 But the issue of sexual harassment is not the end of it. There are other issues - political issues, gender issues - that people need to be educated about. |
| I thought that by saying no and explaining my reasons my employer would abandon his social suggestions. However, to my regret, in the following few weeks, he continued to ask me out on several occasions. |
| I resent the idea that people would blame the messenger for the message, rather than looking at the content of the message itself. |
| I think, though, as African-American women, we are always trained to value our community even at the expense of ourselves, and so we attempt to protect the African-American community. |
| If you think about the way the hearings were structured, the hearings were really about Thomas' race and my gender. |
| Because I was extremely uncomfortable talking about sex with him at all and particularly in such a graphic way, I told him that I did not want to talk about these subjects. |
| We have a history of gender and racial bias on our court that continues to undermine the system. Excluding individuals based on race is antagonistic to the pursuit of justice. |
| My parents are older, and they lead a somewhat sheltered life. It was difficult to talk with them about things that were embarrassing to me, and that I had never spoken to them about. |
| It would have been more comfortable to remain silent. |
| Well, of course it was a very trying time for me, and fortunately I had a lot of people who were supportive. A lot of people who were writing and calling and saying they were praying for me. Some people sent me Scripture, and that helped. |
| I am really proud to be a part in whatever way of women becoming active in the political scene. I think it was the first time that people came to terms with the reality of what it meant to have a Senate made up of 98 men and two women. |
| Testifying has helped me understand that one individual's behavior and actions make a difference. That my actions are important to people other than myself. |
| I'm not sure I can say there is a clean line between me as an individual and me as a lawyer. |
| Certainly my life will not ever be as private and discreet, and perhaps I should even use the word insulated, as it was before. |
| When I think of what has happened in a larger sense, beyond myself, then I would not change anything. |
| One of the things I was taught in law school is that I'd never be able to think the same again - that being a lawyer is something that's part of who I am as an individual now. |
| I did what my conscience told me to do, and you can't fail if you do that. |
| But I think it would be irresponsible for me not to say what I really believe in my heart to be true - that there are some serious inequities that we face as women and that we can work to address these inequities. |
| The experience of testifying and the aftermath have changed my life. |
| What we really need to be understanding is that all of these things matter and they all stem from the fact that certain people live with power and authority and they want to maintain it. |
