Americans should look at the past, not as dead history but as a foundation for fixing today's problems, said former presidential candidate Carol Moseley Braun.
Braun spoke to students and faculty Thursday in The University Center at The University of Memphis.
She said the correction of past civil wrongs helped her succeed, adding that the college-aged crowd should continue that fight. She said college students should be a "different kind of pioneer," one that strives for equal treatment and quality university education.
Braun said there is no reason why ambitious people shouldn't strive for their goals based on ethnicity and gender. She recalled one skeptic who discouraged her to strive for a political career because she was a woman who didn't hold power in the Chicago political machine.
"That's all I needed to hear," said Braun, who went on to serve in the Illinois general assembly for 10 years and served one term in the U.S. Senate. She became America's first African-American female Democrat to serve in the body. In 1999, President Bill Clinton appointed her U.S. Ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa, a job she frequently refers to as "Ambassador to Paradise."
She said her ambition coupled with progressive steps in history aided her advancement.
"America is richer because of stories like mine. America has dealt with depressions and the establishment of Jim Crow (laws)," Braun said, citing the overcoming of such events. "I got a quality education because of Brown vs. Board (of Education) along with the help of my community [that] helped alleviate [my] debt."
"Our ancestors made lemonade out of lemons. Our generation made opportunity out of oppression," Braun said.
Perhaps the most passionate section of the speech came during the question and answer period where she commented on policies of the Bush administration, same-gender marriage and her party's prospects of winning future elections.
Braun criticized the president's Social Security proposals, saying partial privatization could add to an already hefty budget deficit. She noted the tendency of the stock market to fluctuate and said the program's purpose could be in placed in jeopardy.
"Social Security ensured people a safety net," Braun said. "We need to continue to honor that."
She criticized the No Child Left Behind Act, calling it an unfunded federal mandate that focuses on testing as opposed to teaching.
"We need to support teaching more to the child and not to the test," she said.
While Braun didn't express outright support for same-gender marriage, she did compare it to past disagreements with interracial marriage.
"Adam and Steve are met with the same resistance Adam and Satan once [had]," she said.
The next Democratic Presidential nominee needs to "speak to the hearts and minds of the American people", Braun said. She said giving strong points on issues such as infrastructure, providing quality education, global warming and national security will win over so-called swing states -- those where Republican and Democratic voter turnout are close.
