"We who have all of these gifts and these fruits and this luxurious opportunity ... have this obligation to engage in the cause of America to make this dream real," Booker said. "An individual act, no matter how small you think it is, will resonate into this world in ways you cannot imagine."
Booker said he was not satisfied to simply pat himself on the back for his past successes in cracking down on drugs and crime. As mayor, Booker said he has accompanied police on drug raids and crawled around in backyards looking for evidence of narcotics, much to the surprise of the residents.
"How can we settle for incremental change?" Booker said. "We must do more."
Booker said he became committed to service because of the influence of his parents, who were active in the civil rights movement.
His grandparents experienced racism while living in the South, he said, but eventually moved North in hope of a better life.
He said his grandfather's advice and stories were particularly inspiring to him when he was young.
Despite his family's experiences with racism, Booker said he does not want America to become a "transracial" nation that homogenizes all cultures.
Rather, he called for a celebration of the rich heritages of many diverse cultures, saying different ethnic groups needed a "declaration of interdependence."
Obama's inauguration was a central theme in Booker's lecture. He cautioned the audience that Obama's election is not sufficient to solve all of the nation's problems.
"It's a big transformative thing to have Barack Obama as president," he said. "But that is not it -- the way to advance is to pull people together."
Booker said he was optimistic about the potential for social reform in the United States and that the "moral imagination" of the country is crucial to its progress.
The civil rights movements in the 1960s benefitted from the innovation of freedom rides and sit-ins, and the current generation may find similar social solutions through new technology or approaches to reducing social and cultural boundaries, Booker said.
"That's the beauty of the coming generation... really exciting ideas," Booker said in an interview with The Dartmouth. "I am thrilled by where my generation and [the next generation] is pushing the nation."
Miesha Smith '09, who attended the lecture, said she was impressed by Booker's apparent devotion to public service.
"I think that it's great to have an opportunity to listen to someone like Cory Booker," she said. "[Students, particularly seniors] get caught up in ... going corporate, this fear that we cannot live based upon our ideals. Cory Booker is an inspiration."
The event, attended by more than 100 students and community members, was part of the College's ongoing "Getting to the Mountaintop" series, which celebrates Martin Luther King, Jr.
The two-week series will conclude on Feb. 2.
