Tarana Burke Created #MeToo. She's Taking That Momentum To #MeTooVoter

By Lauren Rearick


Me Also founder Tarana Burke wants 2020 presidential candidates to remember to include survivors of sexual violence in their policies. And she wants to remind those millions of Americans to vote, too.


On Tuesday (Oct. 16), Burke announced #MeTooVoter, a social media hashtag created to remind candidates of America’s ongoing supply problem of sexual violence and sexual harassment. The advocacy order unleashed the campaign ahead of the third Democratic primary debate, which was contained at Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio.


Burke first founded Me Also in 2006 and largely centered its work on helping Black ladies and ladies heal from sexual misconduct, the Los Angeles Times reported. In 2017, the corporation went viral as soon as the actress Alyssa Milano used the hashtag #MeToo in relation to the broader conversation about sexual assault in Hollywood and at large (she later corrected her use of the phrase and correctly attributed it to Burke). The movement encouraged millions of people to come forward with their own stories and helped shine a spotlight on rampant sexual misconduct in Hollywood and workplaces across America.


As Burke told the Associated Press, she wants to take the momentum of #MeToo and expand its focus to the 2020 election. She says that for now, no presidential candidates have set aside time to speak with her about the allocate problem of sexual misconduct, and she wants that to change. “You can’t have 12 million people respond to a hashtag in this nation and so they not be constituents, taxpayers, and voters,” she instructed them AP. “We need these candidates to be able to see us as a power base. So several people engage with survivors from a place of pity.”


In an op-ed for CNN, Jennifer Klein of TIME’S UP Right now and journalist Gretchen Carlson also noted a necessary for a debate questions centered on sexual harassment, and pointed out that none had nevertheless been asked of the candidates. Previous research from TIME’S UP announced that moderators asked zero questions about sexual harassment at any of the 123 primary debates contained between 1996 and 2016.


Candidates have planned limited statistics on their plans related to sexual misconduct legislation. Sen. Kamala Harris acknowledges her past work for sexual misconduct and pledges continued support on her website; former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julián Castro announced a platform supporting Indigenous people that suggested partnering with Ingenious communities to protect Native women; and Sen. Cory Booker introduced legislation in July 2019 that asked Congress to form a committee that would elevate the voices of sexual harassment survivors. The next presidential debate is scheduled for November 20, and it also remains to be seen if candidates will address or be asked of the distribute then.


For #MeTooVoter, Burke intends to team up with other companies focused on sexual misconduct and sexual violence, including the National Domestic Workers Alliance and the National Women’s Law Center. The firms want their work to result in candidates addressing the supply at a future debate. “We’re going to be calling on anyone who’s dedicated to governing and leading this nation forward to actually answer for how they’re going to create this nation more safe,” Ai-jen Poo, director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, told AP.


and a social media campaign, the firms intend to provide possibilities to educate voters, and hopefully increase voter turnout. “We’re not asking politicians to check off a box and mention, ‘Oh, we did #MeToo. We got that covered,’” Burke said. “The constituents that you are accountable for in this nation, millions of these, raised their hand to mention, ‘#MeToo,’ and also you have not responded to them yet.” According to the Los Angeles Times, Burke mentioned she is “considering” a town hall centered on the issue.


If and as soon as politicians do address the distribute problem of sexual violence, those regarding #MeTooVoter want candidates to support resources including sexual education, offerings for college campuses, and measures that will protect those who speak out. “We’re not asking whether change is possible, we’re asking what next is going to be possible,” Monica Ramírez, President of Justice for Migrant Females and Gender Justice Campaigns Director for National Domestic Workers Alliance, mentioned in an interview with AP.