This month is Black History Month, remember it, learn about it, and do what you can to understand its importance. Commonly when taught Black History Month in schools, we are told about individuals such as Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. Although these people are extremely impactful individuals throughout our history, so many more black individuals do not get the recognition they deserve. When I think of Black excellence so many amazing men and women come to mind. The individual I chose to shine a light on today is Tarana Burke.
Many may not recognize that name if it was said in front of them, but what she founded is widely known around the world. Ever heard of the #MeToo movement? Well, let’s learn about the founder.
This amazing woman had made so many impacts around her community and the world. From the beginning of her life, she portrayed such empathy and participated in tons of activism. Belonging to a youth group called 21st century was the first baby step in her major movement. This connected her to many young black women with which she connected via similar experiences, advocating for them and giving them her support.
I have taken the time to read many interviews conducted with Tarana as well as her biography found on the MeToo Movement website. As I took the time to do so I found myself more and more amazed at the woman she is. This movement started way back in 2007, and many individuals including me were not familiar with this movement until 2017 following the Harvey Weinstein allegations. Following this major case, we saw another public figure, Brett Kavanaugh who had many individuals file accusations against him as well. After seeing more and more survivors come out and share their stories, this moment became a movement; a fight for all survivors. A fight that Tarana started.
In 2021, Tarana published an autobiography Unbound: My Story of Liberation and the Birth of the Me Too Movement. In this autobiography she came out and shared her story, this took endless strength and courage more than I could ever imagine. Allowing others to feel heard by another person is not an easy thing to do especially due to a traumatic event. Not only did Burke spend years creating a movement to allow people to feel heard, advocated for, and not alone she also allowed herself to be one of those people.
The title of my article “Empathy through Empowerment” a quote from Tarana herself will never leave my head. This statement has left an imprint on me. This changes the way we as a society approach sexual violence, this is an issue in the world and as we see more and more survivors share their stories often we wonder what we can do to help. Tarana answered our question about the way we can express our empathy through empowerment, advocating for our survivors, and allowing them to feel heard, and seen and that someone is fighting for them.
Tarana is an incredible woman who has made an impact on hundreds of thousands of individuals. She has been recognized in many ways, for instance, the Time person of the year in 2017, the 100 most influential people in 2018, and the Sydney Peace Prize 2019. It’s important to continue to shine a light on individuals making impacts on our world, Tarana Burke is one of these people. Let’s not forget her name.