Activist Anita Hill will speak at AU on April 7, according to a press release from the Kennedy Political Union.
The event is hosted by KPU and co-sponsored by AUSG Women's Initiative, AU NAACP, AU SOC, Students Against Sexual Violence, The Darkening at American University and the Black Student Alliance at American University, the release said.
Hill became a national figure in 1991 when she publicly accused then Supreme Court justice nominee Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment. Her actions led President George H.W. Bush to support a congressional bill to allow sexual harassment victims to seek federal damage awards, according to the release.
Currently, Hill is the Senior Advisor to the Provost at Brandeis University and is the author of the books Reimaging Equality and Speaking Truth to Power. She also on the Board of Directors of the National Women’s Law Center and the Boston Area Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and has previously served as a chair of the Human Rights Law Committee of the International Bar Association, the release said.
Hill will speak at 8:15 pm in the McKinley Building’s Forman Theater, followed by a discussion with the audience moderated by School of Communication professor Jane Hall.
“Hill is an especially timely figure as the event takes place one day before the New York Times sit-down with Hill and Washington in New York City on April 8 and nine days before the nationwide-premiere of 'Confirmation' on April 16,” KPU Communications Director Coby Eiss said. “Additionally, Hill’s contributions to national awareness for sexual assault issues is an accomplishment that is particularly relevant to the policy interests of American University students.”
