I Still Believe Anita Hill

Anita Hill visited OSU yesterday, and it was such a pleasure to attend one of the two events that she graciously agreed to participate in.

For those of you unfamiliar with who she is (don't worry, I didn't know about her either until this event), rewind back to 1991. Clarence Thomas had been nominated by Pres. George W. H. Bush as a Supreme Court Justice, and was waiting for confirmation by the Senate. Part of the confirmation process involved a very thorough background check on the candidate. Enter Anita Hill.

Hill had worked with Thomas from 1981 to 1983, first at the Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights, then at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. During those brief years, Thomas harassed Hill by making lewd sexual comments to her about his penis (he named it "Long Dong Silver"- go figure), women in pornographic films, and (probably one of the most famous anecdotes) pubic hair on his coca cola can.

Thomas and Hill when they worked together

Hill complained to her friends, but decided not to pursue charges against Thomas because, well, frankly women "sucked it up" then as part of trying to break the glass ceiling, and if they did file complains, they weren't taken seriously. However, when contacted to comment on Thomas' character during his bid for Supreme Court Justice, Hill finally broke her silence. She initially issued a private statement to the Senate about Thomas' behavior, but that statement was leaked and splashed across national news.  Subpoenaed by the Senate to determine the veracity of her remarks, Hill appeared in front of an all-white, all-male Senate Judiciary Committee, and was forced to rehash the humiliation she suffered under Thomas again and again and again (hence, we know the name of Thomas' penis...).

Unfortunately, the Senate Judiciary Committee did all they could to poke holes into her testimony, and Thomas finally pulled out the "race card," claiming this was a "high-tech lynching" of "uppity Blacks," -- conveniently forgetting that Hill was one of those educated, higher-income African Americans herself, and black women had been lynched historically too! The Senate eventually confirmed Thomas as a S.C. Justice in a 52-48 vote, where he continues to serve today.

All these events were recounted in the moving 2013 documentary, Anita: Speaking Truth to Power, directed by Academy Award-winning filmmaker, Freida Lee Mock. I really want to assign this film as part of my course(s) I teach in the future.

Thankfully, Hill's story has a more auspicious ending. Inspired by her example, more women began coming forward to report cases of sexual harassment in their workplaces, compelling the government to face and atone for its silent complicity of this decades-long pervasive problem. More women also ran for Congress in the 1992 elections, and won 5 seats in the Senate and 24 in the House. Hill is currently a professor at Brandeis University, and travels across the nation to promote an anti-sexual harassment platform at various events, such as the one at OSU where were watched the documentary and then had a Q-&-A session with her and Mock.

Must resist temptation to buy...
Groceries or shirt... 

I have deep admiration for Hill for so many reasons. She had the courage to go up against some powerful men instead of withdrawing her statement (which would have been the easier path to take); she remained calm and poised when coerced to repeat parts of her testimony to a committee that was so obviously misogynistic and wanting to humiliate her; she didn't lose her composure despite the intense media scrutiny; she continues her activism today, speaking out against sexual harassment in the workplace and sexual assault on campuses; she remains down to earth and doesn't use highfalutin language to covey ideas or command respect; she recognizes that both women and men can be victims of sexual violence, and calls for everyone to do their part without being radical.

Sexual violence on campuses and in the workplace are very real problems, and we are only beginning to address these issues, such as California's Senate Bill 967 (and even then, this policy has its problems). It's an uphill, arduous, and never-ending journey, but we would do well to join Hill on this trek. After all, everyone -- women, men, children -- benefit when public places are safer spaces.