassador to Antarctica and New Zealand from 1999 to 2001.
"What you do, what you say and what you think matters," Braun, 60, said. "Your actions will make things better for more people than you'll ever know."
She drew anecdotes from her time as an ambassador in New Zealand as well as from her youth to illustrate this point. Braun stressed that the actions of one person can change the course of history and affect future generations. In that same respect, she praised the progress American society has made since her youth, citing racial segregation as an example.
After announcing that she would run for the Democatic party's presidential nomination in February 2003, Braun dropped out of the running in January 2004, four days before the Iowa caucuses, and endorsed Democratic candidate Howard Dean instead.
"I really had nothing to lose being against the [Iraq] war and pro-choice," she said of her presidential campaign in an interview before her speech.
In her speech, Braun recalled how she decided to run for president in the first place. She was at a family gathering and suddenly got called by her little niece. "Auntie Carol," her niece asked her, "all the presidents are boys." Braun said she decided to change that and show her niece that women, too, can run.
Braun explained in the interview, however, that she ultimately had to drop out of the race because she couldn't raise enough money.
"The political class didn't take [my campaign] seriously, but I didn't let that bother me," Braun said. "People were open to what I had to say, without looking at race or gender."
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