An activist from Harlem, New York is being credited with inventing the 鈥淢e Too鈥� movement, which has been recently popularized online with a hashtag that actor Alyssa Milano encouraged victims of sexual assault and harassment to use.
to use the hashtag #MeToo in a tweet she posted on Sunday afternoon.
The hashtag quickly took off and was tweeted by tens of thousands of users after Milano鈥檚 request.
The conversation about sexual assault and harassment towards women has been reignited after dozens of females came forward in the past few weeks to accuse former Hollywood studio executive Harvey Weinstein of it.
Milano鈥檚 former 鈥淐harmed鈥� co-star Rose McGowan was particularly vocal about the allegations against Weinstein and encouraged others to speak up about the problem on Twitter.
A representative for Weinstein has refuted all of the accusations against him. 鈥淎ny allegations of non-consensual sex are unequivocally denied by Mr. Weinstein," Sallie Hofmeister said on Thursday.
, Milano announced that she鈥檇 just been made aware of an earlier #MeToo movement invented by Tarana Burke a decade ago.
鈥淚 was just made aware of an earlier #MeToo movement, and the origin story is equal parts heartbreaking and inspiring,鈥� Milano tweeted.
I was just made aware of an earlier movement, and the origin story is equal parts heartbreaking and inspiring
鈥� Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano)
The 鈥渉eartbreaking and inspiring鈥� story the actor referred to was detailed by Burke, an organization she founded dedicated to helping young black women. Burke shares a moment when a young girl told her about how she was sexually assaulted during a youth camp and she was unable to comfort her in that time of need.
鈥淚 watched her put her mask back on and go back into the world like she was all alone and I couldn鈥檛 even bring myself to whisper鈥e too,鈥� Burke shared in the post.
The 44-year-old activist started the grassroots as a way to support victims of sexual assault in underprivileged communities and to let them know they鈥檙e not alone.
Even though she wasn鈥檛 given initial credit for the idea, Burke took to Twitter to share her support for the #MeToo hashtag in series of tweets sent out over the past few days.
鈥淚t made my heart swell to see women using this idea - one that we call 鈥榚mpowerment through empathy鈥� #metoo鈥� .
鈥淚t鈥檚 beyond a hashtag. It鈥檚 the start of a larger conversation and a movement for radical community healing. Join us,鈥� Burke wrote.
It鈥檚 beyond a hashtag. It鈥檚 the start of a larger conversation and a movement for radical community healing. Join us.
鈥� Tarana (@TaranaBurke)
