Left out of MeToo: New initiative focuses on Black survivors
Tarana Burke, founder and leader of the #MeToo movement, stands in her home in Baltimore on Oct. 13, 2020. A coalition of three groups vital to the #MeToo movement is collaborating on an initiative to focus on a population that has often felt left out of the conversation: Black survivors of sexual violence. (AP Photo/Steve Ruark, file)It’s been more than three years since the #MeToo movement launched a culture-shifting conversation about sexual violence. In a statement, the groups said they were working together to create safe spaces for Black survivors; to confront narratives "that harm and silence Black survivors;" and lastly to come up with new practices that will help get Black survivors “believed, heard, and supported.”Burke said the most important immediate impact will simply be that a national conversation is being had. AdAmong the initiative's concrete plans: narrative research; conversation guides; a five-part event series; and “rapid-response tools” to support Black survivors who come forward.