Tarana Profile picture
Aug 20, 2018 6 tweets 2 min read Read on X
I’ve said repeatedly that the #metooMVMT is for all of us, including these brave young men who are now coming forward. It will continue to be jarring when we hear the names of some of our faves connected to sexual violence unless we shift from talking about individuals [+]
...and begin to talk about power. Sexual violence is about power and privilege. That doesn’t change if the perpetrator is your favorite actress, activist or professor of any gender.
And we won’t shift the culture unless we get serious about shifting these false narratives.
My hope is that as more folks come forward, particularly men, that we prepare ourselves for some hard conversations about power and humanity and privilege and harm. This issue is less about crime & punishment and more about harm and harm reduction.
A shift can happen. This movement is making space for possibility. But, it can only happen after we crack open the whole can of worms and get really comfortable with the uncomfortable reality that there is no one way to be a perpetrator.
...and there is no model survivor.
We are imperfectly human and we all have to be accountable for our individual behavior.
People will use these recent news stories to try and discredit this movement - don’t let that happen. This is what Movement is about. It’s not a spectator sport. It is people generated. We get to say “this is/isn’t what this movement is about!”

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More from @TaranaBurke

Sep 27, 2021
“The verdict represents the first criminal consequence for the singer after decades of accusations of sexual abuse.”

This was a long time coming and although it doesn’t bring automatic healing , I hope it brings a sense of closure that can help facilitate the healing process.
The real story here is about the relentless activism of Black women who refused to let rampant, open abuse and violence toward Black girls and young women fall on deaf ears.

Black women were ringing the alarm long before the world knew what ‘me too’ was about.
It took all of our efforts, and those of tireless journalists like @JimDeRogatis - to get many to pay attention.

We have shown once again that when we can’t count on anyone else - we can count on each other.
Read 4 tweets
Aug 12, 2021
I’ve had a lot of questions publicly and privately about Times Up and it’s connection to the Cuomo case. There is a lot of criticism being tossed around. Some of it constructive. A lot of questions being asked. Much of them warranted.

timesupfoundation.org/newsroom/a-not…
In my opinion this is a survivor issue. Survivors, after all are the main constituents. I think it’s important to hear @TinaTchen in her own words speaking directly to survivors, just like it’s important for survivors to be heard by @TIMESUPNOW
This letter feels like a first step to having some important internal conversations both in the TU organization and the movement at large. As someone with a lot of visibility I know what it’s like to make missteps publicly.
Read 4 tweets
Aug 10, 2021
He’s gone. Not much more to say about that - but listen…

This “generational difference” and “rules have changed” nonsense is WRONG.

The *rules* have NOT changed. It was WRONG 50 years ago and today. The difference is there were few paths to accountability years ago.
Please stop saying “well the rules have changed” because it’s not true. The attention to sexual violence has changed. The rule of “keep your hands to yourself” is universal. We all learned that in Kindergarten.
Nothing is NEW here. Women didn’t JUST start fighting back and speaking up. We just finally found a frequency that folks can hear us more clearly on.
Read 4 tweets
Jul 19, 2020
There isn’t much more to be said about Congressman John Lewis than has already been said or shown in his deep legacy, so I want to share a personal story from my days at the National Voting Rights Museum in Selma, AL.
Somewhere in the early 2000s we were honoring Congressman Lewis at the Annual Freedom Flame Awards. I had just finished redoing a number of exhibits in the museum and had done some extensive research about that Nashville movement connection.
Folks like John Lewis, Diane Nash and my beloved Rev. CT Vivian had studied under Rev. Lawson there and I found pictures of John Lewis’ very first arrest that he had never seen! I was so excited to put together a slide show for his awards presentation and worked hard on it.
Read 9 tweets
May 28, 2020
A few months ago my dude was looking for a tote bag to carry some things to the post office. I gave the biggest bag I had which happened to be bright pink and red. He saw the bag and immediately asked for another one. When I asked why he just insisted on a different color bag.
His insistence annoyed me and I started in on him fussing about it being sexist and homophobic, even to reject a bag based on thinking it’s too effeminate!
He let me fuss at him for a minute and then finally she said “Baby, please stop. That’s not it!”
He said “I’m a 6’3 Black man. If I’m walking down the street with a bright pink bag I could look like I stole it from a woman - which could attract police attention. I’m never trying to give these cops a reason to stop me. Ever.”
Never occurred to me.
Read 11 tweets
May 19, 2020
One of the most amazing things about working at the National Voting Rights Museum in Selma was meeting random, interesting people. Folks would often just wonder into the museum and have fascinating information or artifacts from the Movement. #MalcolmXDay
One of the greatest example was this man who came in and told us that he was in Selma reporting on the Movement when Malcolm X came to speak. For those who don’t know the story there was a bit of happenstance that led to that visit. Bro. Malcolm wasn’t originally scheduled.
He was in Alabama to speak at Tuskegee Univ and SNCC organizers heard he was there and pleaded with him to bring his message to Selma where the Voting Rights struggle had heated all the way up - that is both the organizing AND the police terrorism.
Read 12 tweets

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