Nationwide — Time magazine is under fire for their latest “Person of the Year” issue which addresses the #MeToo social movement on it’s cover, but excludes Tarana Burke, the Black woman who actually started the movement. Critics says Time wanted to give more attention and credit to the white celebrity women who helped publicize the movement.
Burke, who is 44-years old, was interviewed by Ebony magazine earlier this year, and said she launched the Me Too slogan back in 2006 as a grassroots movement to aid sexual assault survivors in underprivileged communities.
During the interview, she said, “It wasn’t built to be a viral campaign or a hashtag that is here today and forgotten tomorrow. It was a catchphrase to be used from survivor to survivor to let folks know that they were not alone and that a movement for radical healing was happening and possible.”
“What’s happening now is powerful and I salute it and the women who have disclosed but the power of using ‘me too’ has always been in the fact that it can be a conversation starter or the whole conversation – but it was us talking to us,” she continued.
Most people, including actress Alyssa Milano, who was featured on the cover of Time, acknowledge that Burke started the slogan.
Milano recently tweeted, “I was just made aware of an earlier #MeToo movement, and the origin story is equal parts heartbreaking and inspiring”.
To follow Tarana Burke’s #MeToo movement, visit www.metoomvmt.org
Or follow her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MeTooMVMT/ or Twitter at www.twitter.com/taranaburke
Watch Tarana Burke’s and Alyssa Milano’s Today Show interview below: