‘Doing My Duty As A Citizen’: Christine Blasey Ford Accepts Courage Award From ACLU
Mary Margaret Olohan on November 18, 2019
Kavanaugh accuser Christine Blasey Ford accepted an award for courage from the American Civil Liberties Union on Sunday.
The ACLU honored Ford, who accused Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault, with the Rodger Baldwin Courage Award at the ACLU of Southern California’s Bill of Rights dinner. Ford works as a professor of psychology at Palo Alto University, according to HuffPost.
“When I came forward last September, I did not feel courageous,” Fordsaid Sunday.
“I was simply doing my duty as a citizen, providing information to the Senate that I believed would be relevant to the Supreme Court nomination process,” she added. “I thought anyone in my position would, of course, do the same thing.”
Ford said she was inspired by Anita Hill and by values her parents instilled in her growing up in Washington, D.C.
“I had a responsibility to my country, to my fellow citizens, to my students, to my children, to live the values that I try to teach them,” Ford told the audience.
She also said her testimony inspired 20,000 women across the country to send her messages about their sexual assault experiences.
“That’s why it means so much to me to be recognized by you tonight,” Ford told the Bill of Rights dinner’s audience. “Because I know you will continue the work of protecting sexual assault survivors and preventing sexual assault. You will continue the work to protect personal privacy and the rights of citizens.”