Tarana Burke originated the MeToo cause in 2006 long before there was a hashtag to give voice to sexual assault. Hers was a message to Black sexual assault survivors with no high profile names or celebrity predators. The #MeToo Movement that erupted into the broad public space in 2017 was largely embraced and perceived as a White celebrity cause, erasing the focus on Black survivors and “ordinary” women of any race or ethnicity. Burke has joined with prominent Black women thought leaders and activists to remake MeToo. In collaboration with TIME’S UP Foundation and The National Women’s Law Center, she has launched the initiative “We, As Ourselves.” This video, “A Love Letter to Black Survivors,” offers a chorus of voices speaking to Black survivors in the oneness of solidarity.
