This essay will discuss the ethical dilemmas concerning the testimony given by

Anita Hill during the confirmation hearings of then Supreme Court nominee Clarence

Thomas. It will mention how then chairman Joseph Biden and the Judiciary Committee

interacted with Anita Hill, as well as how the social positions, race, and gender of all

parties involved contributed to the final decision. The race and gender of Anita Hill are

both within minority groups. Her being a Black woman testifying against a man of higher

social standing than hers poses several ethical questions, including whether the

decision to approve Justice Thomas despite Hill’s testimony was justified. The essay will

also aim to review the case by relating it to my personal values and form my own

conclusions.

Anita Hill met Judge Clarence Thomas, in 1981 at the U.S. Department of

Education, while working as his special assistant in the department’s Office of Civil

Rights. They were both Black Yale graduates who had come from poorer and

unfavorable backgrounds yet managed to launch successful law careers. Hill states that

not long after she started working for Judge Thomas, a man she respected and

admired, he started to harras her in the workplace. The alleged harassment continued

on when Judge Thomas was appointed chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity

Commission (EEOC) and Anita Hill remained as his assistant. Hill hesitated to come

forward with her allegations, as many women who experience sexual harrasment do. It

was not untill 1991 when the confirmation hearings of then Supreme Court nominee

Clarence Thomas began and the Senate Judiciary Committee began to investigate

Thomas’ past and possible misconduct he may have committed. After a three day

investigation, the FBI concluded that the allegations Hill had brought up against Thomas
were “untrue”. Although the investigation was done in secret an NPR reporter, Nina

Totenberg, revealed Anita Hill’s accusations. Hill then testified before the Senate

Judiciary Committee on October 11 about the harrasment she said to have endured.

Judge Thomas was confirmed despite her testimony.

One of the reasons that the Anita Hill case has caused several ethical questions

to be raised is because the treatment that Anita Hill recieved from the Senate Judiciary

committee, while testifying about her alleged experiences regarding Judge Thomas. Hill

spoke in front of an all male, all white committee and brought forth her allegations. She

received with nothing but hostility from Republicans on the committee, “Republicans

went after Hill with vengeance. Sen. Arlen Specter accused Hill of "flat-out perjury" at

one point. At another, he suggested her testimony was the "product of fantasy." Judge

Thomas firmly denied the allegations and many senate Republican members refused to

believe Hill’s statement and instead attacked her in different ways. They made her

repeat her testimony again and again, despite the sensitive topic. Anita Hill’s treatment

especially stands out when compared to the treatment of Christine Blasey Ford who had

brought forth sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett

Kavanaugh, “Ford’s treatment was kinder and gentler than what Hill faced from senators

in 1991. The differences were evident from the very beginning. Sen. Chuck Grassley

(R-IA), the chair of the Judiciary Committee, told Ford she could take a break whenever

she wanted and have anything she needed during the hearing”. The fact that Ford is

white while Hill is Black and the differences in their treatment while they were both in

similar situations, testifying about the alleged sexual harrasment they recieved from

Supreme Court nominee’s, brings about the question of ethics, whether race was a
factor in ther treatment. They are both women and Hill was bringing charges towards a

Black man, someone in her own race, however intersectionality is an issue for Hill being

a Black women and being part of two minority groups. Judge Thomas has also

insinuated that there is an ethical dilemma pertaning to the Anita Hill case, he accused

her accusation of being racially motivated, stating that the hearing was, "a national

disgrace ... a high-tech lynching for uppity blacks who in any way deign to think for

themselves." Thomas spoke these words in an effort to discredit Hill’s testimony while

adamantly denying the accusations. His words, however, present another ethical

dilemma. A Black man accusing a Black woman of being racist towards her own race

holds mysoginistic implications. His words further support the notion that Hill was

mistreated at the hearing because of her race and gender.

I believe an ethical society should be one where there is fairness and justice

regardless of ones race, gender, social status, religion, education level and any other

classifying methods that exist in our current society. It is true that there exists many

different people and communities in the world and it is therefore impossible for a

perfectly ethical society to exist. There will always be differences as to what different

people believe to be ethical and just. This is why laws are continuously changing and

reforming. Laws regarding abortion and the right to bear arms for example, are very

controversial and raise many ethical questions regardless of wether one supports or is

against the laws. In the end it comes down to what ones values are and what they

believe to be a just society. Values are affected by ones environment, religion, lifestlye

and more, therefore not everyone will agree on what is ethhically and morally correct. In

the case of Anita Hill, my personal opinion is that although I have no opinions on wether
Judge Thomas should have been confirmed, the Hill case should have been handled

better by the FBI and the Senate Judiciary Comittee. I do not believe she received a fair

investigation, witnesses were scared off, and the treatment she recieved while giving

her testimony about an event that could have been traumatic to her was unjust. The fact

that Joe Biden, the current president who was then the committee’s Democratic

chairman has publicly apologize to Anita Hill “for not protecting her from his fellow

senators’ grilling” shows that even the members of senate could see that her treatment

was unfair. She was ridiculed in an attempt to discredit her, I do not believe this is

ethically just especially when those who ridiculed her are supposed to be fair regardless

of the outcome they wish for or the demographics of the person. In the eyes of the law

everyone should be equal and be given a fair chance to state their case. The committee

was deciding on someone as important as a Supreme Court Justice, yet they verbally

attacked a person who questioned the character of the nominee. Hill should have not

been treated in such a way regardless of wether her accusations were true and despite

the fact that she was speaking of a situation that was disadvantageous to the outcome

some of the senate members were hoping for, the confirmation of Judge Thomas.

In Conclusion, there are many ethical questions and dilemmas regarding Anita

Hills testimony at Judge Thomas’ hearing. They revolve the race, gender and social

status of the parties involved. Based of the values that I believe in, my personal opinion

is that there are happenings in the case that rightfully raise ethical questions,

specifically the treatment Anita Hill recieved while testyfying.

Bibliography
“Anita Hill Accuses Clarence Thomas.” HISTORY.com,

www.history.com/speeches/anita-hill-accuses-clarence-thomas.

“Ethics Defined (a Glossary) - Ethics Unwrapped.” Ethics Unwrapped, 2013,

ethicsunwrapped.utexas.edu/glossary.

Massie, Victoria M. “How Clarence Thomas Used Racism to Deny He Sexually

Harassed Anita Hill.” Vox, 16 Apr. 2016,

www.vox.com/2016/4/16/11408576/anita-hill-clarence-thomas-confirmation.

North, Anna. “Republicans Put a Polite Face on Their Questions to Christine Ford. But

the Message Was the Same as in 1991.” Vox, 27 Sept. 2018,

www.vox.com/2018/9/27/17906778/brett-kavanaugh-hearing-christine-ford-anita-

hill.

“NPR Choice Page.” Npr.org, 2020,

www.npr.org/2018/09/23/650138049/a-timeline-of-clarence-thomas-anita-hill-cont

roversy-as-kavanaugh-to-face-accuse.

Pruitt, Sarah. “How Anita Hill’s Testimony Made America Cringe—and Change.”

HISTORY, 26 Sept. 2018,

www.history.com/news/anita-hill-confirmation-hearings-impact.