Would Anita Hill Get More R-E-S-P-E-C-T Today?

Of all the debates I’ve had about Anita Hill over the years, this one still sticks in my craw: “Clarence Thomas didn’t do anything wrong,” said a lawyer friend of mine. “That’s just the way Black men relate to Black women.”

It was a stunning remark coming from the mouth of a White male—a liberal, no less.

But that conversation took place in the fall of 1991—during the confirmation hearings of Clarence Thomas to the U.S. Supreme Court—long before “mansplaining” entered our lexicon. At the time, I didn’t know how to respond to his “You just don’t get Black culture” ...