Prof. Anita Hill (AAAS, Heller, LGLS, WGS) will impart her valediction to members of the class of 2019 at Wellesley College’s commencement on May 31, according to an April 12 PR Newswire article. 

Hill is known for her 1997 memoir “Speaking Truth to Power,” in which she recounted her 1991 Congressional testimony where she accused then-Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment. It has since amplified discussions on “civil and women’s rights,” according to an April 11 article in The Swellesley Report. 

Her recent book Reimagining Equality: Stories of Gender, Race and Finding Home was published in 2011, for which she received the Courage Award from PEN America, a literary and human-rights organization that champions free expression in the United States, according to the award description from The Swellesley Report. She was re-nominated this year for her action in the ongoing #MeToo movement, according to the Washington Post. 

In light of the #MeToo movement and the hearings of Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Wellesley students wanted a speaker that inspired them to “transcend expectations, carve out [their] own paths, and speak [their] truths even in the face of adversity,” Wellesley Class Council co-presidents Alex Kew and Dominique Huang said in a statement to the Wellesley class of 2019.