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Founder of #MeToo movement to speak April 17

Here's your chance to hear Tarana Burke, who founded the #MeToo movement in 2006. Her talk, free and open to all, is titled “Me Too”.
Mon April 02, 2018

Tarana Burke

Tarana Burke will speak at UA on April 17.

Tarana Burke, who founded the #MeToo movement in 2006, will present “Me Too” on Tuesday, April 17, at 7 p.m. in the Student Union Ballroom. The talk, sponsored by the Women's Studies Department, is free and open to all. Due to limited seating, registration is encouraged, but does not guarantee a seat.

Burke saw #MeToo grow into a worldwide campaign in 2017 to raise awareness about sexual harassment, abuse and assault in society. The phrase grew out of a conversation Burke had with a girl who talked of being sexually abused.

RELATED: Sexual Assault Awareness Month activities at The University of Akron

“On one side, it’s a bold declarative statement that ‘I’m not ashamed’ and ‘I’m not alone,’” Burke said in an interview with CNN. “On the other side, it’s a statement from survivor to survivor that says ‘I see you, I hear you, I understand you and I’m here for you, or I get it.’”

A civil rights activist and women’s empowerment speaker, Burke is the senior director of Girls for Gender Equity in Brooklyn, N.Y. She was featured as a Time magazine Person of the Year in 2017.

For more information, contact Dr. Mary Triece, professor of communication and director of women’s studies, at mtriece@uakron.edu.


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