Anita Hill "Unsatisfied" With Presidential Candidate Joe Biden's Call To Her, Says She Wants "Real Accountability" From Him
Source: YouTube / Washington Post
Source: YouTube / Washington Post
Biden had called Hill earlier this to express his regret over the 1991 Supreme Court hearings where Hill accused Justice Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment.
Anita Hill has spoken on Joe Biden's call to her that he made earlier this month where, according to a spokesperson for the presidential candidate, he expressed his regret over "what she endured" while testifying against Justice Clarence Thomas in 1991.
"They had a private discussion where he shared with her directly his regret for what she endured and his admiration for everything she has done to change the culture around sexual harassment in this country," Kate Bedingfield, the deputy campaign manager for Biden, said according to the New York Times.
Hill, however, said that she was unsatisfied with Biden's call and "declined to characterize his words to her as an apology."
"I cannot be satisfied by simply saying I'm sorry for what happened to you. I will be satisfied when I know there is real change and real accountability and real purpose," she said.
"The focus on apology to me is one thing," she added. "But he needs to give an apology to the other women and to the American public because we know now how deeply disappointed Americans around the country were about what they saw. And not just women. There are women and men now who have just really lost confidence in our government to respond to the problem of gender violence."
Until then, Hill said she can't support Biden, who declared his presidential candidacy on Thursday.
Biden was chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee in 1991 that oversaw the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Hill had accused Thomas of sexual harassment — which he has denied — during his confirmation process.
During The Biden Courage Awards in New York last month, Biden said that he regretted his handling of Hill's claims during the hearing confirmation.
"There were a bunch of white guys…hearing this testimony in the Senate Judiciary Committee. So when Anita Hill came to testify, she faced a committee that didn't fully understand what the hell it was all about," he said according to the Hill. "And to this day I regret I couldn’t come up with a way to get her the kind of hearing she deserved given the courage she showed by reaching out to us."
Source: New York Times
