But I think it would be irresponsible for me not to say what I really believe in my heart to be true - that there are some serious inequities that we face as women and that we can work to address these inequities

I see myself as an educator.

I did what my conscience told me to do, and you can't fail if you do that.

We've got to understand that all disenfranchised people have something in common...The pursuit of justice really is about equality for everyone.

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.

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?

In July of 1983, I left Washington, DC area and have had minimal contact with Judge Clarence Thomas since