Ginny Thomas reminds women we should be thanking Anita Hill

[deminks]

http://blogs.alternet.org/speakeasy/2010/10/20/ginny-thomas-reminds-women-we-should-be-thanking-anita-hill/

Anita Hill spurred two decades of progress on sexual harassment, while Clarence Thomas takes us backward on race

Thank you Anita Hill for courageously laying the groundwork for women to stand up to sexual harassment

Like some of you, I remember the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings. It was one of the first examples of politics in the 24-hour news channel age. I remember the discomfort I felt as a panel of angry old white guys grilled this poor woman who dared to speak against their chosen token conservative “negro” who would ultimately replace the legendary Thurgood Marshall on the U.S. Supreme Court.

I remember the panel’s anger when she in fact passed a lie detector test. I remember Clarence Thomas, who has all but built his career as being the non-black black Judge play the race card when all else failed. “As a black man, I feel this is a high-tech lynching,” Thomas said infamously.

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The Anita Hill case was a turning point for American women, who have endured sexual harassment and gender bias on the job. Even though they dragged her name through the mud, she was unflappable on the stand and gave women everywhere in the U.S. courage to stand up and say “enough is enough.” Subsequent to her testimony the U.S. Supreme Court made employers more liable for sexual harassment in 1998. The Society for Human Resource Management has reported that 62 percent of companies now offer sexual harassment prevention training programs, and 97 percent have a written sexual harassment policy.

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With Ginny’s actions, we are reminded of the host of anti-woman female candidates being hoisted up the ladders of power by the tea party and the GOP. Carly Fiorina, Sharron Angle, Nikki Haley, Meg Whitman, Christine O’Donnell and of course Sarah Palin. Out of all these women political hopefuls, there is not one among them who would defend a woman’s right to choose. There is not one among them who would stand up for equal protection in the workplace. There is not one among them who has not aligned themselves with the old white guys in the conservative movement who stand as obstacles to social and political progress for women and minorities.

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