What Accountability Actually Looks Like

A note on Congressman Joseph Morelle, courage, and the change that happens when people choose to do the hard work

⚠️ Content Warning: The article linked at the end of this post contains graphic descriptions of sexual violence. Please read with care.

This past week, a story ran in the New York Post about Congressman Joseph Morelle of New York.

In 2001, when Elizabeth Crothers came forward to report that she had been raped by Michael Boxley — then the chief counsel to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver — Congressman Morelle, who was then a member of the Assembly and friendly with Boxley, told a reporter he "absolutely didn't believe a word of it."

That statement caused real harm. To Elizabeth. To every woman watching from the sidelines who was learning what happened to women who spoke up.

But here is what that article didn't fully capture — and what I think matters more than the original mistake.

Congressman Morelle didn't wait for a lawsuit or a news cycle to reckon with what he'd done. In 2018, he publicly apologized to Elizabeth Crothers and took personal responsibility for his words. He invited her to the State of the Union as his guest. And quietly, behind the scenes, he dedicated real time and energy to understanding what reforms were needed — and helped make the 2019 New York State Assembly and Senate hearings on sexual harassment happen.

He apologized. He took responsibility. He educated himself. And then he did the work.

I am sharing this not to minimize what happened in 2001. Words like his — spoken by people with power — are part of what kept women like Elizabeth and me silent for so long. That's real, and it matters.

But I am also sharing this because this is exactly what I spend my life asking people to do.

We live in a culture that is very good at calling people out and very poor at showing them a path forward. We shame publicly and rarely acknowledge growth. That makes it harder — not easier — for people to step up and say I was wrong. I caused harm. I want to do better.

Congressman Morelle did all of that. Over years. Quietly. Without a camera.

That is what accountability actually looks like. Not a press release. Not a performance. A decade of showing up differently.

If you are someone who dismissed a survivor — whether publicly or privately, whether to a reporter or just to yourself — I want you to hear this: it is not too late. You can apologize. You can listen. You can use whatever platform or access you have to make things better. That path is open.

And if you are a survivor watching powerful people finally answer for what they did or didn't do — I want you to know that your voice created this moment. Elizabeth Crothers filed that lawsuit. I put my name to my story after 22 years. And because we did, people are being asked to account for decisions made decades ago. That is how systems change.

The work continues. The trial is coming. And I am still here.

With love and solidarity,

Rikki Shaw

Founder, RosesFromAshes.com