A Conversation with Secretary Condoleezza Rice

Speakers:

Condoleezza Rice, Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University

Eliot A. Cohen, Dean of Johns Hopkins SAIS

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice joined Dean Cohen and the Johns Hopkins SAIS community for a candid discussion on race relations in America. 
 
During the conversation, Rice reflected on her childhood in segregated Birmingham, Alabama, which taught her to appreciate the resilience of the human spirit in overcoming great challenges.
 
Drawing on insights from her June 4 op-ed in The Washington Post, Rice emphasized the need for honest and deep conversations about racial injustices in America to heal our divisions. She discussed how today’s protests compared to those of the Civil Rights era, and how the current media environment and social media has shaped the way we interpret and talk about race. 
 
The discussion concluded with questions from the audience that touched on Rice’s experience as the first African-American woman to serve as Secretary of State and our individual responsibilities in moving the country forward.