Anita Hill addresses Kavanaugh, Ford hearing at Houston conference

HOUSTON – Someone familiar with a hearing like the one that happened on Capitol Hill Thursday is Anita Hill.

Her name made headlines back in the early '90s when she testified about her claims of being sexually harassed by then Supreme court nominee, now Justice Clarence Thomas.

Hill appeared on stage Friday at the Marriott Hotel in downtown to give a talk at the "Women in Tech" conference. The title of her talk was "The Past, Present and Future of the #Metoo Movement."

Hill lost no time in talking about the testimony the public heard from Christine Ford about a sexual assault Ford says happened when she and Judge Brett Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump's nominee to the high court, were in high school.

"'Trust me, at the end of the day I certainly believed her,' Hill said about Ford. "And I was really trying to keep an open mind, not like some of those people who say they have an open mind.”

As someone who also testified during a hearing nearly 30 years ago, Hill referred to the experience she endured.

“I will tell you in confirmation hearings, they will look back at entire lives," Hill said. "In the Clarence Thomas hearings, he had a nun from elementary school testify."

Hill also referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee’s response to Ford’s claims and the urging of Democrats to investigate the claims further.

“What happened at 17, 18, 19 years old is relevant," said Hill. "But, (the Senate Judiciary Committee) discounted that. They said what is important is the Senate rules and the Senate calendar. What they have set up is a question of value. What does our country value?”

The Judiciary Committee was scheduled to vote on whether to advance Kavanaugh's nomination to the Senate on Friday, which Hill said seems likely.

However, the vote has since been delayed.

Hill left the group with a final thought;

“There is going to be a decision made today, and many of us are going to feel betrayed, feel neglected or ignored. So my question is what are you going to do about it?"