What If

528 Words2 Pages

Some people wonder what would happen if events had occurred differently. In this case, what would happen if John Hinckley succeeded in assassinating Ronald Reagan or if Anita Hill’s accusation of sexual harassment had never been made? History would have changed for the worst and for the better, but would it have all been worth it? That is the million-dollar question.
In 1991, Anita Hill was thrust into the national spotlight by bringing the accusation of sexual harassment to the forefront. While Hill was working for the US Department of Education and the Equal Opportunity Commission, she accused the chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, known as the EEOC, and the nominee for the vacant chair on the US Supreme Court, Clarence Thomas, of sexual harassment ten years prior. Even though the Federal Bureau of Investigation, also known as the FBI, investigated the accusation, nothing conclusive ever came of it. During Thomas’ confirmation hearings for the Supreme Court seat, Anita Hill had spoken up about the harassment, which was leaked to the media, the Senate Judiciary Committee had no choice but to investigate these accusations. Even though Thomas’ nomination was eventually confirmed after the hearing was concluded, Anita Hill brought this sensitive issue to the forefront and gave other women the courage to speak up about harassment in the workplace.
Anita Hill gave women hope, but none of this would have happened if she had not have had the courage to speak up about the sexual harassment by Clarence Thomas. Even though the EEOC had defined sexual harassment as sexual discrimination ten years prior to the initial accusation, women were afraid to speak up about it. Sexual harassment was viewed as a victim’s probl...

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...t took national prowess to give them the courage to stand up for themselves.

Works Cited

CBSNews (2010, October 20). Anita Hill vs. Clarence Thomas: The Backstory. Retrieved April 27, 2014, from http://www.cbsnews.com/news/anita-hill-vs-clarence-thomas-the-backstory/
Geraldine Ferraro. (n.d.). Retrieved April 27, 2014, from http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/geraldine-ferraro
Graves, F. G., & Graff, E. J. (2014, April 7). Anita Hill’s legacy. Retrieved April 27, 2014, from http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2014/04/07/anita-hill-legacy/4o7P6BqAh7MU0nAxYd5wqI/story.html
Greenberger, M. (2010, October 22). What Anita Hill did for America. Retrieved April 27, 2014, from http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/10/21/greenberger.anita.hill/
Women’s History in the U.S. (n.d.). Retrieved April 27, 2014, from http://www.sewallbelmont.org/learn/womens-history-in-the-u-s/

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