After her astonishing testimony in the Clarence Thomas hearings, Anita Hill ceased to be a private citizen and became a public figure at the white-hot center of an intense national debate on how men and women relate to each other in the workplace. That debate led to groundbreaking court decisions and major shifts in corporate policies that have had a profound effect on our lives--and on Anita Hill's life. Now, with remarkable insight and total candor, Anita Hill reflects on events before, during, and after the hearings, offering for the first time a complete account that sheds startling new light on this watershed event.
Only after reading her moving recollection of her childhood on her family's Oklahoma farm can we fully appreciate the values that enabled her to withstand the harsh scrutiny she endured during the hearings and for years afterward. Only after reading her detailed narrative of the Senate Judiciary proceedings do we reach a new understanding of how Washington--and the media--rush to judgment. And only after discovering the personal toll of this wrenching ordeal, and how she copes, do we gain new respect for this extraordinary woman.
Here is a vitally important work that allows us to understand why Anita Hill did what she did, and thereby brings resolution to one of the most controversial episodes in our nation's history.
In 1991, Anita Hill, a law professor, dropped a bombshell into the middle of Senate Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Clarence Thomas: Thomas had, Hill alleged, harassed and embarrassed her with repeated requests for dates and discussions about pornography while supervising her at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Hill's allegations introduced a volatile mix of sex, race, and scandal into the proceedings, deeply dividing both the Senate and the entire country. The aftermath of the Thomas hearings saw plenty of books about Anita Hill--some supporting her, others attacking--but Hill remained silent... until now. In
Speaking Truth to Power, Anita Hill finally sets the record straight.
Though much of the book details her side of the story and her professional relationship with Clarence Thomas, Speaking Truth to Power also provides interesting glimpses into Anita Hill, the person. From her early life as the youngest of 13 children on a farm in Oklahoma to her current position as a law professor, Hill offers details about her personal life and her motivations. Hill writes with forthright conviction; in this case of he said/she said, Speaking Truth to Power tilts the scales a little more heavily in Anita Hill's favor.
