Anita Hill
Anita Hill was born on born on this date in 1956. She is a Black lawyer, educator, author, and activist.
She was born in Lone Tree, OK, the youngest of 13 children. She grew up in a farming community and attended Okmulgee County school. Her childhood included hard work, little money, and solid family affection. Hill received her law degree from Yale University and, for a time, worked at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). She then taught law at the University of Oklahoma.
In 1991, she was tossed into the public spotlight when she brought allegations of sexual harassment against (then) Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas. At Thomas' Senate confirmation hearings, Hill testified that Thomas had made unwelcome sexual advances while he was her supervisor at the EEOC in the 1980s. Although Thomas' appointment was subsequently confirmed, Hill's testimony brought the issue of sexual harassment to public attention, eternally changing relations between men and women in the workplace.
In 1997, Hill published "Speaking Truth to Power," a personal memoir and study of her involvement in the Thomas hearings. A 20th-century #MeeToo movement representative, Anita Hill, has resumed her teaching career at Brandeis University.
