Anita Hill

   Anita Hill was born a bright, perseverant, black woman in a small town in Oklahoma.  Later in life, she went on to pass her bar exam and became a lawyer and assistant for then-assistant Secretary of Education Clarence Thomas.  They both worked in the Office for Civil Rights, and but Hill quit mysteriously and went on to be a law professor at various prestigious universities.

   In 1991, President George H.W. Bush nominated Thomas for the office of Supreme Court Justice.  He was fairly inexperienced, with just over a year serving as a judge, but was very qualified in every other aspect.  Hill later revealed to the press that she had, in fact, been a victim of sexual harassment when she was working directly under Thomas.  In a case very similar to Christine Blasey-Ford's testimonial, the three-day trial was broadcasted on national television. 

   Hill disclosed that she first felt uncomfortable when she had been working for him for about three months.  She described that he often discussed sex at work, as well as pressured her to go out with him.  She also revealed that he spoke about his sexual prowess frequently and often directly to her.  In an incredible act of bravery, she represented herself in front of a panel of all-male judges that frequently questioned her sanity and memory.  She was accused to just have female hysteria, although not directly.

    Thomas vehemently denied the claims.  He claimed that his was merely a '“circus. It is a national disgrace,” Judge Thomas said. “As a black American, as far as I am concerned, it is a high-tech lynching for uppity blacks who in any way deign to think for themselves, to do for themselves, to have different ideas.”', according to the New York Times.  

    Justice Thomas was eventually instated into the Supreme Court later that year.  American women were outraged.  This is believed to be the origins of the #MeToo movement.  Hill also inspired women such as Christine Blasey-Ford to hold men in high places accountable for their actions.  She continues to be an inspiration for both women and survivors of sexual harassment and assault to this day.