Tarana Burke, 1973

Tarana Burke was born in the Bronx, New York, into a low-income, working-class family. At 7, an 18-year-old man raped her; as a teen, she was sexually assaulted. These events and the support of her mother motivated her to community activism and improve the lives of girls who struggle with extreme hardships.

After high school, she attended Alabama State University before transferring to Auburn University in Montgomery. There, she organized protests and press conferences advocating for racial and economic justice.

By graduation, Burke joined the 21st Century Youth Leadership Movement, an organization promoting youth development. She continued to work for the 21st Century when she moved to Selma, Alabama. At the time, she began to work with survivors of sexual violence, providing support and counseling.

In 2003, at 30, Burke co-founded the Jendayi Aza, a program that assists African American girls in their journey to adulthood. Within three years, the program became Just Be, Inc, which provides health and well-being workshops for young women of color.

During this time, she began to use the phrase “me too” when talking with survivors of sexual assault. Over time, “me too” developed into a movement to raise awareness of sexual abuse and to provide a safe space for survivors to share their stories. It offered survivors leadership training programs based on “empowerment through empathy.”

In 2008, Burke moved to Philadelphia, where she worked at Art Sanctuary Philadelphia, a non-profit that uses black art to build communities and promote cultural understanding.

In 2017, following the publication of Harvey Weinstein’s sexual abuse allegations, actress Alyssa Milano encouraged women to post “Me Too” if they had experienced sexual harassment. Overnight, survivors worldwide began sharing their stories using the hashtag MeToo. Burke used this momentum to expand the conversation around sexual violence and its scope and to broaden the movement.

While promoting the Me Too movement, she continued to work for her community, serving as the director of the Black Belt Arts and Cultural Center and as special project director at the National Voting Rights Museum and Institute in Selma.

Later, she served as senior director of the Girls for Gender Equality organization, which provides personal development programs for young women of color. Today, Burke gives lectures across the US and organizes workshops to educate people about sexual violence, focusing on the unjustified blame and shame survivors take on themselves.