Thank You Anita from the Generations of Women You Raised
Obviously tonight is the greatest night in the history of American women bar none.
One, though, could argue thought it was the adoption of the Declaration of Rights and Sentiments at the Seneca Falls Convention or passage of the 19th Amendment, allowing [white] woman to vote, or the signing of the Voting Rights Act allowing all women regardless of race to vote or the Supreme Court rulings in Griswold v. CT and Roe v Wade granting woman dominion over our bodies or even enacting Title IX declaring us equal under federal funding. Astonishing moments creating extraordinary movement, and leading us to tonight and beyond.
Each of these moments are strands that weave together the complex texture of American womanhood. Today for the first time we can truly see the cloth coming together with its vivid color and pattern showcase the talents and contributions of the extraordinary diversity of our nation’s unique brand of womanhood
But is it the most important day, at least in modern American womanhood? October 11, 1991, may be significantly more important in retrospect.
Make no mistake, tonight is due in no small part to Anita Hill. This is her victory as much as anyone including Hillary. The thread between Anita and Hillary is straight and taunt. Today is it electric.
Everyone knows the story of Anita and the hearings, if not watch the HBO movie Confirmation. The film is not perfect but it captures the rage-inducing passion of the events well.
This is not about rehashing that weekend. This is about the fallout: about how congresswomen who stormed the Senate demanding hearings of Anita’s claims to an all-white, all-male Senate Judiciary led by Uncle Joe Biden; the offensive absurdity of these men judging a young black professional woman of lying about sexual harassment without a shred of understanding about sexism and harassment; and this wholly excludes the complex racial layers also drafted in it.
Whatever side you are regarding Thomas’s guilt, everyone agrees the hearings were an unmitigated fiasco. Thankfully, it played right there on a television.
Women watched… women raged … more importantly, woman got active, some by running and many, many more by voting and writing checks to candidates and organizing committees. Women supported Women.
The most obvious example is the 1992 Congressional “Class of Anita” where four new female Senators were elected including the first African-American woman and 20 congresswomen.
In the sixty-nine years between the first female Senator (Rebecca Latimer Felton) who literally served 1 day to fill a term and the hearings, 16 woman served in the Senate, all white. 9 were appointed and 2 ran in short term special elections. 10 of them served under a year.
There are only a few cases of long term career politicians of these women including legendary Margret Chase Smith, as well as Nancy Kassebaum and Barbara Mikulski who were the only women serving in the Senate at the time of the Hearings.
In the quarter century since the hearings, 30 women have or are currently serving in the Senate. 20 women at present. From 2 to 20…
But in reality Anita didn’t create a class… she mothered a generation of female leaders, who in turn are role molding for the generations to come. Think of them as Anita’s Generation.
The main beneficiary of female fury, were groups working to amass female candidates, specifically Emily’s List (Early Money is Like Yeast… because it makes the dough rise for female pro-choice Democratic candidates). It was created in 1985 but exploded in the days and weeks that followed the hearings. They recruited candidates and then helped fund them, embracing the then novel concept of campaign bundling.
In the year of the woman, Bill Clinton ran for President and threw Hillary Rodham Clinton into the national spot light. He proved a 2-for-1 deal with her as an equal to him professionally and intellectually. From attacks on her marriage to her belief that he personal gifts were best utilized outside the kitchen, she was the embodiment of this new women centered world order.
As a 17 year old girl, I was wholly enthralled with politics, when I first heard of Hillary. Thankfully I was in power state of Ohio, so we got inundated with candidates for the Democratic Presidential Primary. I skipped school one day to see Hillary speak with in a few days of the “baking cookie,” scandal. For the record that was the only time I skipped school.
I held up a sign on the rope line I made that read, “Thanks Hillary. I’m not staying home to bake cookies either.” She read it and laughed, “actually I really like baking; I just don’t think that it should be my whole life.” That moment made me understand my choices in life are limited only by what I want, not by what society dictates for me.
After a continuous and extraordinary, tenure as First Lady of the United States, where primary among her accomplishments was ending the era of women separated by work and home but uppity and homey. Women no longer had to choose to work or stay at home and to continually justify their choices for their own lives.
A little over 9 years after the hearings, Hillary was sworn in herself as a U.S. Senator joining Anita’s generation formally. 25 years later, tonight she accepts the nomination for president of the United States from a major party after earning 15.8 MILLION votes from all parts of the world.
If Anita was the fissure that broke the damn, Hillary was (and still is) the unstable ground sounding it on which American womanhood is battled. Tonight we celebrate the progress these two women unselfishly bared for us.
Hillary’s celebration will be obvious, but remember to rise a glass of thanksgiving for Anita as well.
Thank you Anita Hillary.