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As she watched Dr. Christine Blasey Ford testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday, Beverly Johnson says, “We were right there with her, with every breath.”
Of Blasey Ford’s emotional testimony, Johnson adds: “There was no pretense. There’s no faking. There was no ‘Maybe she was.’ Or ‘maybe it was someone else’ and all those things people say to discount reality. There is no doubt that we as a nation, and the world, were not right there with her, every second of her testimony.”
“It happened on the biggest stage in the world,” she says. “And, collectively we were heard.”
As Johnson listened to Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh vehemently deny the allegations he had assaulted Dr. Blasey Ford when the two were in high school, Johnson says, “It was astounding that a person who is being considered for Supreme Court justice would speak in such a partisan way. He spoke as if he was the victim. As ifshewas victimizinghim. That it was a ‘conspiracy’ of the Democratic Party against him.”
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The moment, Johnson, says, “is very hard to come to grips with as an African American. Because there is a sadness too. He was a hero to many in the black community. But what he did was wrong and my sadness is with the victims.”
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Johnson went public with her account in December 2014 with an essay inVanity Fair.She told PEOPLE the decision to come forward was largely due to her daughter, Anansa Sims, 40, now a mom of three children.
“You see things differently when you have a child,” Johnson told People of her decision, “because, if anything, you have to take action.”
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And yesterday as she watched Dr. Blasey Ford, she felt hopeful that her testimony could lead to a moment of change.
“After her testimony, I felt a sense of relief, a big exhale,” she says. “Because we were heard. And it gives you hope that something might have changed or shifted in the powers that be. That maybe it’s changed someone’s mind.”
“For those of us who have come forward, it becomes something bigger than ourselves,” she says. “This is an opportunity for all of us.”
“We all have to figure out the next steps,” says Johnson. “We are making headway but where do we go from here? We have to balance the power in every industry so our voices can be heard.”
source: people.com
