I first learned of Tarana Burke at the end of my junior year of high school. My women’s studies teacher introduced us to her by showing us her TED Talk, and I found her to be engaging and interesting.
Tarana Burke is the founder of the #MeToo movement. As the hashtag grew, it began to lose its original meaning, which had its roots in intersectionality. Tarana Burke created the platform to provide a space for survivors of sexual assault to share their experiences.
She coined the phrase after speaking with a young girl about her sexual assault experience. She wanted to tell her “me too” and realized how necessary that conversation is for creating solidarity among survivors and decided that it was time for this important discussion to be available for all.
In 2005, she founded the nonprofit organization Just Be Inc., which focuses on supporting survivors of sexual violence through education, healing, and community-based outreach. The organization continues to create spaces for healing, empowerment, and education and offers programs and resources that help survivors process their experiences.
The phrase #MeToo did not gain much popularity until 2017 when celebrities began supporting the cause. Tarana Burke’s name began to be lost in the conversation, and so did the initial intention of intersectionality, particularly for Latina and Black women.
Her initial intention was to, of course, spread awareness and create community, but more importantly, she wanted to provide long-term emotional and psychological support to survivors. While the #MeToo movement brought immediate attention to issues of sexual harassment and assault, Burke has always been focused on systemic change. She continues to push for policy reform, legal changes, and societal shifts to better support survivors and hold perpetrators accountable.
It’s important to remember that her work doesn’t stop when the #MeToo movement loses its popularity. The work doesn’t end until no one has to deal with sexual violence. Tarana Burke started the movement not for the hype of social media but to create positive change and make it easier to talk about these experiences.
As she says in her TED Talk, #MeToo is not a moment, it’s a movement. Change won’t happen overnight, but it can come from continued efforts and discussions.
Tarana Burke is a groundbreaker and deserves to be known for her work of starting a successful movement and conversation. Her efforts, while they have not always been attributed to her, are evident in the way #MeToo movement took off and is known in the social context.