- Anita Hill spoke at an event in Beverly Hills, California on Friday
- Hill, 61, brought concept of sexual harassment to national consciousness when she testified during Clarence Thomas’ Supreme Court confirmation hearings
- She said: ‘In today’s atmosphere, there would be more people who would understand my story, who would believe my story’
- Added that her 1991 testimony and the flood of sexual harassment allegations surfacing now are part of ‘an arc that has been bending toward justice’
Anita Hill 61, spoke at an event to discuss the sexual harassment allegations she raised against Clarence Thomas in 1991
Anita Hill has told a room full of entertainment industry professionals her 1991 testimony about Clarence Thomas and the flood of sexual harassment allegations surfacing now are part of ‘an arc that had been bending toward justice’.
Actresses Alyssa Milano and Frances Fisher and filmmaker Kirby Dick were among those who attended the event Friday at United Talent Agency in Beverly Hills, California.
Hill brought the concept of sexual harassment to national consciousness when she testified during Thomas’ Supreme Court confirmation hearings.
She told the audience, per Variety: ‘In today’s atmosphere, there would be more people who would understand my story, who would believe my story, and I think the numbers have changed over the years in terms of people who believe and support me.’
She added: ‘We cannot underestimate the impact that those hearings had, even though the vote did not go the way most of us wanted.’
Hill and National Women’s Law Center President Fatima Goss Graves (pictured) held the event to discuss how to create lasting change from the sexual harassment scandal roiling Hollywood
Hill and Graves are pictured with actress Alyssa Milano at the event. Hill said at the event: ‘In today’s atmosphere, there would be more people who would understand my story, who would believe my story, and I think the numbers have changed over the years in terms of people who believe and support me’
Hill and National Women’s Law Center President Fatima Goss Graves told the audience of more than 100 people that they want to continue the momentum Hollywood generated with the Harvey Weinstein revelations and parlay it into lasting social change.
Graves said the aim of the discussion was to connect the center’s legal work with the cultural shift the Harvey Weinstein revelations have inspired.
She hoped those in Hollywood will continue to use their platforms to push for new policies and better laws.
Hill met with Hollywood actors and executives to discuss how the sexual harassment scandal roiling the entertainment industry can lead to broad and sustained cultural change.
Graves hosted the discussion with Hill and more than 100 entertainment industry representatives.
Anita Hill is pictured at a press conference regarding the upcoming hearings. In 1991, Hill claimed that Judge Clarence Thomas, then a nominee for a seat on the Supreme Court, had sexually harassed her while working for him. Thomas was eventually sworn in to the Supreme Court
Kerry Washington (left) portrayed Anita Hill in the 2016 HBO film Confirmation