The Hill–Thomas hearings, which took place in the U.S. Senate in October 1991, were held in connection with President George H. W. Bush's nomination of Clarence Thomas to the U.S. Supreme Court. The primary witness to testify against his nomination was University of Oklahoma Law Professor Anita F. Hill. The hearings and events preceding them quickly captured the attention of the American media and public.

On June 27, 1991, Thurgood Marshall, the only African American on the U.S. Supreme Court, announced his resignation. The U.S. Constitution provides that the president “by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint…Judges of the Supreme Court.” Four days later, the president nominated Marshall's successor, Clarence Thomas, an African American judge who had been sitting on the ...