WEBSTER GROVES, MO – Hundreds of people, including students turned out to hear Tarana Burke the activist who kicked off the #MeToo campaign.
Burke made a stop at Webster University Monday night.
Burke said that even though she has visited St. Louis before, she had never heard of the university until she was invited to speak.
She said that part of the reason she accepted the invitation was due to the fact that St. Louis continues to ranks high on the list when it comes to sex trafficking.
She began her lecture by saying that a shift is needed in our society.
Burke said that the reason behind her nationwide lecture is to empower young women of color who have been sexually abused, assaulted, or exploited, and to keep them from being marginalized.
She said that the movement’s purpose is to create community action plans for interrupting sexual violence wherever it lives in our communities.
“There are so many people who are survivors in various ways that are just hurting that just want a way to be better to live better,” she continued, “this is not a movement that is strictly for women this is a movement that’s for survivors whatever that looks like.”
Burke said that the campaign is about supporting survivors of sexual violence and filling in gaps in our communities where people need resources to start a healing journey, in addition to teaching people on how to become active in their communities to do this type of work.
“I took away a message of empowerment,” said Rachel Deschaine a student who attended the event.
“It was a message about how it doesn’t matter what race you are, what gender you are, it’s not a female issue ‘#MeToo’ is just really everyone coming together and trying to change the world.”
Burke also conducted ad Q &A with the audience.
She was featured as one of the women behind the movement on Time Magazine’s 2017 Person of the Year.