Alarm, defiance and joy characterized the remarks made by high-profile attorney Debra Katz in accepting the Women & Power Award at Moment magazine’s 2024 gala, held at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, on Sunday night.
“Authoritarians they try to wear us down so we become dispirited and hopeless. I have never been one to accept or tolerate bullies, and I will not do so now. Not ever.”
A fierce employment discrimination and civil rights litigator, Katz is regarded as a major force of the #MeToo era who has fought successfully for victims of sexual harassment and whistleblower retaliation.
“Long ago, when she was suing NPR all the time,” the evening’s emcee and NPR legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg told the audience, “I used to say, ’Debra Katz is on the way—you want to settle this case.’”
Nadine Epstein and Debra Katz. Credit: Betty Adler
In accepting her award, Katz wasted no time in imparting a sense of urgency to the roughly three-hundred gala attendees—who were there to laud her and her fellow honorees and support Moment in its many endeavors. “We find ourselves gathering tonight in an alarming moment,” Katz said. “This night celebrates trailblazers and people who have used their voice to stand up and protect our democracy. And yet again, this democracy has put a man in power who regularly acts in opposition to its very existence.”
Referring to the 2024 U.S. presidential election and the impending return of Donald Trump to the White House, Katz talked about the consequences already playing out. “We’ve seen young men, emboldened by the election results, harass women online and on the street and even in our classrooms with the refrain ‘Your body, my choice.’”
Addressing the courage of fellow honoree Dana Bash, who, in accepting the Robert S. Greenberger Journalism Award, shared disturbing details of the antisemitic harassment she and her fellow CNN anchor Jake Tapper have been subjected to of late, Katz noted that the rollback of women’s rights and threats to journalists are linked. “When a demagogue wins, it is the truth-tellers among us who are called upon to stand up to speak the truth and to fight back against injustice.” Echoing many of the warnings issued in Moment’s recent “Big Question” symposium on the allure of the strongman, Katz warned : “Authoritarians sow chaos and fear to scare us into submission and surrender. Authoritarians strip away the most fundamental rights of women, attack the most vulnerable among us, bully and intimidate those who fight for truth and, over time, they try to wear us down so we become dispirited and hopeless.” But, she said, to rousing applause, “I have never been one to accept or tolerate bullies, and I will not do so now. Not ever.”
Like many who felt demoralized when Trump beat Hillary Clinton in 2016 but quickly shifted into a defiant stance of resistance and solidarity, Katz acknowledged that the tactics will need to change this time around. “We must first recognize that it is fine, indeed necessary, to regroup and recharge, to get off our devices, to be with one another.” Clarifying that checking out is not an option, Katz urged the audience to engage beyond matters of politics and government. “I am talking about engagement in our communities, with art and with literature and with nature, things that make us feel whole and hopeful and, yes, powerful. Donald Trump may be a cause of our misery, but we cannot allow him to become a thief of our joy.”
Katz thanked her law partner Lisa Banks, citing their representation of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford during Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court confirmation hearings and of employees of the Washington Commanders NFL team against the team’s owner Dan Snyder. “I share this award with Lisa, along with my colleagues, fierce and determined civil rights lawyers and women’s rights advocates who will courageously face the challenges ahead.” She also offered special praise to her wife Nicole Berner, who President Biden nominated to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals and whose investiture ceremony took place the day after the gala. “It’s a very proud day for our family,” Katz noted, “and it’s an even better day for this country, a country that, more than ever, needs judges of Nicole’s intellect and character, judges who will follow the rule of law and will uphold the U.S. Constitution.”
Family, friends and colleagues celebrate Debra Katz at Moment magazine’s 2024 Benefit and Awards Gala. Credit: Betty Adler
Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum, senior rabbi emerita at New York City’s Congregation Beit Simchat Torah, where she served for 32 years, introduced Katz. “A great award to give to the right person—a woman of power,” said Kleinbaum, characterizing Katz as “an example of what it means to be a human being when humanity is disappointing us.” Addressing Katz directly, she concluded: “Joy is an act of spiritual and political resistance, and you, my friend, embody that in everything you do.” Kleinbaum expressed her appreciation for Moment as well. “I’m just really choked up and moved to be here tonight in the midst of so many people who are moving the needle towards a world that’s full of fact and justice and truth. Moment magazine has been such an important part of that story.”
Opening image credit: Bruce Guthrie