I am really proud to be a part in whatever way of women becoming active in the political scene. I think it was the first time that people came to terms with the reality of what it meant to have a Senate made up of 98 men and two women.

I think, though, as African-American women, we are always trained to value our community even at the expense of ourselves, and so we attempt to protect the African-American community.

I am hopeful that others who have suffered sexual harassment will not become discouraged by my experience, but instead will find the strength to speak out about this serious problem.

During this period at the Department of Education, my working relationship with Judge Thomas was positive.

Most women who are harassed don't come forward, they don't complain because they're skeptical of the process, or they don't think anything is going to come of it if they are found to have been harassed. We know from some very public cases that sexual assault isn't always punished even by the courts in the way that they should be. So, we have got to figure out, how are we going to embed women's experiences in the processes, so that they trust the processes, that there are fair investigations that get to the truth, and then there is appropriate punishment when abuse occurs?

calls for equal treatment are often seen as calls for 'special treatment' in situations where discrimination has become the norm.

I have - often say to people that you really don't get to decide your own legacy. I mean, what you do is, you try to be your own authentic self. And then people decide how they're going to interpret that and what it means to them.