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On Point with Cynthia Hardy
Heather Brandt speaks about reluctance of victims of sexual harassment to come forward with Cynthia Hardy, host of On Point with Cynthia Hardy.
Why Don’t Many Victims of Sexual Harassment Come Forward Sooner?
October 8, 2018 by
Anita Hill Calls on Hollywood to Make ‘Tangible Commitments’ to Address Harassment and Equality Goals
October 8, 2018 by
Anita Hill, chair of The Hollywood Commission on Eliminating Sexual Harassment and Advancing Equality, is calling on industry leaders to step up their efforts in the face of government “indifference” to sexual harassment.
“We must demonstrate that even when the government shows indifference to bias and inequality, we in our industry promise accountability,” Hill wrote in a letter to her Commission’s 25 members, who collectively represent the major studios, television networks, streaming services, music companies, talent agencies, trade associations, and unions that comprise the entertainment industry. Read more>>
I Believe Survivors. I Believe Christine Blasey Ford. And I Still Believe Anita Hill
October 7, 2018 by
Let me say it again: I believe survivors. I believe Christine Blasey Ford. And I still believe Anita Hill.
Twenty-seven years ago Clarence Thomas was confirmed to the US Supreme Court marred by allegations of sexual harassment, and Brett Kavanaugh’s elevation represents a familiar travesty – the result of a deeply-flawed process that, once again, disregarded the experiences of survivors, and undermined the principles of morality and independence that were supposed to define our nation’s highest court. Read more>>
“I Believe Anita Hill!”: 27th Annual Event Set for Oct. 23 in Columbia
October 7, 2018 by
For Immediate Release
Contact: Claudia Smith Brinson, 803-546-1982
27th Annual ‘I Believe Anita Hill!’
More than 20 million watched the Sept. 27 Ford-Kavanaugh hearing before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee via broadcast and cable networks. Then, the FBI conducted a truncated investigation regarding Christine Blasey Ford’s allegation of sexual assault. Then, the Senate voted and confirmed Kavanaugh’s seat on the U.S. Supreme Court, 50-48.
Throughout, there is “I Believe Anita Hill!”
“I Believe Anita Hill!” is likely the nation’s oldest continuous remembrance of attorney and university professor Hill and her 1991 testimony about sexual harassment by then-Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas. The 27th annual “I Believe Anita Hill!” networking event will be held in Columbia, S.C., on Tuesday, Oct. 23.
The first event was held in 1992 as a way to channel the outrage many women felt about the way Hill had been treated by the all-white, all-male Judiciary Committee. This year, the hosts of Anita Hill have followed closely Ford’s testimony and Kavanaugh’s response, generally agreed to be angry and partisan, at the Sept. 27 hearing; the subsequent FBI investigation; and additional allegations of Kavanaugh’s youthful drinking and aggressive behavior.
“I Believe Anita Hill!” hosts are keenly aware of the many similarities between the 1991 and 2018 hearings. “Twenty-seven years later, we see that men in power still are not listening to women or treating women as equals,” said Barbara Rackes, managing host for the event. “The past few weeks, and the #MeToo movement, are reminders that the work of ‘I Believe Anita Hill!’ is far from finished.”
Over the years, the “I Believe Anita Hill!” event blossomed into a women-supporting-women networking event aimed at helping women be believed and respected. The group, which is nonpartisan, is composed of professional women and activists. The 100 hosts include lawyers, professors (of women’s studies, history, political science), sexual assault counselors, and providers of support and services to sexual assault and domestic violence survivors.
In 2016, 750 women and men joined Professor Hill when the networking event celebrated its silver anniversary. Hill, who limits her public events, also attended in 1997 and 2011. We expect strong attendance again, given current events.
Attendees can speak to S.C. Sen. Lindsey Graham’s five-minute outburst and its effect on his re-election in 2020, can compare aspects of the Hill and Ford testimony, can speak about the abbreviated FBI investigation, can discuss women’s engagement in #MeToo and post-hearing developments, and can reflect on predictions of another “Year of the Woman,” when women are expected to vote in great numbers for female candidates.
The Oct. 23 event will be held from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at 701 Whaley Street in Columbia. Admission is free and open to the public. Valet parking is available and free.
For more information, go to anitahillparty.com
Want to talk to prominent S.C. women about Hill and Ford or this “Year of the Woman”? Contact us.
Comparing 1991 and 2018: How far have we come?
October 7, 2018 by
Then:
In 1991, the US Senate Judiciary Committee, an all-white male body, listened to Anita Hill’s testimony and chose to move Clarence Thomas’s nomination to the full Senate for confirmation. The US Senate voted to place Clarence Thomas on the US Supreme Court for a lifetime appointment.
The vote: 52-48
Thomas remarks, 1991.
Now:
In 2018, the US Senate Judiciary Committee, with four Democratic women members, listened to Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony and ignore her statements (and those of others) and after a limited FBI investigation regarding Ford’s allegations, sent Kavanaugh’s nomination to the full Senate with a 11-10 vote. The U.S. Senate voted 50-48 to place Kavanaugh on the U.S. Supreme Court for a lifetime appointment. This was the closest vote confirming a Supreme Court nomination since a 24-23 vote in 1881.
The vote: 50-48
Collins remarks, 2018
“I Believe Anita Hill!”: Helping Women Be Believed and Respected
October 4, 2018 by
For Immediate Release
Contact: Claudia Smith Brinson, 803-546-1982, or Jan Collins, 803-446-9632
27th Annual ‘I Believe Anita Hill!’
U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina provided a startling performance at last week’s Ford-Kavanaugh hearing. This week, the FBI investigates as new leaks about Judge Brett Kavanaugh continue. Soon, the Senate will vote. Throughout, there is “I Believe Anita Hill!”
“I Believe Anita Hill!” is likely the nation’s oldest continuous remembrance of attorney and university professor Hill and her 1991 testimony about sexual harassment by then-Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas. The 27th annual “I Believe Anita Hill!” networking event will be held in Columbia, S.C., on Oct. 23.
The first event was held in 1992 as a way to channel the outrage many women felt at how Hill had been treated by the all-white, all-male Judiciary Committee.
Now, the women who host “I Believe Anita Hill!” are following closely the reactions to Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony about an alleged sexual assault, the ongoing FBI investigation of Kavanaugh relating to Ford’s allegations, stories by former classmates of Kavanaugh that allege Kavanaugh’s aggressive behavior when drinking, and Kavanaugh’s angry, partisan statements at the Sept. 27 hearing.
“I Believe Anita Hill!” hosts are keenly aware of the many similarities between the 1991 hearings and this year’s.
Hill, who limits her public engagements, has attended the event three times. In 2016, 750 women and men joined Hill when the networking event celebrated its silver anniversary. She also attended in 1997 and 2011.
The “I Believe Anita Hill!” event has blossomed into a women-supporting-women networking event aimed at helping women be believed and respected. The group, which is nonpartisan, is composed of professional women and activists.
The 100 hosts include lawyers, professors (of women’s studies, history, political science), sexual assault counselors, and providers of support and services to sexual assault survivors.
We have attendees who can speak to Graham’s five-minute outburst and its effect on his re-election in 2020; who can compare aspects of the Hill and Ford testimony; who can speak about the ongoing FBI investigation, who can discuss women’s engagement in #MeToo and the post-hearing developments, and who can reflect on predictions of another “Year of the Woman,” when women are predicted to vote in great numbers for female candidates.
The Oct. 23 event will be held from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at 701 Whaley Street in Columbia. Admission is free and open to the public.
For more information, go to https://anitahillparty.com
Want to talk to prominent S.C. women about Hill and Ford or this “Year of the Woman”? Contact us.
The ‘Tight Rope’ of Testifying While Female
October 1, 2018 by
She dressed modestly, in a navy suit and dark-rimmed glasses. No flashy jewelry, little makeup.
She is a professor and psychologist with an impressive C.V.
She is white, and blond, and pretty — but not too pretty — with an intact family, suburban home and children.
She teared up in her testimony — her voice cracking — but she did not openly cry or break down.
And she smiled! She pleaded for caffeine and joked about Google interns renting out her home.
“These are all codes for ‘she is displaying proper expectations of femininity,’” said Marianne Cooper, a sociologist at Stanford who studies gender inequality. “Women are walking a very fine line. Too much or too little of something can lead people to discredit them. That so many people found Dr. Blasey Ford credible suggests that she was able to get across that tight rope and not fall off.”
In other words, Christine Blasey Ford, the woman who on Thursday told the Senate Judiciary Committee in excruciating detail that Brett M. Kavanaugh had sexually assaulted her when they were teenagers, was everything a victim is supposed to be. Read more >>
Anita Hill to Christine Blasey Ford: ‘Don’t Do Anything That Will Dehumanize You’
September 30, 2018 by
Anita Hill had some advice for Christine Blasey Ford.
First, she should know she is not alone.
Second, she need not talk publicly about her decision to open a frightening and embarrassing chapter of her life to scrutiny before the Senate Judiciary Committee, even though, yes, those hours in front of the television cameras would change everything that came after them. Read more >>
It is very difficult to get the train to stop
September 29, 2018 by
“I was … wondering whether I would just be jumping in front of a train that was headed to where it was headed anyway, and that I would just be personally annihilated.”
— Christine Blasey Ford, on whether to come forward
I am so tired.
The train is very, very urgent. It is moving a man’s career forward. It is very difficult to get the train to stop. Read More >>
Anita Hill: Joe Biden still ‘hasn’t apologized to me’
September 26, 2018 by
Joseph R. Biden has long expressed regret over how Anita Hill was treated after she alleged sexual harassment by then-Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas, but the Brandeis University professor said Thursday that she never got the personal apology she thinks she deserves from the former vice president.
Mr. Biden chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee in 1991 when Ms. Hill alleged then-nominee Justice Thomas sexually harassed her while he was her supervisor at the Department of Education and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Mr. Biden has expressed regret over the treatment of Ms. Hill during the proceedings and said repeatedly that he owes her an apology. Read more>>>