Rhetorical Criticism Essay - Anita Faye Hill

Anita Faye Hill- Servant Leadership

Every individual has experiences, thoughts, or troubles that he or she keeps a secret. These secrets diminish the growth of the individual and allow the world to continue functioning out of harmony; however, exposing the secrets could possibly open the world up for change. This is exactly what happened when Anita Faye Hill, professor of law at the University of Oklahoma, shared her experience of sexual harassment to the Senate Judiciary Committee. Throughout Hill’s statement, she failed to act as a servant leader. Therefore, through the analysis of Hill’s opening statement, the impact Hill had as not acting as a servant leader will be established, by evaluating the biographical data about H

ill, historical context for the speech, and messages found in the speech.

Servant leadership, a term invented by Robert K. Greenleaf, has served the world with its meaning tremendously. According to the Center for Servant Leadership, retrieved on April 21, 2015, from Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership, “a servant-leader focuses primarily on the growth and well-being of people and the communities to which they belong” (Greenleaf). Moreover, in order to accurately dissect Hill’s statement, one must understand what a rhetorical situation consists of. According to Lloyd F. Bitzer, from The Rhetorical Situation, in 1968, “I want to know the nature of those contexts in which speakers or writers created rhetorical discourse” (Bitzer 1). Moreover, Bitzer explains that “these three constituents – exigence, audience, constraints – comprise everything relevant in a rhetorical situation” (Bitzer 8). If Hill never spoke about her experience, then society would lack perspective on the amount of sexual harassment that occurs during work.

Anita Faye Hill, an African-American professor, was born in Oklahoma in July of 1956 to hard-working, lower-class parents. Hill was an enthusiastic student who graduated from Oklahoma State University and obtained a doctorate degree from Yale Law School. According to Elwood Watson, from Black Past, in 2015, “immediately after law school Hill worked at the Law Firm of Wald, Harkader and Ross in Washington, D.C. By 1981, Hill served as counsel for the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights” (Watson). Hence, Hill served as a prominent advocate for equality and made her opinion known. Her voice was unquestionably shown in 1991 when “Hill was called before Senate Judiciary Committee to discuss the charges that Thomas has sexually harassed her during the time that she worked at the EEOC” (Watson). She took this opportunity to share her difficult and uncomfortable experiences she encountered with Judge Thomas throughout their time working together.

On October 11, 1991, Hill delivered her statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee in Washington, D.C. During the speech, the Judiciary Committee was present along with multiple witnesses. Watson states, “for five days, supporters and detractors of both Hill and Thomas gave frank, graphic, riveting and emotional testimony to the members of the senate judiciary committee” (Watson). Hill, most likely, was able to find her voice during this time due to the immense amount of African-American’s occupying many large cities. According to History World International, from 2015, “in 1990 about half of the nation's 29,067,430 African Americans lived in the South” (Lynch). Thus, the African-American population was growing, giving Hill more opportunity to voice her history with Judge Thomas.

Hill’s primary message consisted of sharing her sexual encounters with Judge Thomas to the world. She aspired to explain her position regarding the multiple experiences and wanted people to understand what happens in the workplace. On the other hand, Hill subconsciously promoted women and men to express any harassment that has occurred with them. Watson states, “Anita Hill's supporters argued that she helped all women by coming forth and detailing her experiences of sexual harassment” (Watson). Overall, Hill’s statement remained relevant to the rhetorical situation and passed the CRAAP test. According to Arthur Koch, author of Speaking with A Purpose, in 2014, “the vision of the future that you project can be either positive or negative” (Koch 45), and Hill ended her statement with a positive vision of the future by explaining the difficulty of speaking up but the necessity of it.

Anita Faye Hill, a simple African-American professor, became known to the world when she decided to come forward about her encounters with Judge Thomas. Although Hill used her voice for good, she lacked the principle of being a servant leader. Hill’s primary focus in her statement was her experience with Judge Thomas and did not project any concern for other people’s experiences. Ultimately, a servant leader puts the well-being of other’s first and attempts to make a difference for society. In order to successfully make an impact in the world, one must not conform to the wants and desires of others, rather him or herself. Thus, through the analysis of Hill’s opening statement, the impact Hill had as not acting as a servant leader was established, by evaluating the biographical data about Hill, historical context for the speech, and messages found in the speech.

Works Cited

“Anita Hill: Opening Statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee.” American Rhetoric: Top 100 Speeches. American Rhetoric, n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.

Bitzer, Lloyd F. The Rhetorical Situation. Pennsylvania State University, n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.

Koch, Arthur, and Jason Schmitt. Speaking with a Purpose. 9 ed. Boston: Pearson, 2014. Print.

Lynch, Hollis. Americans of African Ancestry. History World International, n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.

Watson, Elwood. “Hill, Anita Faye (1956-). BlackPast.org. BlackPast.org, n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.

“What is Servant Leadership?” Center For Servant Leadership. Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership, n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.