Title IX

Chapter 10: Grove City College v. Bell: Four More Years Without Title IX (06:30)

In 1983, officials at Grove City College refused to sign a letter of compliance with Title IX. The school filed suit against the Department of Education, claiming that Title IX applied only to programs that received federal financial assistance, not to entire educational institutions. In 1984, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Grove City. In 1988, Congress overrode President Ronald Reagan’s veto to pass the Civil Rights Restoration Act, thus restoring the legal obligation of educational institutions receiving Federal financial assistance to provide equal opportunity for women.

Featuring: Linda Carpenter, Donna Lopiano, Janet Parks, Jocelyn Samuels

Chapter 11: Landmark Supreme Court Decisions: Cannon, Franklin, and Jackson (12:44)

The effects of three landmark decisions are discussed: Cannon v. the University of Chicago, Franklin v. Gwinnett County Public Schools, and Jackson v. the Birmingham Board of Education. Coach Roderick Jackson tells the story of his fight for equity on behalf of his girls’ high school basketball team.

Featuring: Linda Carpenter, Roderick Jackson, Jocelyn Samuels, Ellen Staurowsky

Chapter 12: Bernice R. Sandler: Godmother of Title IX (14:56)

Through the story of her own experience with sex discrimination, Bernice “Bunny” Sandler identifies “the five words that started Title IX.” She discusses events that followed her discovery that sex discrimination in education was not illegal, her collaboration with Vincent Macaluso at the U.S. Department of Labor, and the process of collecting data on discrimination against women in higher education. Sandler discusses the advantages of her membership in the Women’s Equity Action League (WEAL), the congressional hearings on Title IX, higher education’s lack of interest in the Title IX hearings, and its subsequent surprise that the law applied to athletics programs.

Chapter 13: Patsy Takemoto Mink: A Driving Force in the House of Representatives (12:55)

Congressional Representative Neil Abercrombie (D-Honolulu) and AAUW/Ohio President Diane Regan tell the story of Patsy Takemoto Mink’s experiences as the first woman of Japanese ancestry to be licensed to practice law in Hawaii and the first woman of color elected to Congress. Rep. Mink co-authored Title IX, which in 2002 was named the Patsy T. Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act. A woman of tremendous vitality and conviction, she was a compelling voice for women’s equality throughout her tenure in the U.S. Congress.

Chapter 14: Birch Bayh: Title IX Champion in the Senate (18:57)

Senator Birch Bayh (D-Indiana) tells the story of growing up on a farm, witnessing the strength of his grandmother, and having his eyes opened to discrimination by other women who also influenced his beliefs about equality. He discusses the evolution of legislation designed to extend equal rights to women and describes arguments he encountered as he shepherded Title IX through the Senate. He offers advice about the importance of standing up and speaking out for social justice.