Here are five standout moments from this year’s event, which took place September 20 through 23:
Anita Hill Says Equality Is A Multigenerational Task
In a conversation with Emmy-winning TV and radio personality Jeanne Sparrow, Anita Hill offered her perspective on how women can advance toward equality. The Brandeis University professor speaks from experience. In 1989, Hill became the first African American to be tenured at the University of Oklahoma College of Law. Two years later, she would stand before a Congressional Judiciary Committee hearing, testifying that
Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas had sexually harassed her at a previous job in Washington.
Thomas was confirmed despite her testimony, but Hill’s willingness to speak out led to the first significant firestorm about sexual harassment in the United States. Her courage caused women to flood hotlines and raised the profile of women’s abuse long before #MeToo.
Hill’s advice to the audience: Meet potential allies where they are, and build from there. Women have progressed from where they were during her hearings and will continue to progress as long as we do our part and leave things in a good place for future generations, she said.
DR. ANITA HILL
Brandeis University Professor,
Lawyer & Author
The race to equality is not a sprint or a marathon but a relay race. We have to do our part, then pass to future generations to do the same.”
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