Quotes from Tarana Burke

We have to have something that reaches the masses. That's what I've always known Me Too could do.

We have to trust the voices of the community to be in leadership and know what we need for our communities.

'Me Too' became the way to succinctly and powerfully connect with other people and give people permission to start their journey to heal.

I have a lot of experience - not just with my 'Me Too' campaign but with survivors disclosing. I know that there is a wave of emotions that happens after that.

Men are not the enemy, and we have to be clear about that.

Men need to help reshape the conversation around consent.

What does justice look like for a survivor? It'll mean different things to different communities.

In many regards, Me Too is about survivors talking to survivors.

I want survivors to know that healing is possible.

I didn't start Me Too as a hashtag, and had I had the opportunity to, I probably wouldn't have done it that way. I think that what has happened subsequently has been beautiful to watch, but what concerns me is what all of these survivors are going to do now.

There are a series of emotions that most survivors go through after disclosing. It starts with feeling great, like the weight on your shoulders has been lifted, and then you're alone with your thoughts, like, 'Why did I do that?' And then, what about the person who gets backlash?

I think it is selfish for me to try to frame Me Too as something that I own. It is bigger than me and bigger than Alyssa Milano. Neither one of us should be centered in this work. This is about survivors.

People need hope and inspiration desperately. But hope and inspiration are only sustained by work.

Everybody has a lane. Everybody has something that they can contribute.

I'm all about cultivating joy in your life.

The work is more than just about the amplification of survivors and quantifying their numbers. The work is really about survivors talking to each other and saying, 'I see you. I support you. I get it.'

I've never had a person come to me and say, 'I want to take down this person.' They come and say, 'I need help. This thing is killing me. It's weighing me down. It's sitting in the pit of my stomach.'

Black women have been screaming about famous predators like R&B singer R. Kelly, who allegedly preys on black girls, for well over a decade to no avail.

For every R. Kelly or Bill Cosby or Harvey Weinstein, there's, you know, the owner of the grocery store, the coach, the teacher, the neighbor, who are doing the same things. But we don't pay attention until it's a big name. And we don't pay attention 'til it's a big celebrity.

Inherently, having privilege isn't bad, but it's how you use it, and you have to use it in service of other people.

There are so many different people doing amazing work across the country that I, in my capacity, definitely want to lift up, because they don't get lifted up that often.

I started doing organizing work as a teenager. I was part of an organization called the 21st Century Youth Leadership Movement at 14.

When the #MeToo movement started and went viral, it was everyday people all around the world. The fact that the stories continue to be about famous white women has everything to do with who the media places attention on.

I think that women of color use social media to make our voices heard with or without the amplification of white women. I also think that, many times, when white women want our support, they use an umbrella of 'women supporting women' and forget that they didn't lend the same kind of support.