On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the Ford School hosted Ambassador Susan Rice, former United Nations Ambassador and former U.S. National Security Advisor, for a conversation with Dean Michael S. Barr on her new memoir Tough Love: My Story of the Things Worth Fighting For.
The wide-ranging conversation touched on personal as well as professional themes, and it was covered by the Michigan Daily for a January 20 article.
When explaining the title of her memoir, Rice said, according to the Daily, “Tough love means loving fiercely but not uncritically. It means that when you care deeply about somebody, you care enough to give them your unvarnished truth. And do it from the vantage point of someone who has their best interests at heart. (It’s) how I’ve tried to serve our country.”
Rice also noted that “women and people of color have to make sure to work twice as hard, especially in these [federal leadership] positions.”
Asked by Dean Barr about media appearances she made following the death of American ambassador Christopher Stevens and three others in Benghazi, Ambassador Rice said that the backlash she encountered after she reported (unbeknownst to her) false information from the intelligence community was her motivation for writing her memoir. She was inspired, she said, by her father’s words to “‘define yourself for yourself.’”
Recalling her favorite quote by Dr. King: “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice,” Rice encouraged others to participate and serve. “Nobody is going to do the hard bending, if not you and me,” Rice said.
Read the full Michigan Daily article here.