tarana burke
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'We Hear You. We See You. We Believe You': Terry Crews and More Help #MeToo Center Survivors in a New PSA Campaign
In the recent rush to bring sexual predators to justice, the survivors of sexual violence are often lost in the shuffle of debates, rhetoric and sensationalism that ensues. But the Me Too movement, founded by Tarana Burke in 2006, has always placed survivors front and center of any discussions of sexual violence, and on Monday,…
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Why Do We Silence Black Girls and Women Who are Survivors of Sexual Violence?
Today, conversations about sexual violence and harassment towards women have infiltrated popular culture, the news and beyond. But despite the prevalence of sexual violence towards black girls and women, we remain almost invisible in these conversations. You see, the legacy of sexual violence towards black women and our subsequent silencing runs deep. In her seminal…
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After Surviving R. Kelly, What Now? How About Trusting Survivors and Dismantling Systemic Misogynoir?
Three nights of television recently rocked the black community—surprising, since they detailed approximately three decades of well-known allegations of predation, exploitation and abuse by R&B artist R. Kelly. But if Lifetime’s record-breaking documentary Surviving R. Kelly finally put a human face onto the collective trauma so many women involved with the entertainer claimed to be…
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Only 2 Hours Into Surviving R. Kelly, the Conclusion Is Simple: Black Girls Deserve Better
I’m tired. We’re tired. On the evening of January 3, 2019, I bundled up my anxiety and turned to Lifetime to watch what I knew would be one of the most noteworthy moments of media history. Executive produced by dream hampton, Tamara Simmons, Joel Karlsberg and Jesse Daniels, Surviving R. Kelly is a 6-hour, three…
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Surviving R. Kelly Screening Evacuated Following Phoned in Gun Threat
Guests gathered at NeueHouse Madison Square in New York Tuesday night for a screening of the upcoming Lifetime docuseries Surviving R. Kelly were evacuated when a gun threat against the venue was reportedly phoned in. #MeToo founder Tarana Burke, writer and cultural critic Jamilah Lemieux, journalist Kierna Mayo, author and social worker Feminista Jones, a…
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'I Am Numb': Tarana Burke Gets Real About the Cost of Leading—and Living—#MeToo
“This movement is constantly being called a ‘watershed moment’ or even a reckoning,” Tarana Burke told the audience at TED Women 2018. “But I wake up some days feeling like all evidence points to the contrary. … It’s hard not to feel numb.” It was an unexpected admission from the founder of the Me Too…
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Is the #MeToo Movement Ignoring Poor Black Women and Girls? Founder Tarana Burke Seems to Think So
While the emergence of the #MeToo movement has lead to a rash of indictments and criminal complaints, its founder Tarana Burke is concerned that women of color have become an afterthought. According to USA Today, Burke had plenty to get off her chest during her keynote address at the Facing Race conference in Detroit. “The…
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The Root 100 Gala Takes the Cake, Yet Again, as the Best and Blackest Night of the Year
“We had a lot of competition in the beginning, a lot of imitators but they’ve fallen away. And The Root’s still here.” – Henry Louis Gates Jr., The Root Co-founder text Every Root 100 gala is special, but this year was particularly momentous. Along with celebrating our 100 honorees, The Root also celebrated its 10th…
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The 2018 Root 100 Gala Celebrates Another Year of Black Excellence!
We celebrate black excellence every day here at The Root, but there’s one event where we celebrate the most influential black Americans of the year: our annual Root 100 gala. 2018’s list of luminaries, nominated in part by our faithful readers, span all walks of life: from activists to artists, singers to scientists, politicians to…
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‘Your Sacrifice Was Not in Vain’: Tarana Burke, Tracee Ellis Ross and More Pen ‘Love Letter’ to Dr. Christine Blasey Ford
On Wednesday, Oct. 10, some of the most visible female activists of our generation joined forces to give their thanks, support and love to Dr. Christine Blasey Ford after her Sept. 27 testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, compelling testimony that was nonetheless unable to thwart the confirmation of now-Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. #MeToo…