Tarana Burke, founder of the Me Too Movement, will be on campus this Thursday.
Burke is an Auburn University at Montgomery alumna and was named Time Person of the Year in 2017. She is coming to Auburn to speak for the Extraordinary Women Lecture Series, an event sponsored jointly by the School of Communication and Journalism and the Women’s Leadership Institute of the College of Liberal Arts.
As a civil rights activist, Burke works to combat sexual violence and uplift those affected by sexual assault. She has been a leader for survivors of sexual assault, and the organization behind Me Too has allowed women and men to speak out about their assaults, prevent assaults from happening and be supportive to other survivors.
Burke founded the Me Too Movement in 2006 on Myspace, but the movement caught an international resurgence after accusations against Harvey Weinstein were made public, quickly growing to over 80 allegations. The movement then became #MeToo on Twitter, and has since inspired legal action to be taken against wrongdoers with defense funds such as Time’s Up.
Burke will join Auburn students and faculty to speak about sexual violence on college campuses during her lecture, which is expected to be a discussion-based speech.
The event will take place at the Telfaire Peet Theater on Sept. 26, 2019, at 4 p.m. It’s free and open to the public.
Burke joins a list of notable women who have taken part in the Extraordinary Women Lecture Series. Speakers have included Maya Angelou, Lilly Ledbetter, Mae Jemison and Gloria Steinem.
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Mikayla Burns, senior in journalism and Spanish, is managing editor of The Auburn Plainsman.
