34. UNBOUND with Tarana Burke—Part 1

Listen to this episode from We Can Do Hard Things on Spotify. Please join us in the first part of our joyful, energizing, and hopeful conversation with activist, advocate, and our personal hero,Tarana Burke. We talk about: 1. How the spoken and unspoken rules for girls led Tarana to constantly perform the role of “good girl” so that “her secret” would never be revealed.   2. The impossible double bind so many survivors live through: that the protection of our community is what saves us, but the need to protect our community is what silences us. 3. Why Maya Angelou’s work changed everything for Tarana—and how, in her early twenties, she began documenting everything joyful in her life.  4. How dancing with Rob was the one place Tarana could safely explore her sexuality with no demands on her body—and how meaningful that was for her.    CW: We reference sexual abuse and trauma. About Tarana:  For more than 25 years, activist and advocate Tarana J. Burke has worked at the intersection of sexual violence and racial justice. Fueled by commitments to interrupt sexual violence and other systemic inequalities disproportionately impacting marginalized people, particularly Black women and girls, Tarana has created and led various campaigns focused on increasing access to resources and support for impacted communities, including the ‘me too.’ movement, which to date has galvanized millions of survivors and allies around the world. Book: Unbound: My Story of Liberation and the Birth of the Me Too Movement Instagram: @taranajaneen Twitter: @TaranaBurke