After an introduction by Hector Avalos, director of the Latino/a Studies Department, Heinz Kerry told the crowd she had been instructed not to talk about her husband's campaign, but would gladly answer any questions about it.
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Heinz Kerry began by relating her experiences as a child living in Mozambique, then speaking about her father and about having been part of demonstrations against apartheid when she was older.
"I saw my father vote for the first time when he was 71," she said. "The meaning of the word 'freedom' is very loaded with me."
She also spoke about learning to respect the balance of nature, using it as her own moral compass later in life.
It was these experiences that had given birth to her current passions and beliefs, she said. Heinz Kerry said she is sometimes angered by the "apathy and ignorance" sometimes shown toward democracy in America.
"When you have something, you sometimes take it for granted," she said.
Heinz Kerry also spoke at length about her involvement in the conversion of Pittsburgh -- the headquarters of Heinz Family Philanthropies operations -- which had gone from what she termed a "black city," referring to the area's industrial pollution problems, to a "green city," a transformation in which her organization played a role.
http://www.iowastatedaily.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2003/10/30/3fa09a832aebf
She'll be a fantastic First Lady!