From Anita Hill to Christine Blasey Ford: a reflection on lessons learned

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/EDI-04-2019-0136
• Pages: 101-108
• Published date: 07 August 2019
• Date: 07 August 2019
• Author: Sarah E. Heck
• Subject Matter: Hr & organizational behaviour,Employment law

From Anita Hill to Christine

Blasey Ford: a reflection on

lessons learned

Sarah E. Heck

Department of Geography and Urban Studies,

Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Abstract

Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to offer a critical reflection on congressional testimony in the

#MeToo era from the standpoint of a millennial graduate student.

Design/methodology/approach –This essay is based on observational data from a roundtable discussion

between Anita Hill and Kimberlé Crenshaw moderated by Dr Dorothy Roberts and connects to themes in

research on sex-based harassment.

Findings –The findings of this essay suggest there is still much work to be done in operationalizing

intersectionally in the #Metoo era.

Originality/value –The thoughts and opinions expressed in this essay are the author’s own.

Keywords Feminism, Racial discrimination, Sexual discrimination, Anita Hill, Christine Blasey Ford

Paper type Viewpoint

Introductory remarks

On October 11, 1991, Anita Hill, a young black Lawyer, sat alone in front of the looming

all-male, all White Senate Judiciary Committee to tell her story of how the US Supreme Court

nominee under question sexually harassed her when she worked for him under the

Education Department and at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

I was only a toddler when she testified but had grown up hearing bits and pieces about what

had happened to her on that day. I knew, for instance, that a soda can was involved, that

she wore a light blue suit, and that her harasser was now a Supreme Court justice.

Twenty-seven years later, another woman, this time an older white woman, advanced in her

career as a psychology professor, sat in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee and testified

about her alleged sexual assault by another male US Supreme Court nominee.

Much has been made of the similarities between Anita Hill and Christine Blasey Ford’s

testimonies almost three decades apart (Bouchard and Schwartz-Taylor, 2018; Svokos,

2018). Both women are professors with advanced degrees. Both contacted the committee in

confidence, not wanting their identity revealed. Both had to witness categorical denials of

their testimony by their abuser. Both wore blue suits. As for the differences? Many political

pundits have noted a shift in public perception around sexual harassment in favor of Ford, a

concept that was beginning to forge into the public lexicon in the early 1990s, in part

through Hill’s testimony. The composition of the Senate Judiciary Committee has changed

since Hill testified in front of 14 white male senators. There are now four women and three

people of color on the committee. The nature of their allegations was also different. Hill

experienced repetitive sexual advances by Clarence Thomas in her professional life. Ford

alleged that Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her as a teenager at a house party decades

prior. Racism and whiteness played important roles, too. Hill was the target of vulgar

misogynoir, accused of making it all up and misunderstanding private courting rituals

among African–Americans. Ford was largely relieved of racial dog-whistling and her pain

was publicly witnessed and validated, but that did not stop her and her family from

experiencing harassment, death threats, forced relocation and public speculation about her

motives. The difference in the committees’confirmation votes for Thomas and Kavanaugh

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion:

An International Journal

Vol. 39 No. 1, 2020

pp. 101-108

© Emerald PublishingLimited

2040-7149

DOI 10.1108/EDI-04-2019-0136

Received 11 April 2019

Revised 24 May 2019

28 June 2019

5 July 2019

Accepted 6 July 2019

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:

www.emeraldinsight.com/2040-7149.htm

101

From Anita

Hill to

Christine

Blasey Ford