Bertice Berry

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

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." 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."

Despite being told that she should give up on attending college, 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. In 1994, she was awarded an honorary D.H.L. degree by Jacksonville University.

After completing her doctorate, Berry taught sociology at Kent State University. 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. According to legend, the show's September 1993 debut was delayed by news coverage of the Israel-Palestine peace treaty; when the show finally aired an hour later, Berry quipped "We've got peace, now here's Bertice." Alas, the show never found an audience and production shut down seven months later, in summer 1994.

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.

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