Thirty years after Professor Anita Hill started a national conversation about sexual harassment in the workplace, how far have we come on issues of gender-based violence? If you’re in the Los Angeles area, please join Dr. Salamishah Tillet and Cindi Leive, hosts of our new podcast Because of Anita, for an afternoon exploring these issues—featuring Professor Hill herself.

Because of Anita: Truth, Justice, Race, Gender, and Power—30 Years Later will be held on October 16 from 3 pm to 6 pm PT at the University of Southern California. This special event will feature artists, scholars, and activists in dialogue, along with a special keynote conversation between Professor Hill, author of Believing: Our Thirty-Year Journey to End Gender Violence, and Beverly Guy-Sheftall, Anna Julia Cooper Professor of Women’s Studies at Spelman College. Rsvp now for this free event.

EVENT DETAILS

DATE
Saturday, October 16, 2021 from 3 pm to 6 pm PT

TIME
3 to 5 pm: Panels and Conversations

5 to 6 pm: Keynote Interview with Professor Anita Hill

LOCATION
Norris Cinema Theatre and Bing Theatre
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA

 

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SPEAKERS

Jill Abramson: Senior Lecturer, Harvard University; Co-author, Strange Justice: The Selling of Clarence Thomas

Roxane Gay: Bestselling author; Editor, Not That Bad: Dispatches from Rape Culture

Fatima Goss Graves: President and CEO, National Women’s Law Center

Thomasina Gross: Former events server, Chateau Marmont; Actor

Professor Beverly Guy-Sheftall: Anna Julia Cooper Professor of Women’s Studies, Spelman College

Professor Anita Hill: Author, Believing: Our Thirty-Year Journey to End Gender Violence

Gabrielle Horton: Audio Storyteller and Adjunct Faculty, USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism

Cindi Leive: Co-host, “Because of Anita;” Co-founder, The Meteor

Senator Connie M. Leyva: Member of the California State Senate

Kim Masters: Editor-at-Large, The Hollywood Reporter; Host, KCRW’s “The Business”

Freida Lee Mock: Director, Writer, and Producer, Anita: Speaking Truth to Power, and Ruth: Justice Ginsburg in Her Words

Tony Porter: Chief Executive Officer, A Call to Men

Nina Shaw: Co-founder and Board Member, The Hollywood Commission

Dr. Salamishah Tillet: Co-host, “Because of Anita;” Contributing Critic-at-Large, The New York Times

Scheherazade Tillet: Co-founder and Executive Director, A Long Walk Home

Mily Treviño-Sauceda: Executive Director and Co-founder, Alianza Nacional de Campesinas, Inc.

Professor Miki Turner: Associate Professor of Professional Practice, USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism

Jessica Yellin: Peabody, Gracie, and Emmy Award-Winning Political Journalist

The event will also include a performance of “The Scarlet C” by playwright Lynn Nottage, directed by Anita Dashiell-Sparks, professor at the USC School of Dramatic Arts, and featuring USC students Dara Adedara, Kennedy Hill, and Nicole Royster.

Presented by USC Visions and Voices: The Arts and Humanities Initiative and The Meteor. Co-sponsored by the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, USC School of Cinematic Arts, USC School of Dramatic Arts, and USC Gould School of Law. Special thanks to Audible.

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AGENDA

SESSION 1: WHAT HAPPENED?
Opening Remarks
-Willow Bay, Dean, USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism
-Daria Yudacufski, Executive Director, Visions and Voices

Re-Examining Anita Hill’s Testimony
Revisiting the fateful October 1991 weekend when Hill testified before the Supreme Court Judiciary Committee that her boss, Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas, had sexually harassed her.
-Jill Abramson, Senior Lecturer, Harvard University, and Co-author, Strange Justice: The Selling of Clarence Thomas
-Freida Lee Mock, Director, Writer, Producer, Anita: Speaking Truth to Power, and Ruth: Justice Ginsburg in Her Words

Moderated by
-Cindi Leive, Cohost, “Because of Anita,” and Co-founder, The Meteor
-Dr. Salamishah Tillet, Cohost, “Because of Anita,” and Contributing Critic-at-Large, The New York Times

“Not That Bad”
From Hill’s testimony to today, how our culture diminishes survivors’ experiences—and what that costs us.
-Roxane Gay, Bestselling author; Editor, Not That Bad: Dispatches from Rape Culture

Interviewed by
-Professor Miki Turner, Associate Professor of Professional Practice, USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism

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SESSION 2: WHERE ARE WE NOW?

What the Law Owes Survivors
Hill’s testimony gave way to a dramatic uptick in people filing sexual harassment complaints. We’ll discuss how legal options fit into our path to eradicating abuse at work now.
-Fatima Goss Graves, President and CEO, National Women’s Law Center
-Senator Connie M. Leyva, Member of the California State Senate

Moderated by
-Jessica Yellin, Peabody, Gracie and Emmy Award-Winning Political Journalist

Hotels, Restaurants, and Farms: Report from the Harassment Frontlines
Stories from women who experienced harassment — before and after Hill gave us the language to describe it — and are fighting to make these fields safer.
-Thomasina Gross, Former Events Server, Chateau Marmont, and Actor
-Mily Treviño-Sauceda, Executive Director and Co-founder, Alianza Nacional de Campesinas, Inc.

Moderated by
-Gabrielle Horton, Podcast Showrunner and Adjunct Faculty at USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism

Has Hollywood Changed?
Two entertainment leaders who are pushing for accountability take stock and discuss how reporting and data are tools to create progress.
-Kim Masters, Editor-at-Large, The Hollywood Reporter, and Host, KCRW’s “The Business”
-Nina Shaw, Co-founder and Board Member, The Hollywood Commission

Moderated by
-Cindi Leive, Cohost, “Because of Anita,” and Co-founder, The Meteor

In Defense of Ourselves: Demanding Justice for Black Girls and Women
Thirty years after a group of Black feminists showed their solidarity with Hill with “African American Women in Defense of Ourselves,” an ad in The New York Times, what support do Black women and girls critically need from the anti-violence movement?
-Tony Porter, Chief Executive Officer, A Call to Men
-Dr. Salamishah Tillet, Cohost, “Because of Anita,” and Contributing Critic-at-Large, The New York Times
-Scheherazade Tillet, Co-founder and Executive Director, A Long Walk Home

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SESSION 3: WHAT’S NEXT?

Special Performance: The Scarlet C
A performance of playwright Lynn Nottage’s “The Scarlet C” in honor of Professor Hill.

Directed by
-Anita Dashiell-Sparks, Professor of Theatre Practice in Acting, Associate Dean of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI), and Co-Head of Undergraduate Acting, USC School of Dramatic Arts

Performances by
-Dara Adedara, Student, USC School of Dramatic Arts
-Kennedy Hill, Student, USC School of Dramatic Arts
-Nicole Royster, Student, USC School of Dramatic Arts

Keynote Conversation: Anita Hill on Believing
Anita Hill shares her own personal reflections on the hearing and its aftermath — and takes you inside her 30-year journey to end gender violence.

-Professor Anita Hill, Author, Believing: Our Thirty-Year Journey to End Gender Violence
-Professor Beverly Guy-Sheftall, Anna Julia Cooper Professor of Women’s Studies, Spelman College