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Oct 20, 2010 · A recap of the 1991 Senate confirmation hearings, where Anita Hill accused Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment and he denied it. The article also reports on a recent voicemail message from Thomas' wife, asking Hill for an apology.
- No Apology to Clarence Thomas
Clarence Thomas' Wife Seeks Apology from Anita Hill....
- Wife Called Anita Hill
Anita Hill vs. Clarence Thomas. The message was left at the...
- No Apology to Clarence Thomas
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The uncomfortable spectacle of the hearings reverberated across the nation and had lasting consequences.
In October 1991, Americans were riveted by the spectacle of an all-white, all-male Senate Judiciary Committee questioning Anita Hill, the African-American law professor who had accused Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment.
TV viewers, both male and female, watched in increasing discomfort as the senators asked Hill about large-breasted women, a porn star named Long Dong Silver and pubic hair on a Coke can, among other previously unthinkable subjects for a Senate committee hearing.
But for women, Hill’s testimony would have special significance, as it was the first time someone had so publicly shared her account of workplace harassment—something that so many of them had experienced.
Though the committee would eventually confirm Thomas, making him only the second Black man to serve on the Supreme Court, the impact of Hill’s televised testimony would reverberate dramatically across the nation, with lasting consequences that endure today.
“I think women saw play out, in the most human terms, Anita Hill—credible and very much reflecting the experiences of so many other women—being demeaned, being dismissed and being mistreated by an array of male senators,” says Marcia Greenberger, founder and co-president emerita of the National Women’s Law Center. “And when they reflected upon it at the end of the hearings, their anger began to rise, and their determination to do something about it began to increase.”
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WATCH NOW
Anita Hill accused Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment in 1991, sparking a national debate and changing the conversation about workplace misconduct. Learn how her testimony influenced the Civil Rights Act, the Year of the Woman and the #MeToo movement.
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Sep 27, 2021 · Professor Anita Hill is sworn-in before testifying at the Senate Judiciary hearing on the Clarence Thomas Supreme Court nomination. Miss Hill testified on her charges of alleged sexual harassment ...
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Sep 19, 2018 · CNN — As Christine Blasey Ford’s lawyers insist the FBI investigate her allegation of sexual and physical assault against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, here is a look back at how the FBI –...
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Apr 15, 2016 · Nearly 25 years after Anita Hill accused Clarence Thomas of sexual assault, her story is being brought to the small screen.
Sep 20, 2018 · In three days of televised hearings that riveted the nation, Anita F. Hill detailed allegations of workplace sexual harassment by Judge Clarence Thomas.
Sep 23, 2018 · Anita Hill, who had worked with Thomas at the Department of Education and at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, eventually publicly accused him. Here's a look back at how it all went...
