GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- The founder of the #MeToo Movement was in Grand Rapids Thursday night as the keynote speaker for the Inforum West Michigan Capstone dinner.
Tarana Burke has been a longtime social justice advocate but in the past year has been catapulted into the spotlight when the #MeToo Movement went viral.
During her speech, in a Q & A session on stage, and in an interview with FOX 17, she spoke about taking action against sexual assault and sexual harassment, not just by making people aware of it.
“Now we have to get into the action part of 'What do we do about it?'" she said. "That means that we have to change our policies, that means we have to campaign for candidates who support policies that make our communities less vulnerable to sexual violence. That means we have to question what’s happening in our schools and what’s happening in our jobs. ”
Burke also said the Larry Nassar scandal is the perfect example of survivors taking leadership.
“So many of those young women are so bold and so courageous for coming forward and saying, ‘I know that I’m not wrong, I know this wasn’t my fault, and I’m gonna stand up against it,’ so it’s been an example for so many other people.”
