It has been 25 years since the Scandal-like drama entered our lives and introduced us to the educated woman, Anita Hill. For three days the United States Senate Judiciary Committee interviewed then-Supreme Court Justice candidate, Clarence Thomas. Anita Hill, former aide to Clarence Thomas, stunned the country with allegations of sexual harassment that she claimed to have happened while she worked for him.
Anita Faye Hill was born in Lone Tree, Oklahoma, the youngest of the 13 children. Her parents, Albert and Erma Hill, were farmers from Arkansas. Her great-grandparents and her maternal grandfather, Henry Eliot, were born into slavery. Her humble beginning was no match for what would follow her 35 years later.
After graduating as valedictorian from Morris High School, she enrolled at Oklahoma State University, receiving a bachelor's degree with honors in psychology in 1977. She continued her education at Yale Law School, obtaining her Juris Doctor degree with honors in 1980.
After her admittance to the Washington D.C. bar, Hill immediately found work as an associate with the private law firm Ward, Harkrader & Ross, where she focused primarily on banking litigation. In 1981 she made a career move introducing her to the man that would change it all. She accepted the position as legal advisor to Clarence Thomas who was then the Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights. When he became Chairman of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 1982, Anita Hill went along to serve as his assistant, leaving the job in 1983 for a teaching position at the Oral Roberts University in Tulsa after she was hospitalized for stress-related issues. It was during her time in the position with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that Hill alleges the sexual harassment took place.
Three years later, Hill became a faculty member at the University of Oklahoma’s College of Law, where she taught contract and commercial law. In 1989, she became the school’s first tenured black professor and also held an important post in the office of the provost.
In 1991, after President George H.W. Bush nominated Clarence Thomas for the Supreme Court, Hill submitted a confidential memo to let the committee know Thomas had harassed her while she was his assistant. A few female members of Congress pressured the Judiciary Committee to call Hill to testify. When she did, Hill explained with dignity and composure that in 1981, Thomas had talked to her graphically about sex. She said he gave graphic details about the pornography he watched; he discussed his sexual prowess and pressured her to date him. Who can forget the offensive reference to "the pubic hair on the can of Coke."
Thomas was confirmed, but it left Ms. Hill's credibility to be questioned. Many wondered why she waited so long to come forward, leading others to assume that she was 'a woman scorned' seeking revenge. There were also questions as to why she followed Clarence Thomas to the EEOC after their time together at the Department of Education. Hill explained that she had come forward because she felt an obligation to share information on the character and actions of a person who was being considered for the Supreme Court.
Whether we believe Anita Hill or not, there is one thing that did change and that is America's views on sexual harassment in the workplace. After the hearing and Clarence Thomas' confirmation, President George H. W. Bush dropped his opposition to a bill giving harassment victims the right to seek federal damage awards, back pay and reinstatement, and the law was passed by Congress. Private companies also started training programs to deter sexual harassment.
Currently, Hill is a University Professor of Social Policy, Law, and Women's Studies at Brandeis University and a faculty member of Brandeis' Heller School for Social Policy and Management. Her autobiography, Speaking Truth to Power has been chronicled into a documentary; Anita: Speaking Truth to Power and was released in March. Also, Confirmation, a movie produced by HBO, is set to air to millions this month.
Anita Hill is proof that the journey we are given is not always easy, but it will lead you to your purpose and destiny. She is View Woman's Legendary Woman in History!
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