Anita: Speaking Power to the truth
Anita Hills a law professor from Oklahoma sat in front of a committee to speak the truth,
and her struggles in the workplace. She spoke against sexual harassment and her
experience with sexual harassment. In particular to the nominee for the court justice at
the time Clarence Thomas. He was been nominated for court justice, but before that, he
was the head of EECO. Anita Hill was his assistant, and when she sat in front of a
committee and she explained how he made advances toward her, but before she was
summoned to testify. The Senate did not want to entertain Anita's story and was trying
to overlook it. They were not interested in her story, but it was the public and the women
of the workforce who exerted the pressure for this to be investigated. Once the senate
agreed to investigate and summoned her to testify as a witness, it was clear she was
not there to testify, she was at a trial. The questions she had to answer were disgusting.
I understand that sometimes in seeking truth you have to risk offending people, but that
is not an excuse to be insensitive towards people. You can tell that some people on the
committee were not interested in the truth but discrediting her. They were clearly going
after her character and who she is as a person. It is amazing and unfathomable how
calm and collected she was despite the committee's attempt to embarrass her and
humiliate her. I also believe her ability to articulate and debate on her behalf was
admirable. It strengthens my belief of it important is to be able to express oneself in a
manner that is very clear. To have clear speech is such a detrimental tool because you
might have great knowledge but if you lack the ability to convey that knowledge then
your is essentially useless, and also to stand up for the truth and justice also requires
articulation. If you cannot articulate yourself, then you would invertibility lose to one with
greater articulation.
Furthermore, it was sad to see that she was dismissed, and not fully given a fair shake.
It’s important to point out that Thomas's plan was brilliant as well. He knew how to play
to the weakness of the committee by playing the race card ( high tech lynching ). He
also painted himself as a victim. He had a great understanding that this was not about
the truth but winning. After the case was closed, Anita suffered greatly, and almost
everything she risk she lost. It was her resilience that allowed her to go on, and as a
result, the overall war was won. She became an author, and the effort she began with
her truth can be seen today in the workplace. This personally frightens me because
everyone courageous enough to stand tall and speak the truth faces impossible
consequences. For instance, Martin Luther King and Anita Hall. They stood up to giants
and paid the price. I understand that later their effort came to fruition but their lives
changed completely and not for the better necessarily. All the people that look up to that
cause great transformation to society have paid great prices that I am not sure anyone
would voluntarily pay. One great example of this is one of my best role models in life,
Prophet Mohamed (peace be upon him), he is the only one I know to have had the
greatest impact on human beings. Nearly 2 billion people are Muslims because of his
message, but by doing he had suffered struggles that I cannot just imagine. Before he
reached prophethood, he had a great reputation in his community. He was known as
trustworthy, in a time when cheating one another in business was prevalent. After his
message, he went from beloved to hated. They started calling the crazy one and was
tried to be killed because of his message. I am saying all this to say that standing up for
the truth has never been easy, and I believe even though the price to pay is hefty in the
long run is worth it. And as a son to a mother and a bother to a sister, I feel gratitude for
what she has done. I also believe it’s a father and bothers responsibility to prepare
women for an unfair world. There are different approaches to this responsibility, but my
approach is to give them the right tools to take care of themselves. I have a sister and I
believe my responsibility to make sure that she can stand tall in a world where the cards
are stacked against her. As a woman who is Muslim and black, she is bound to face
struggles, but I believe by preparing her physically and mentally will play a tremendous
role in her overcoming those struggles. I am a big fan of martial arts and by making sure
she trains I am confident she will be confident in her ability to defend herself, and when
it comes to her mentally preparation, teaching her religion, culture, and heritage I
believe she would grow to be unwavering in her character and in pursuit of justice.