Anita Hill facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Anita Hill
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Hill in 2018
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Anita Faye Hill
July 30, 1956 Lone Tree, Oklahoma, U.S.
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| Education | Oklahoma State University (BS) Yale University (JD) |
| Employer | Brandeis University |
Anita Faye Hill (born July 30, 1956) is an American lawyer, teacher, and writer. She is a professor at Brandeis University. There, she teaches about social policy, law, and women's studies. She is also part of the university's Heller School for Social Policy and Management.
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Early Life and Education
Anita Hill was born into a farming family in Lone Tree, Oklahoma. She was the youngest of Albert and Erma Hill's 13 children. Her family came from Arkansas. Her maternal grandfather and great-grandparents had been born into slavery. Hill grew up in the Baptist faith.
She graduated from Morris High School in Oklahoma in 1973. She was the best student in her class. After high school, she went to Oklahoma State University. She earned a degree in psychology with honors in 1977. She then studied at Yale Law School. She received her law degree with honors in 1980.
Her Career Journey
Hill became a lawyer in Washington, D.C., in 1980. She started her law career at a firm called Wald, Harkrader & Ross. In 1981, she became a legal advisor to Clarence Thomas. He was then an Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Department of Education. When Thomas became chairman of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in 1982, Hill worked as his assistant. She left that job in 1983.
Hill then became a professor at the O. W. Coburn School of Law. She taught there from 1983 to 1986. In 1986, she joined the University of Oklahoma College of Law. She taught commercial law and contracts.
In 1989, she became the first African American professor at the University of Oklahoma to get tenure. This means she had a permanent teaching position. She left the university in 1996. In 1998, she became a visiting scholar at Brandeis University. In 2015, she became a university professor there.
Work for Change and Equality
Anita Hill continued to teach. She also worked as a visiting professor in California for two years. She officially left the University of Oklahoma in October 1996. In her last semester, she taught a class on civil rights.
In 1997, Hill joined the faculty at Brandeis University. She worked in the Women's Studies Program. Later, she moved to the Heller School for Social Policy and Management. In 2011, she also started working as a counsel for a law firm called Cohen Milstein. This firm focuses on civil rights and employment issues.
Over the years, Hill has talked about gender and race issues on TV shows. These include 60 Minutes, Face the Nation, and Meet the Press. She has spoken about commercial law, race, and women's rights. She has also written articles for The New York Times and Newsweek. She has contributed to many legal and academic publications. Her topics include international commercial law, bankruptcy, and civil rights.
In 1995, Hill helped edit a book called Race, Gender and Power in America. In 1997, she published her own book, Speaking Truth to Power. In this book, she wrote about her life and her desire to create a better society. In 2011, Hill published her second book, Reimagining Equality. This book talks about the housing crisis that affected many African-American families. She believes we need a new understanding of what "home" means and its place in the American Dream. In 2015, Brandeis University promoted her to University Professor.
Her Published Writings
In 1994, Hill wrote about Thurgood Marshall. He was the first African American Supreme Court Justice. Her writing was called "A Tribute to Thurgood Marshall." She wrote about how Marshall helped bring about equality. She explained how his work changed the lives of African Americans, especially women.
In 1998, her book Speaking Truth to Power was published.
Hill became a strong supporter of women's rights. In 2007, she wrote a chapter in a book called Women and leadership. She wrote about why women judges are important. She believes that women and men have different life experiences. Because of this, both are needed for a fair court system. She argues that all people need to be represented for the best legal system in the United States.
In 2011, Hill's second book, Reimagining Equality, was published. She talks about the idea of "home" and the American Dream. She also shows how gender and race can lead to unfairness in home ownership. She believes that a society where everyone is included is more important than just arguing about legal rights. She uses her own story and the stories of other African American women to support her ideas about equality.
In 2021, Hill published the book Believing: Our Thirty-Year Journey to End Gender Violence.
Awards and Recognition
Hill has received many awards for her work. In 1992, she got the "Women of Achievement" award from the American Bar Association. In 2005, she was chosen as a Fletcher Foundation Fellow. In 2008, she received the Louis P. and Evelyn Smith First Amendment Award. She also serves on the board of trustees for Southern Vermont College. Her opening statement from 1991 is listed as one of the top 100 speeches of the 20th century. In 1993, she was added to the Oklahoma Women's Hall of Fame. In 2017, she became an honorary member of the Zeta Phi Beta sorority. A phone booth at The Wing in Washington, D.C., is dedicated to her.
A small planet, 6486 Anitahill, was named in her honor. It was discovered by Eleanor Helin. The official naming was announced in 2019.
Honorary Doctorates
- 2001: Simmons University
- 2001: Dillard University
- 2003: Smith College
- 2007: Lasell University
- 2008: Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts
- 2013: Mount Ida College
- 2017: Emerson College
- 2018: Wesleyan University
- 2019: Lesley University
- 2022: Mount Holyoke College
See Also
- Clarence Thomas Supreme Court nomination
- Brett Kavanaugh Supreme Court nomination
- Christine Blasey Ford
