By Don Valentine
As a point of historical notation, “#The MeToo movement” was not started by White actress Alyssa Milano’s “Me Too” tweet. Forbes magazine wrote, “While activist Tarana Burke originally coined the phrase ‘Me Too’ in 2006, it was the year of the Women’s March in 2017 when actress Alyssa Milano’s ‘Me Too’ tweet started a domino effect…” The followers of American history have seen this refrain many times. Mainstream media ignores the Black participation and credits a White person for the act. Thanks to 197 years of our Black Press telling our story we have more than “His-Story” for veracity.
“Me Too” is a sobriquet to describe the pervasive nature of sexual abuse and assault. Teen Vogue, “The young person’s guide to conquering the world,” chronicled the movement in an interview with Tarana:“… the hashtag #MeToo exploded in 2017 after allegations of rape against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein triggered an avalanche of public allegations against figures in media, music, journalism, and more. Burke told Teen Vogue that she remembers thinking ‘nobody’s going to believe a 44-year-old Black woman from the Bronx started this.’ But she did, and she remains a powerful advocate against sexual violence today.”
She is a proud native of the Bronx, with a strong proclivity for community organizing. This resume began in the late 1980s, when as a young girl she joined a youth development organization called 21st Century. She launched initiatives around issues including racial discrimination, housing inequality and economic justice. Tarana’s advocacy work continued while she went to Alabama State University. Upon moving to Selma, she encountered a Black girl who shared her story of sexual violence and abuse. As a survivor herself, these were the stories with which she identified personally. She found that too many females were suffering and surviving abuse without access to resources and support.
Womenshistory.org noted her response: “…she worked with: the 21st Century Youth Leadership Movement helping to develop hundreds of youth leaders across the country; at the National Voting Rights Museum & Institute serving as a curatorial consultant and special projects director helping to organize the annual commemoration and celebration of the Selma Voting Rights Struggle known as the Bridge Crossing Jubilee; and as Executive Director of the Black Belt Art and Cultural Center…” Tarana’s steadfast commitment to the cause has led to numerous accolades including 2017 TIME Person of the Year and the 2019 Sydney Peace Prize. Often sought out for social commentary, Tarana has been published and quoted in Colorlines, Mic, BK Nation, Glamour, Ebony, Essence, The Source and The Root among others. To learn more follow her blog SheSlays.com or read her book Unbound My Story of Liberation and the Birth of the Me Too Movement.
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