Cory Booker visits Memphis
“You may think your life isn’t touched by politics. But it touches you every single day. Democracies decline because of the indifference of populations,” U.S. Sen. Cory Booker said. “And we have to start becoming more engaged and aware and helping to shape our government and our priorities in government.” (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian)
U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., delivered the commencement address to graduates of the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law on Saturday, May 10, telling them to broaden their definition of politics to include service as well as involvement in issues.
“A lot of people say they don’t want to deal with politics. But the reality is democracy commands it,” Booker told The Daily Memphian in an exclusive interview before the ceremony at the Orpheum Theatre. “The only way that we benefit is by more engagement. Bad people are elected. Bad things happen when good people don’t vote, when people don’t engage.”
Booker came to the Memphis Saturday, May 10, fresh from calling for the release of Newark, New Jersey, Mayor Ras Baraka from jail there for allegedly trespassing at a federal immigration detention center.
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Cory Booker University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law Marsha Blackburn Subscriber OnlyThank you for supporting local journalism.
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Bill Dries
Bill Dries covers city and county government and politics. He is a native Memphian and has been a reporter for almost 50 years covering a wide variety of stories from the 1977 death of Elvis Presley and the 1978 police and fire strikes to numerous political campaigns, every county mayor and every Memphis Mayor starting with Wyeth Chandler.
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