Sexual harassment allegations against Herman Cain not a ‘witch hunt’

Herman Cain admitted yesterday that he was accused of sexual harassment twice while chief of the National Restaurant Association in the 1990’s. First reported in Politico, the article retraced two separate sexual harassment claims. The claims were formally resolved by the National Restaurant Association through separation packages in the five-figure range. According the Politico’s sources, the incidents included conversations “filled with innuendo or personal questions of a sexually suggestive nature, taking place at hotels during conferences, at other officially sanctioned restaurant association events and at the association’s offices.”

When the story was first reported, Cain denied the claims, stating that he was falsely accused of sexual harassment. Apparently he also ended his remarks with a gospel hymn, “He Looked Beyond My Faults,” with lyrics describing grace and forgiveness through Christian belief.

Later, Cain admitted that he knew about the charges and that in at least one case “there was some sort of settlement or termination” which he stated was equal to approximately three months’ salary. The irony of these sexual harassment complaints coming to light on the heels of the 20th Anniversary of the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings was obviously not lost on conservative bloggers. Even after admitting that the allegations did take place and that one woman was paid a settlement, Cain called the reports of the allegations a “witch hunt” and Ann Coulter, among others, compared these allegations to Anita Hill’s sexual harassment allegations against Justice (then Judge) Clarence Thomas during his confirmation hearings.

The Christian Science Monitor, in a commentary on the allegations, noted that the biggest difference between the Senate Judiciary Committee proceedings and these allegations is the presence of a written record, presumably contained in the investigation records kept by the National Restaurant Association. This difference is definitely notable, however, even more important, we have evolved as a country in terms of how we receive and respond to sexual harassment allegations in the public eye.

Approximately two weeks ago, Hunter College held a conference, titled, “Sex, Power and Speaking Truth: Anita Hill 20 Years Later,” in commemoration of the 20th anniversary of Anita Hill’s testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee. There was also a forum in the Nation, in which notable legal professors and writers recalled Anita Hill’s testimony and the media frenzy around the allegations. Both forums addressed how Anita Hill was received and treated for speaking up. The articles described a polarized atmosphere, in which Anita Hill was portrayed as an opportunist and the women who supported her were treated as co-conspirators and, in the case of black women, as race traitors.

As a black woman, who was a 11 year-old girl when Anita Hill first spoke up with her sexual harassment charges, I do not have a strong memory of the charges themselves (except for the coke can description, which was extremely distressing at the time). I do, however, have a strong memory of the ensuing conversations about sexual harassment. I remember being taught about sexual harassment in school and seeing commercials about sexual harassment. There are probably few members of my generation (80’s babies) who do not remember the PSA “[T]his is sexual harassment and I don’t have to take it.”

Although there are still many issues of sexual harassment from the street to the workplace, I think that the Anita Hill experience and the aftermath has led to a shift in the political arena as well. No longer is an accuser simply pushed aside. And, perhaps due in part to the 24-hour news cycle, the charges are publicized forcing the general public to seriously consider them. As a result, Cain and his supporters would do well to recognize these shifts and leave behind the “high tech lynching” tropes, for a considered response to these allegations that acknowledges any wrongdoing and reconfirms his commitment to non-discrimination in the workplace and beyond.