UC Berkeley: Light the Way's video: Social Justice at Berkeley and Beyond

Berkeley Chancellor Carol Christ leads a discussion about social justice at Berkeley and in the world during the pandemic and beyond. Layshia Clarendon ’13 Advocate and Activist; Guard, New York Liberty, WNBA Clarendon is a star basketball player for the WNBA’s New York Liberty and she’s also a social justice activist. The WNBA announced the Social Justice Council as part of its 2020 season dedicated to its efforts. The council is led by Clarendon and others, and the goal is to educate, amplify, and mobilize for action to address a history of inequality, implicit bias, and systemic racism. Norman Y. Mineta ’53 Former United States Secretary of Commerce and Secretary of Transportation Mineta was born in San Jose, California to Japanese immigrant parents who were not allowed to become U.S. citizens at the time due to the Asian Exclusion Act. During World War II, the Mineta family was removed from their home and sent to the Heart Mountain internment camp near Cody, Wyoming along with thousands of other Japanese immigrants and Japanese Americans. Mineta graduated from UC Berkeley in 1953 with a degree in business administration. Upon graduation, Mineta joined the U.S. Army and served as an intelligence officer in Japan and Korea. His career in politics began in 1967 when he was appointed to a vacant San Jose City Council seat. He would go on to become the first Japanese American mayor of a major U.S. city. As mayor, Mineta created development-free areas in San Jose. Mineta served as secretary of commerce under Bill Clinton, making him the first Asian Pacific American to serve in the cabinet. He later served as secretary of transportation — the only Democratic cabinet secretary — in George W. Bush’s administration. Alexis Atsilvsgi Zaragoza ’22 UC Student Regent-Designate Zaragoza is a passionate activist in higher education. She has served on multiple boards during the entirety of her college career, including serving as a board member on the California Community College’s Board of Governors and as a trustee to Calbright College. Zaragoza transferred from Modesto Junior College to UC Berkeley to pursue a degree in geography and political science. She currently serves as the 2020–22 Student Regent for the University of California Board of Regents. She is a McNair Scholar studying rural education for Black, Indigenous, and people of color and geographic disparity in university admissions.