The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off, and then it will make you want to get in a time machine and murder every Republican senator in 1991. That's how that saying goes, right?

I was surprised by how angry Anita: Speaking Truth to Power made me. I was 13 years old when this hearing took place, and I remember the calm, composed woman in her blue suit filling that cavernous, baroque room with the details of the sexual harassment she said she endured from her former boss, Clarence Thomas. Then, as now, I was taken by how evenly and rhythmically she detailed what had happened to her, ranging from his graphic discussion of pornography to casually mentioning a pubic hair on his can of Coke. I remember the lights bouncing off of her skin as she stared down a row of senators, fearlessly correcting them when they tried to twist her words and wear her out, reminding them of her confidence as she tirelessly defended her character. My only reference point for this sort of setup was the courtrooms I'd seen on TV, and I absolutely thought she was on trial.

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