Project Description

Dr. Bertice Berry, Sociologist, Lecturer, Author and Mother

When You Walk with Purpose, You Collide with Destiny

No one defies stereotypes, generalizations or clichés more than Dr. Bertice Berry. Growing up poor in Wilmington, Delaware, the sixth of seven children, Bertice was told by a high school teacher that she was “not college material”. Fortunately, there was another teacher who believed that she was destined for more. Berry applied to several schools without any idea how she would pay the tuition if she were accepted. The day her application arrived at Jacksonville University in Florida, a wealthy benefactor called the Admissions Department looking for a potential student “who could swim if they had the right backing,” and might sink without it.

Bertice not only graduated magna cum laude from Jacksonville where she was awarded the President’s Cup for leadership, she subsequently earned a Ph.D. in Sociology from Kent State University at the age of 26. Dr. Berry taught sociology and statistics at Kent, and demonstrated that she knew a few things about humor, as well. She became one of the most popular teachers at the university; so popular, in fact, larger lecture halls had to be found to accommodate the ever-increasing number of students. A colleague said to me, “You’re funny, and I said, No I’m not, I’m a scholar,” recounts Dr. Berry. It was then that she realized by using humor in her lectures to address such difficult subjects as racisms and sexism she was making a more profound impact.

Shortly thereafter, Berry left Kent to become an award-winning entertainer, lecturer and comedienne. From 1991 through 1994 she won the coveted national Comedian of the Year Award, and was also named Campus Lecturer of the Year and Campus Entertainer of the Year. She had created a niche as both a gifted speaker with a comic edge and a comic with a serious message. Her busy schedule included over 200 appearances a year.

Berry was the host and co-executive producer of her own nationally syndicated talk show, “The Bertice Berry Show,” and hosted “USA Live,” a four-hour live interview and entertainment show on the USA Cable Network. She’s been featured on numerous other television programs, including appearances on “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” ABC’s “20/20” and more recently on NPR’s “Tell Me More” with Michel Martin.

Dr. Bertice Berry is also the best-selling author of an inspirational memoir, I’m On My Way, But Your Foot Is On My Head, and the hilarious bestsellers Sckraight From the Ghetto, You Might Be Ghetto If and the sequel You STILL Ghetto. Her latest book, “A Year to Wellness and Other Weight Loss Secrets” is a personal journey of healing and wellness that resulted in a weight loss of 150 lbs.

Despite all of her honors and achievements, Dr. Berry is most proud of becoming the “instant mother” to her five children. She lives in Savannah, GA where she is active in the community. “When you walk with purpose,” Berry says, “you collide with destiny!”