Remarks - Department of History, UC Berkeley

6
Felicia Viator [VEE–ah–tor”] studies twentieth-century U.S. history. She is interested in
finding new ways to connect African-American history to the history of the American
West. To that end, she wrote a dissertation that explores black Los Angeles after the Civil
Rights Movement. Felicia has studied under the guidance of Pulitzer-Prize-winning
historian Leon Litwack for well over a decade, since her early years as a UC Berkeley
undergraduate. By earning her PhD today, she becomes officially Professor Litwack’s
last student – a distinct honor she cherishes. Felicia is currently a lecturer at San
Francisco State University, and next year she will be teaching a series of courses here at
Berkeley.
Introduction for Anthony Romero
I. It is now my great pleasure to introduce our guest speaker for today, Mr.
Anthony Romero, Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union.
Mr. Romero is, I think, not only the coolest graduation speaker we’ve ever
had in this department, but also probably the coolest person who would ever
willingly hang out with a bunch of history professors.
II.
Mr. Romero was born in New York City to Puerto Rican parents, and he was
the first member of his family to graduate from high school. He subsequently
graduated from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public Policy at Princeton,
and Stanford Law School.
III. He became the head of the American Civil Liberties Union on September 4 th ,
2001. One week later, his life was changed even more than most of our lives
were changed, as debates over civil rights, government power, and the proper
balance between liberty and security became more pressing than they had
been in generations. And in the twelve years since then, Mr. Romero has been
at the forefront of those debates.
IV. In 2005, Mr. Romero was named one of Time Magazine's 25 Most Influential
Hispanics in America. He has received dozens of public service awards and
an honorary doctorate from the City University of New York School of Law.
V. He is also co-author of In Defense of Our America: The Fight for Civil
VI.
VII.
Liberties in the Age of Terror, published in 2007.
I invited him here today not because the Department of History takes a
position on the many issues he has addressed in his career, but rather because
that career itself represents a model that this department aspires to and hopes
for in its graduates: the use of intellect for the public good! Mr. Romero has a
prodigious intellect, he is a person of such evident ability that he could do
anything he wants with his life. But he has chosen to apply that ability to
solving some of the pressing problems of our time, and for that reason I could
think of no one better to talk to the Department of History at the world’s
greatest public university.
Please welcome Mr. Anthony Romero.
Now the Masters and PhD degrees will be conferred by Professor Maureen Miller