RELATED: International Women's Day rallies held in Bay Area
Madeline Albright walked onto the stage at the Herbst Theatre in San Francisco Wednesday and was greeted with applause. She spoke about women, her role as Secretary of State and the new administration to a sold-out crowd.
Albright didn't hold anything back. She appeared with her daughter, Katie Albright, and former East Bay congresswoman Ellen Tauscher.
Albright is a refugee who fled communist Czechoslovakia and Wednesday night she recounted an exchange she had with a newly naturalized citizen years ago. "He said, 'Can you believe I'm a refugee and I got my naturalization certificate from the Secretary of State?' and I said, 'Can you believe a refugee is Secretary of State?'"
"Isn't that fantastic," Tauscher replied.
Albright urged the crowd to take action. She says marches are important, but not enough. Her daughter Katie is the executive director of the San Francisco Child Abuse Prevention Center and stressed the importance of getting out of the "bubble."
PHOTOS: Women march on International Women's Day in the Bay Area
She even encouraged the audience to watch Fox News.
"We really have to start listening to each other," Katie said. "We're talking at different levels and we really need to engage."
Albright's final message, aimed mainly at women, was that they need to support each other now more than ever.
"A lot of young women think that the battles are won. They are not," Albright told the crowd. "And we have to continue to help each other and not take anything for granted."