On This Day
November 3 through the lens of Gloria Steinem's archives
On November 3, 1992, a record number of women were elected to Congress in a single year than had ever been elected in a previous decade, landing 1992 the nickname “Year of the Woman.” This was born out of the unfortunate Anita Hill—Clarence Thomas hearings, and showed that women stood behind Anita Hill.
There were many surprises born out of the 1992 Year of the Woman. For instance, if I hadn’t been in Chicago on a book tour at a bookstore called Women & Children First, I wouldn’t have witnessed the grassroots enthusiasm for her Senate race. That led me to say yes when she asked me to stay in Chicago and campaign for her, which led me to imagine her election was indeed possible.
To that date, no African-American woman had been elected to the Senate (and since then, there have only been four — Kamala Harris, Laphonza Butler, Angela Alsobrooks and Lisa Blunt Rochester), but anyone who was present in those snowy Chicago streets to campaign for her had hope. Those who didn’t trek through those snowy streets felt less optimistic. Braun’s opponent in the primary was Al Dixon, a Democratic incumbent who, despite voting to confirm Clarence Thomas, was thought to be the the only one who could defeat the Republican challenger.
When Carol did confound experts by beating other challengers plus Al Dixon in the primary, it was such an upset that the Wall Street Journal ran the front-page headline you see in the image above. It hangs proudly on my living room wall, and reads:
Surprising Illinois Vote Lifts Women’s Hopes, Worries Incumbents
Carol Moseley Braun Taps Grass-Roots Anger Aimed At Men Running Congress
Help from Gloria Steinem
There’s something so moving about how hope and anger walked side by side that winter.
A collective nervous system finally saying “enough.”
It’s easy to forget how many breakthroughs were born out of women’s exhaustion
and their refusal to go quiet.