Tarana Burke facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Tarana Burke
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Burke in 2018
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| Born | September 12, 1973 New York City, U.S.
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| Alma mater | Alabama State University Auburn University at Montgomery (BA) |
| Occupation | Activist, Organizer, Author |
| Years active | 1989–present |
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| Movement | metoo (#metoo) |
Tarana Burke (born September 12, 1973) is an American activist from New York City. She is famous for starting the MeToo movement. An activist is someone who works hard to bring about political or social change.
In 2006, Burke started using the phrase "Me Too." She wanted to create a way for young people to support each other and talk about the problem of mistreatment in their communities. More than ten years later, in 2017, the phrase became a viral hashtag on social media. Actress Alyssa Milano encouraged people to share #MeToo if they had ever been mistreated. This helped the idea spread quickly around the world.
Time magazine named Burke its Person of the Year in 2017. She shared the honor with a group of other brave activists called "the silence breakers." In 2018, Burke founded the organization me too. International to help lead and support the global movement.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Tarana Burke grew up in The Bronx, a part of New York City. Her work as an activist began when she was a teenager in the late 1980s. She joined a group for young people called the 21st Century Youth Leadership Movement.
After high school, she went to Alabama State University and later Auburn University at Montgomery. During college, she organized events to fight for fairness and equality. She worked on important issues like ending unfair treatment based on race and making sure people had good housing.
Career and Important Work
Burke has been an activist since 1989. After college, she moved to Selma, Alabama. There, she continued her work helping people in the community.
In 2003, she started a group called "Just Be Inc." It was a program for Black girls between the ages of 12 and 18. The group focused on helping them feel healthy and supported.
In 2008, she moved to Philadelphia and worked for other community organizations. She was also a consultant for the 2014 movie Selma. The film is about the historic marches for voting rights that took place in 1965.
Burke has also worked as a senior director at Girls for Gender Equity. She is a popular speaker and travels across the country to talk about her work. She has co-written two best-selling books: You Are Your Best Thing and Unbound: My Story of Liberation and the Birth of the Me Too Movement.
The Me Too Movement
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In 2006, Burke founded the Me Too movement. She used the phrase "Me Too" to show how many people have been affected by mistreatment and to help them connect with each other.
A Global Hashtag
The phrase "Me Too" became a worldwide movement in 2017 after it was used as a hashtag, #MeToo. When actress Alyssa Milano used the hashtag, it went viral online. Millions of people began sharing their own stories of being mistreated.
Milano later learned that Burke had started the movement years earlier. She gave Burke credit for her important work. Burke has said she supports the #MeToo hashtag because it helps people see they are not alone.
me too. International
The #MeToo hashtag started a worldwide conversation about how to stop mistreatment. Burke's local work grew into a global community of survivors. Her organization, me too. International, works to create a safer world for everyone. It aims to end all forms of mistreatment based on a person's gender.
Honors and Awards
- 2017: Time, Time Person of the Year
- 2018: Time, 100 Most Influential People of 2018
- 2018: The Ridenhour Prizes, The Ridenhour Prize for Courage
- 2018: SheKnows Media, the VOTY (Voices of the Year) Catalyst Award
- 2019: Trailblazer Award winner
- 2022: BBC 100 Women
See also
In Spanish: Tarana Burke para niños
