Kim A. Taylor, class of 1977
Kim A. Taylor grew up in Harlem, New York until she attended Brown University (class of 1977). At Brown, Taylor was a very active member on campus, participating in several political activities, including a notable walk-out during which hundreds of students of color took over University Hall for 72 hours. Graduating in English (specifically in American Literature) and Political Science in 1977, Taylor went on to law school at Yale, at which point she made a formative friendship with Anita Hill, with whom she is still in contact.
This interview with Kim A.Taylor, class of 1977, was captured during the 2018 Black Alumni Reunion. Taylor begins with her childhood and upbringing within a musical/artist community of Harlem, and how that led to her decision to attend Brown University. This segment of the interview includes an interesting recollection of meeting Dr. Martin Luther King Jr when Taylor was a child. Then, she goes on to discuss particularly salient memories during her time at Brown, specifically her involvement in the campus-wide walk-out and protest for black students on campus. Taylor also talks about the academic enrichment her Brown education offered, specifically while reading accounts of slavery for her thesis in English. She describes how her studies influenced her time at Yale University, where she obtained her law degree contemporaneously with Anita Hill. At the end of the interview, Taylor describes her friendship with Hill, and her memories of attending the famous United States Supreme Court confirmation hearing for Judge Clarence Thomas with Hill, where Anita Hill testified that Thomas had sexually harassed her in the workplace. Taylor also draws connections to her experience then with the current political climate. Taylor-Thomas discusses the 2018 Supreme Court confirmation hearing of Judge Brett Kavanaugh, where Dr. Christine Blasey Ford also testified that Kavanaugh had sexually assaulted her while in high school.
Pembroke Hall, Brown University