In 1992, a group of women and men in Columbia, S.C., began an annual tradition to pay tribute to Anita Hill, who testified that Clarence Thomas, then a nominee for the Supreme Court, had sexually harassed her.
Twenty-seven years later, the annual “I Believe Anita Hill” party holds special meaning coming in the wake Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony that Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when they were both teenagers. Read more>>
I still believe Anita Hill. I believe Christine Blasey Ford. Each and every one of my female friends also believe these brave women.
Truly, as a colleague of mine said the other day, these are times that try women’s souls.
And so, later this month, for the 27th year in a row, several hundred women (and a handful of men) will gather in Columbia for our “I Believe Anita Hill!” party and networking event. Read more >>
I know that when I hear 2018 called the Year of the Woman, I am supposed to huddle with my girlfriends, preferably over rosé, and celebrate the historic number of female candidates in the midterm elections. And yet, I have to confess that the term bums me out.
Really? I think whenever I hear it. We only get a year?
The way we talk about all of these female candidates as they try to drag that cave man known as Congress a bit closer to gender parity leaves me discouraged about how little progress we’ve made. After all, it was Senator Barbara Mikulski who, after she was re-elected in the first Year of the Woman in 1992, said that the term “makes it sound like the Year of the Caribou or the Year of the Asparagus.” Read more>>>
Tuesday, Oct. 23, 5:30-8 p.m.
701 Whaley Street
Columbia, S.C.
Valet parking courtesy of Choose Well
CONTACTS
Courtney Young, 803-414-0444, cyoung@thinkfsc.com
Breon Walker, 803-318-2733, bwalker@GWBlawfirm.com
Teowanna Clifton, 803-348-5847, thatteowonna@gmail.com
“I Believe Anita Hill!” on October 23 will remind those attending that “You are the Woman To….” The 100 hosts of the Anita Hill party celebrate women and their achievements through this annual networking event.
The program, which begins at 6:45 p.m., will illustrate the theme through a remembrance of Sarah Leverette, a long-time host of “I Believe Anita Hill!” Leverette, 98 when she died in August, was the third female graduate of the USC School of Law and its first female faculty member, a founding member of the League of Women Voters in South Carolina, and a member of the S.C. Wing of the Civil Air Patrol during World War II.
Other “Sheroes, Past and Present” will be honored by invoking their names and citing their work in the struggle for human rights.
We will also remember Anita Hill, as we have done annually for the past 26 years. Hill testified in 1991 before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee about alleged sexual harassment by Clarence Thomas, then a nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court. “I Believe Anita Hill!” was organized in Columbia when local women felt moved to express their outrage at her treatment by the all-white and all-male members of the Judiciary Committee and to express their admiration for her courage.
We will also honor Christine Blasey Ford, who testified in October before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee about an alleged sexual assault by Brett Kavanaugh, then a nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court. Both Thomas and Kavanaugh were confirmed. Both Hill and Ford were attacked as liars even though both volunteered for, took, and passed lie detector tests and had potential witnesses to back their claims.
The program will close with an interactive call and response, which we hope will serve as a rallying cry. The hosts of I Believe Anita Hill and their guests want a world that offers equal rights to all, regardless of race, gender, sexual preference, age, national origin, or religion.
The event is free and open to all. Free valet parking is available. Hors d’oeuvres, wine and beer are served, courtesy of the hosts.
For more information, go to https://anitahillparty.com
#MeToo has become much more than a powerful hashtag. “We’ve come a long way since Anita Hill‘s courageous testimony in 1991, and it is women who have led the way. Over the year that it’s been used to characterize women speaking out about sexual harassment, it’s been driving a national conversation. … Read more>>
Anita Hill Won, Even Though She Lost
In many ways, the Kavanaugh hearings did feel like a repeat of 1991. The process is his word against hers. You’d hope the two parties would come as equals, but in this case, you have a woman against members of the Judiciary Committee who’ve already expressed antagonism for her, who’ve made it known that they don’t think Dr. Blasey Ford is being truthful. And you have public statements by the president that suggest she’s lying. Read more>>
When Tootsie Kline was a University of South Carolina law student, a professor asked her a question that would come to define much of Kline’s professional life: What do you think about Anita Hill?
It was 1991. That very same week, Hill had rocked the nation with sexual harassment allegations against then-Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas. “I believe her,” Kline said.
And so Kline got invited to the very first meeting of “I Believe Anita Hill.” Read more >>
For more than eight hours, lawmakers questioned Brett Kavanaugh and the woman who says he sexually assaulted her three decades ago. Dr. Christine Blasey Ford says it happened while she and Kavanaugh were in high school. One Midlands group says it’s all too familiar. Many are comparing Thursday’s hours of testimony to the 1991 confrontation between Anita Hill and Judge Clarence Thomas. Eve Moredock Stacey is one of the founders of the local Anita Hill Party and says women still need a voice. Read more >>
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 >>
Despite a credible allegation of sexual assault and a far-from-extensive F.B.I. investigation, Brett Kavanaugh is expected to be confirmed to the Supreme Court on Saturday. All but one Republican senator, Lisa Murkowski, have announced their support of his nomination, including Susan Collins, who announced her decision in a lengthy televised speech on Friday afternoon. After weeks of debate about Kavanaugh’s past, gripes about the politicization of the process, and accusations of partisanship on all sides, the message sent by the mostly-male group of G.O.P. senators is simple: American women don’t matter nearly as much as their hold on power. Read more >>