The nationally televised hearings pitting Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas against Anita Hill in a case of alleged sexual harassment have evoked a wide swath of emotions from blacks, ranging from anger to frustration to pain. The Senate Judiciary Committee hearings on Thomas` confirmation have played like a television soap opera. But many African-Americans said Sunday that watching a successful black man and a successful black woman forced to discuss private aspects of their lives to a panel of white males and millions of TV viewers is unsettling and unnecessary.
Like everyone, blacks are trying to decide who is telling the truth. Did Thomas discuss pornographic movies and his sexual prowess to Hill? Was Hill really a victim of sexual harassment while she worked for Thomas? If so, why are the allegations surfacing publicly 10 years later?
But in the black community, the hearings have brought to the surface many other controversial issues, such as the pitfalls African-Americans face as they climb the ladder to success and affluence: the sometimes competitive relationship between successful black men and black women; the concern that blacks are mistreated and disregarded by the political parties; and the promotion of sexual stereotypes about black men and women.
”I think it is a disgrace,” said Edna Summers, past president of the Evanston branch of the NAACP and a former alderwoman there. ”I feel if it was a white woman, they would have protected that woman and they wouldn`t have put her or him on public display.”
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Conrad Worrill, chairman of the Department of Inner City Studies Education at Northeastern Illinois University and national chairman of Black United Front, a civil rights group, said it is an example of how blacks can be maligned through political manipulation.
”It confirms that even if you have a Ph.D. or a law degree that you can be used by the system,” Worrill said. ”What we have here is political warfare that`s playing itself out in American politics under the guise of sexual harassment. Both Anita and Clarence are being destroyed as achieving blacks in America. This ought to be a real indicator to blacks in this nation.”
But some said blacks also can benefit from the experience, as the world sees that there are many different views and feelings within the race.
”As ugly as it is and the way it is destroying these people, black people as a whole will grow from these experiences,” said Jim Belcher, a telecommunications executive from Lake Forest.
”In June, it was one black thought; then came Clarence Thomas and there was a conservative view; then this woman. Now you see there are three black thoughts, but there are 13 million different thoughts. When you get to this point, you will wash away all stereotypes. It is only through stereotypes that racism exists,” Belcher said.
Others said the ordeal is an attempt by Democrats to discredit Thomas, much the way Republicans used black convicted murderer Willie Horton to galvanize support for George Bush in the 1988 presidential campaign.
”The Democratic party is playing back on Bush,” said Robert Cooper, a Washington D.C. attorney. ” `If you play the black male, we will play a black woman and see how you deal with that.`
Cooper added, ”I am a Democrat and I am ashamed of the Democratic Party. I think it was a cold, calculated plan to leak this to the press.”
Some blacks, including Democrats who had opposed the confirmation, said they are so disillusioned by events that they are willing to overlook political ideologies and throw their support behind Thomas. They said their decision has nothing to do with his guilt or innocence; rather, it is a case of a prominent official being held up to public ridicule.
”My feeling is those senators who don`t like Thomas will sink to any level,” said Illinois Rep. Monique Davis (D-36th). ”I was not a supporter of Clarence Thomas. However, I have since changed my mind since I have seen this despicable behavior.
”I think he has vindicated himself,” Davis said. ”I think he has been washed in the blood of racism.”
Some blacks said they think Hill, who said she came forward with the allegations after she was approached by Judiciary Committee staffers and that her interview with the FBI was leaked to the press, also is a pawn.
”I feel the sister is very brave by coming forward. The position could be, `Here`s a sister bringing down a black brother.` But the issue of sexual hara
ssment is an individual issue,” Belcher said.
But some said the events are likely to further complicate relationships between professional black men and women.
”(Thomas) was already a divisive figure,” said Wendy Baxter, a criminal court judge in Detroit and treasurer of the National Association of Women Judges. ”When (Hill) came along, it exacerbated the existing division among black men and women. Black women are sometimes told, `Don`t take advantage of all your opportunities when you see an opportunity for a black man.` It has just highlighted the tension between us. It`s painful.”
Baxter added that the hearings are disconcerting because they are unlikely to shed more light on Thomas` moral character and the effect it would have on his decisions as a Supreme Court justice.
”(Senators) don`t seek the facts,” Baxter said. ”It`s too much grandstanding. They say, `I`m on prime time, I get to campaign.` It`s not a process that lends itself to getting to the point.”
In the eyes of some African-Americans, the controversy also has promoted negative sexual stereotypes about black men and women.
”They buy into the stereotypes of the black male and his promiscuity and the black woman and the 13-year-olds having babies,” said Horece Love, 61, a retired nurse who lives on the South Side.
”I don`t really think it`s a black male and female issue,” said Lydia Mallett, president of the Chicago chapter of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women. ”There are differences between men and women.”
”Unfortunately, people want black people to be a monolith, and we`re not,” Mallett said. ”There`s certainly sexism within our race. Because we`re not totally united as a people, that`s not going to hurt our cause.”
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