#MeToo Founder Tarana Burke Doesn't Just Want to Be a Trailblazer, She Wants to Encourage Young Folks to Do the Same

by Andrea Wurzburger 3/8/2019

Tarana Burke, the founder of the #MeToo movement that took Hollywood and the world by storm is one of the honorees at VH1’s Trailblazer Honors. Given her award by Alyssa Milano, who helped bring Burke’s message to the masses, Burke used her acceptance speech to express her hope for the future.

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After explaining that she became an activist after learning from those who inspired her, Burke says in her speech, “I hope there is some young, black, queer or trans kid who has better and brighter ideas for how to end sexual violence for whom my presence is blazing a trail for right now.”

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“And I hope,” she continues, “That me getting this kind of visibility means that we are moving closer to a world that not just believes survivors, but provides resources to investigate these claims. I hope we’re moving closer to the world who has deep empathy for those of us who have suffered the indignity and inhumanity of sexual violence and that we have a shared desire to rid the world of it.”

She ends her speech thanking each of her fellow honorees, though she has a special thank you for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.