# Tarana Burke **Tarana Burke** (born September 12, 1973, in the Bronx, New York) is the activist who started **"me too"** in 2006 as a campaign to support survivors of sexual violence. When the actress Alyssa Milano urged women to post "#MeToo" after the Harvey Weinstein allegations in October 2017, the phrase Burke had used for more than a decade became the name of a global movement, and Milano later credited Burke's earlier work. **Why it matters:** Burke is the origin point of the [[MeToo Movement]]. Her work was built around supporting survivors in their own communities, a part of the story that coverage of the famous men accused in 2017 often left out. ## Career - **Youth work.** Burke began using "me too" in 2006 in her work with young survivors of sexual violence. - **me too. International.** She is co-founder and chief vision officer of the organization that carries the movement forward. - **Writing.** Her memoir, *Unbound: My Story of Liberation and the Birth of the Me Too Movement*, was published in 2021. ## Recognition Burke was among "the Silence Breakers" named *Time* magazine's Person of the Year for 2017. ## Connections - [[MeToo Movement]] — the movement that grew from her work - [[Misogyny]] · [[Antifeminism]] — the forces the movement confronts and the backlash against it - [[Resistance Hub]] ## Sources - [Tarana Burke, Founder — me too. Movement](https://metoomvmt.org/get-to-know-us/tarana-burke-founder/) - [Tarana Burke — Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarana_Burke) - [Tarana Burke — Britannica](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Tarana-Burke) - [Unbound — Publishers Weekly](https://www.publishersweekly.com/9781250621733)