The President today announced his appointment of Mary Frances Berry to be Chair of the Commission on Civil Rights. Berry is the first woman to be appointed to the chair since its inception.
Ms. Berry, the senior member of the Commission, having served as Vice-Chair under President Carter, is currently the Geraldine R. Segal professor of American social thought and professor of history at the University of Pennsylvania.
"Mary Frances Berry is a civil rights scholar as well as an advocate," said the President. "I am proud to make this historic nomination, and I have every confidence in the commitment and abilities of Ms. Berry. Her distinguished life and career uniquely qualify her for this new leadership role."
NOTE: A biography of the appointee was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary.
William J. Clinton, Appointment for Chair of the Commission on Civil Rights Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/217720