Anita Hill vs. Clarence Thomas: The Backstory
Oklahoma City Thunder small forward Kevin Durant (35) heads down court against the Miami Heat during the second half at Game 2 of the NBA finals basketball series, Thursday, June 14, 2012, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson) / Jeff Roberson
With a brief voicemail message, the wife of Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas has revived the scandalous allegations from 19 years ago that Thomas had sexually harassed former employee Anita Hill.
Virginia Thomas left a message earlier this month with Hill, now a Brandeis professor, asking for an apology for the allegations made during Thomas' Senate confirmation hearings.
(Scroll down to watch Clarence Thomas on "60 Minutes" in 2007)
Anita Hill: No Apology to Clarence Thomas
Clarence Thomas' Wife Seeks Apology from Anita Hill
The testimony from Hill, a former aide to Thomas at the Department of Education and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, led Thomas to refer to her as "my most traitorous adversary" in his 2007 book "My Grandfather's Son."
In 1991, Hill submitted a confidential statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee alleging that Thomas had sexually harassed her 10 years earlier, when they were both single. The FBI had already investigated the charges and given the committee what was called an inconclusive report. The committee decided not to pursue the matter. But two days before the full Senate was expected to confirm Thomas, Hill's statement was leaked to reporters.
"It was only after they had been leaked illegally, to the public and the press, that then it's outta hand. It's in the feeding frenzy," Thomas told "60 Minutes" Correspondent Steve Kroft in 2007 profile.
Clarence Thomas: The Justice Nobody Knows
The Private Clarence Thomas (Part 1)
The Private Clarence Thomas (Part 2)
Under pressure from women's groups and Democrats in the Congress, Hill was summoned before the Judiciary Committee to testify before live television cameras. More than 20 million households tuned in to watch the proceedings.
Audio Clips from Anita Hill's 1991 Testimony
Clip 1
Clip 2
Clip 3
Hill accused Thomas of making inappropriate remarks. She said one such comment came as Thomas was drinking a soft drink in the office.
"He got up from the table at which we were working, went over to his desk to get the Coke, looked at the can and asked, 'Who has put pubic hair on my Coke?'" Hill told senators.
Hill also testified that Thomas would boast about being well-endowed and has experience in pleasing women intimately. She also said she felt uncomfortable about her job situation.
"I began to feel severe stress on the job," Hill told the committee. "I began to be concerned that Clarence Thomas might take out his anger with me by degrading me or not giving me important assignments. I also thought that he might find an excuse for dismissing me."
When it came time for Thomas to publicly respond to Hill's allegations, he turned the tables on his interrogators and for all intents and purposes ended the debate.
"This is a circus. It's a national disgrace," Thomas said during the hearing. "It is a high-tech lynching for uppity blacks who in any way deign to think for themselves and it is a message that unless you kowtow to an old order you will be lynched, destroyed, caricatured by a committee of the U.S. Senate rather than hung from a tree."
On Oct. 15, 1991, the Senate confirmed Thomas' nomination 52-48, the closest Supreme Court confirmation vote in history.
In the voicemail message, the contents of which were confirmed by CBS News, Virginia Thomas said, "I just wanted to reach across the airwaves and the years and ask you to consider something. I would love you to consider an apology sometime and some full explanation of why you did what you did with my husband. So give it some thought and certainly pray about this and come to understand why you did what you did. OK, have a good day."
In a statement Tuesday, Hill said she "certainly thought the call was inappropriate," and she contacted Brandeis security officials, who later informed the FBI, after hearing it. She said she had "no intention of apologizing because I testified truthfully about my experience and I stand by that testimony."
In her statement, Thomas said she meant no offense.
"I did place a call to Ms. Hill at her office extending an olive branch to her after all these years, in hopes that we could ultimately get passed what happened so long ago. That offer still stands, I would be very happy to meet and talk with her if she would be willing to do the same."
More from Interview
Copyright 2010 CBS. All rights reserved. Virginia Thomas left a message earlier this month with Hill, now a Brandeis professor, asking for an apology for the allegations made during Thomas' Senate confirmation hearings.
(Scroll down to watch Clarence Thomas on "60 Minutes" in 2007)
Anita Hill: No Apology to Clarence Thomas
Clarence Thomas' Wife Seeks Apology from Anita Hill
The testimony from Hill, a former aide to Thomas at the Department of Education and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, led Thomas to refer to her as "my most traitorous adversary" in his 2007 book "My Grandfather's Son."
In 1991, Hill submitted a confidential statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee alleging that Thomas had sexually harassed her 10 years earlier, when they were both single. The FBI had already investigated the charges and given the committee what was called an inconclusive report. The committee decided not to pursue the matter. But two days before the full Senate was expected to confirm Thomas, Hill's statement was leaked to reporters.
"It was only after they had been leaked illegally, to the public and the press, that then it's outta hand. It's in the feeding frenzy," Thomas told "60 Minutes" Correspondent Steve Kroft in 2007 profile.
Clarence Thomas: The Justice Nobody Knows
The Private Clarence Thomas (Part 1)
The Private Clarence Thomas (Part 2)
Under pressure from women's groups and Democrats in the Congress, Hill was summoned before the Judiciary Committee to testify before live television cameras. More than 20 million households tuned in to watch the proceedings.
Audio Clips from Anita Hill's 1991 Testimony
Clip 1
Clip 2
Clip 3
Hill accused Thomas of making inappropriate remarks. She said one such comment came as Thomas was drinking a soft drink in the office.
"He got up from the table at which we were working, went over to his desk to get the Coke, looked at the can and asked, 'Who has put pubic hair on my Coke?'" Hill told senators.
Hill also testified that Thomas would boast about being well-endowed and has experience in pleasing women intimately. She also said she felt uncomfortable about her job situation.
"I began to feel severe stress on the job," Hill told the committee. "I began to be concerned that Clarence Thomas might take out his anger with me by degrading me or not giving me important assignments. I also thought that he might find an excuse for dismissing me."
When it came time for Thomas to publicly respond to Hill's allegations, he turned the tables on his interrogators and for all intents and purposes ended the debate.
"This is a circus. It's a national disgrace," Thomas said during the hearing. "It is a high-tech lynching for uppity blacks who in any way deign to think for themselves and it is a message that unless you kowtow to an old order you will be lynched, destroyed, caricatured by a committee of the U.S. Senate rather than hung from a tree."
On Oct. 15, 1991, the Senate confirmed Thomas' nomination 52-48, the closest Supreme Court confirmation vote in history.
In the voicemail message, the contents of which were confirmed by CBS News, Virginia Thomas said, "I just wanted to reach across the airwaves and the years and ask you to consider something. I would love you to consider an apology sometime and some full explanation of why you did what you did with my husband. So give it some thought and certainly pray about this and come to understand why you did what you did. OK, have a good day."
In a statement Tuesday, Hill said she "certainly thought the call was inappropriate," and she contacted Brandeis security officials, who later informed the FBI, after hearing it. She said she had "no intention of apologizing because I testified truthfully about my experience and I stand by that testimony."
In her statement, Thomas said she meant no offense.
"I did place a call to Ms. Hill at her office extending an olive branch to her after all these years, in hopes that we could ultimately get passed what happened so long ago. That offer still stands, I would be very happy to meet and talk with her if she would be willing to do the same."
More from Interview
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For Mrs. Thomas to ask for an apology at this point is stupid. She is asking the messenger to apologize for being shot years ago.
And he was essentially on trial in front of the Congressional Judiciary committees before his narrow and ill-founded confirmation.
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there actions and perspective can only be fully understood once you understand that most of these politically active 'christians' are really driven not by religion ... but by a serious personality disorder known as authoritarianism. the profile has decades of research behind it ... and not one of them will ever see it within themselves ... believing that it's everyone else who has the distorted world view. http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~altemey/
But it does make one suspicious about what dastardly act against America this poor excuse of a right wing Supreme Court has in store.
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point specifically to the words or words used in the original post that infers a racist tone ... or the assumption that a black man must be guilty.
Mrs. Thomas wouldn't be the first wife who thought that her successful, loving, church-going husband was incapable of being a philandering louse.
Ms. Hill took upon herself to notify Congress of something that speaks volumes of Mr. Thomas's character. Something she did not have to do. She could have remained quiet, but she stood up and put herself in the limelight to relay a particularly painful experience. I applaud what she did.
I just wish that Congress had had the balls at the time to deny Thomas' confirmation.