On This Day in History: October 11

Anita Hill's Testimony

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Three women publicly accused Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault or sexual misconduct, and the Republican half of the senate was all “he seems like a fine choice for the Supreme Court.” To anyone who saw Clarence Thomas get the thumbs up to be an SC justice in 1991, despite the withering testimony of Anita Hill, this does not come as a surprise.

--On This Day in History, Shit Went Down: October 11, 1991--

President George H.W. Bush, who was accused by eight different women of groping them, nominated Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court to replace Thurgood Marshall, who was the first Black man to occupy a spot on the top court in the land. Thomas had only been a judge for just over a year, and so the rationalization for his appointment was his allegedly outstanding character.

He seemed a shoo-in, but a report of a private interview of Anita Hill by the FBI was leaked to the press, and shit exploded. The hearings were reopened, and on October 11, 1991, Anita Hill testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee to tell the tale of how Thomas’s character was anything but exemplary.

She testified that during her tenure as a lawyer at both the Department of Education and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that Thomas, her supervisor, repeatedly sexually harassed her. She said he asked her on dates over and over, and she always declined, asking him to stop, but he would not. She spoke of how he frequently talked about sex to her in descriptive detail, including talking about porn he watched. He talked about watching porn involving group sex, rape scenes, and women having sex with animals. He also often spoke to her about his own alleged sexual prowess.

Thomas responded that this was a racist smear campaign, despite the fact Hill is also Black and said it would have been “comfortable to remain silent,” but when called to testify, felt it was important to tell the truth. Those who supported Thomas’s nomination attacked Hill relentlessly, saying she suffered from a “delusional disorder.” Four women who witnessed Thomas’s actions were ready to testify to support Hill’s accusations but were never called.

Joe Biden, who was chair of the judiciary committee, called Anita Hill in 2019 to express “regret for what she endured.” She said the call left her feeling unsatisfied, but in September 2020 Hill proclaimed that she would vote for Biden in the presidential election and work with him on gender issues.

In his tenure as an Associate Justice, Clarence Thomas is viewed as the most conservative member of the court.

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