HARI SREENIVASAN: But
first: In recent weeks,
millions of people have
taken to social media

to share their personal
stories of sexual assault and
harassment, using the hashtag

#MeToo.

The woman behind the original
MeToo campaign wants to make
sure marginalized voices aren't

lost in the current
conversation.

Tarana Burke created Just Be
Inc. more than a decade ago.

It's a nonprofit focused on
giving resources and support to
young women of color grappling

with sexual trauma
and harassment.

Tarana Burke, welcome.

TARANA BURKE, Founder of
MeToo Movement: Thank you.

HARI SREENIVASAN: First, why
did you start this 10 years ago?

What was behind it?

TARANA BURKE: Well, I'm a
survivor of sexual violence, and
I was working with young women

who were disclosing their
experience with sexual violence.

And my friend and I started
an organization called Just Be
Inc. to work with young girls,

and we realized we needed to
shift and start dealing with
the issue of sexual violence

in the community we were in.

HARI SREENIVASAN: Was
there a particular
case that spoke to you?

TARANA BURKE: Well,
there were several cases.

But, you know, some years
before we started this work,
there was a young woman who had

come to me with her story at a
time in my life when I really
wasn't equipped to handle

it.

And I felt a real debt to her
and wanting to do some work
that would cover the work

that I didn't do at that time.

HARI SREENIVASAN: And
that you didn't say me
too to her at that time.

TARANA BURKE: I didn't.

HARI SREENIVASAN: And so
this is an offshoot of that.

So, when you see this
conversation, when you
saw this conversation
go national, go viral

in this way, what came to mind?

TARANA BURKE: Well, at first,
I wondered how our work would
be uplifted in that moment,

right?

And I realized that I
needed to insert myself
in the conversation
for a few reasons, one,

to make sure that the
marginalized voices I
represent weren't erased,
but also to provide

people some context
for the use of MeToo.

We have a theory called
empowerment through
empathy, which is the
basis of how we do the

work.

And I felt like it was
necessary to ground the
conversation in a body of work.

HARI SREENIVASAN: You have said
before that sexual violence
doesn't see race or class,

but the response to it does.

Tell me what that means.

TARANA BURKE: That means
that when we see things like
Harvey Weinstein having dozens

and dozens of accusers, and
the only person he responds to
is Lupita Nyong'o and -- the

black women, that
means something.

It also means that, when you
have all of these powerful,
rich, wealthy men who are white

and attacking or are victimizing
white women, it gets all of
this attention, but you have

somebody like R. Kelly, who has
been a known sexual predator
for two decades, but his victims

are all black girls.

HARI SREENIVASAN: Why do you
think that disparity exists?

TARANA BURKE: Well, I think
it's rooted in the oppression
that we,that people of color

face in this country.

I also think it's rooted in
the way we're socialized to
think about black girls and

women of color, right?

We're socialized to not
believe black women.

We're socialized to believe
that we are fast and sexually
promiscuous and things of that

nature.

And so, when people look at
R. Kelly's victims, they don't
see girls, little children.

They see women.

HARI SREENIVASAN: So, what
comes next in this conversation?

How do you take it from
a hashtag to the real
work that has to be done?

TARANA BURKE: Well, that's one
of the reasons why I inserted
myself, right, because the

work was already being done,
and we want to expand on that.

I think what we have seen
over the last month is mass
disclosure across social media.

And as much as that is
empowering, it is also
problematic in some ways.

People don't have
a way to process.

People don't have a way to
think about what happens after
they disclose their experience

with sexual violence.

And so one of the things
we want to do is really
support survivors.

We want to find ways to
give resources to people
in communities that
don't have resources.

And we also want to activate
folks who are ready to do the
work of ending sexual violence.

HARI SREENIVASAN: But you have
also said that you want to
look at the structural kind of

inequities, deficiencies,
not just the edge cases.

Let's not just focus on
Harvey Weinstein, but the
forces at work behind it.

TARANA BURKE: Right.

I think that it's a mistake for
us to keep creating boogeymen.

Every day, literally, there's
a new better than person
that comes out, and everybody

has shock and awe: Oh, my God.

I can't believe
so-and-so did this.

And the reality is that those
people operate within systems
that allow them to flourish.

When we look at patriarchy,
when we look at capitalism,
these are systems in place that

allow men like Harvey Weinstein,
or Bill Cosby, and even R.
Kelly to exist, because people

are more invested in
those systems than they
are in human dignity.

HARI SREENIVASAN: But what is
necessary, especially by men?

TARANA BURKE: You know, men
keep asking that question.

(LAUGHTER)

TARANA BURKE: I think
men need to be proactive.

I think that they don't need to
wait for women to lead the way,
because this is really -- the

thing that troubles me is,
oftentimes, men say, well, I
want to be better because I have

a daughter, because
I have a wife.

And, really, it should be, I
want to be better because I'm
a human being and I recognize

that women are human beings,
and I should be honoring their
dignity and their humanity,

and not just because
I'm connected, have a
familial connection.

So, men need to be proactive.

They need to do research.

There are tons of
organizations who help
men understand patriarchy
and privilege, and they

need to start
dismantling those things.

HARI SREENIVASAN:
You know, speaking of
inserting yourself in the
conversation, there's a piece

of legislation on Capitol
Hill right now that has the
title -- MeToo in the title.

But this isn't something
that you're behind?

TARANA BURKE: No,
I'm not behind it.

And I don't -- I don't
know what to make of it.

So there was a MeTooCongress
hashtag that came about, and
I thought it was powerful

that people in Congress were
stepping forward and talking
about the sexual harassment that

they face in Congress.

But the way this bill is being
framed, I think people are
thinking that this is something

for survivors of sexual violence
across the board, when it's not.

Just using the name MeToo
feels like it's trading on the
popularity of the moment, which

is fine, because
everybody's doing that.

But I think they need to be
more clear that this is not a
bill that's going to support

survivors of sexual violence.

It's very specific to the
people who work on Capitol Hill.

HARI SREENIVASAN: Do you think
all of this attention is an
actual tipping point, or are

we going to get caught up in
the next movement, the trends?

TARANA BURKE: It's definitely a
viral moment, and I think that
we should acknowledge that,

and that's fine.

I think that people are really
caught up in what's going to
happen and, you know, is this

going to be a viral moment?

What is going to happen is
what we allow to happen.

And so the work already existed.

The work will continue.

And I feel like this
is a tipping point.

This is a place where
this is a cultural shift.

And I'm going to do the best I
can to take advantage of that
and continue this work far

beyond the hashtag.

HARI SREENIVASAN: All right,
Tarana Burke of Just Be Inc.,
the creator of the MeToo

movement, thank so much.

TARANA BURKE: Thank you.