By George Kevin Jordan, AFRO Staff Writer

It got deep. It got personal. And hopefully, it was transformational. During the first week of National Sexual Assault Awareness Month, Tarana Burke, “me too” Founder was on hand at Howard University this week to discuss, sexaul assault, sexual violence and how everyone can be apart of the discussions and action plans for change as part of the ‘me too’ HBCU  tour.

The ‘me too’ movement was founded in 2006 to help survivors of sexual violence, particularly women of color and from low wealth communities, find pathways to healing.

Author and activist Darnell L. Moore, professor, producer and publisher Dr. Yaba Blay and ‘me too’ founder Tarana Burke engage in a fireside chat during ‘me too’ HBCU tour. (Photo by George Kevin Jordan)

Burke discussed how since the ‘me too’ movement went viral in October 2017, she had begun traveling the globe speaking on the issue. “Last year I spoke at over seventy schools around the world,” Burke said, “but was only invited to two HBCUs.” She offered many reasons for why it couldn’t happen on those campuses but was determined to make it happen. She had begun discussing with Dr. Yaba Blay, who shared the stage with her during the fireside chat at Cramton Auditorium, 2455 6th Street NW,  Tuesday night, about how to bring this important conversation and work to Black institutions.

“Last year I was booked every day single day of April,” Burke said,  “and I’m watching what these campuses are doing around sexual assault awareness month and I know that’s not happening on our campuses, but what I know is happening on our campuses is sexual violence is happening.”

“So we want to make sure we had a lively open transparent conversation about that.”

During the day of events, surveys were conducted to better understand the ways to end sexual violence and assault and also understand the complicated relationship between communities. During the chat, Burke discussed how many Black women felt that if they reported an act, that the alleged perpetrator would be celebrated and that the woman would be labeled for being the ones who brought forth charges on a Black man.

Burke addressed the misinformation about the “me too” movement head on, saying, “When I listened to students talk about the kinds of things they are fearful of and the kind of response they may get from reporting, it seems very much like what we see on social media.”

“Very much like these themes we see repeating. Like, ‘we’re taking down Black men. This is a movement to take down Black men.’  Those kind of ideas are really about taking the attention away from the actual issue.”

Burke was clear that the ‘me too’ movement was an open platform for women and men, the LGBTQIA+ community and everyone to work together to end sexual violence and assault.

Author and Activist Darnell L. Moore joined the fireside chat and added another perspective to the conversation.

“I believe in costly grace,” Moore said referring to engaging with people who commit sexual violence and assault.  “Costly grace is the type of thing you extend with the nod always towards accountability. Accountability can only come when the person that’s doing harm acknowledges and understands they harmed you. And commits to stopping it.”

According to data from the National Sexual Violence Resource Center:

  • One in five women and one in 71 men will be raped at some point in their lives
  • In the U.S., one in three women and one in six men experienced some form of contact sexual violence in their lifetime
  • 1 percent of female victims of rape reported being raped by an intimate partner and 40.8 percent by an acquaintance
  • 91 percent of victims of rape and sexual assault are female, and nine percent are male
  • In eight out of 10 cases of rape, the victim knew the perpetrator

On college campuses, the numbers are just as startling:

  • 20 percent – 25 percent of college women and 15 percent of college men are victims of forced sex during their time in college
  • A 2002 study revealed that 63.3 percent of men at one university self-reported acts qualifying as rape or attempted rape and admitted to committing repeat rapes
  • More than 90 percent of sexual assault victims on college campuses do not report the assault
  • 27 percent of college women have experienced some form of unwanted sexual contact
  • Nearly two-thirds of college students experience sexual harassment

The ‘me too” HBCU tour experience was coordinated through the Office of the Dean of the Chapel includes fireside chats and meetings with students and campus leaders, as well as vital takeaways and strategic plans to continue to transform schools into safe spaces for all. The event was also supported by the school’s Office of Interpersonal Violence Prevention (IVPP) and the the Title IX Office at Howard. Trough prevention and programming reagading seuxal harassment, sexual violence and sexual misconduct, the IVPP office trains everyone from staff, to students and faculty on consensual behavior, bystander intervention strategies and other kinds of interpersonal violence and advocacy support. The Title IX Office implements the schools Title IX policy which prohibits all forms of sex discrimination, including sexual harassment and sexual violence.

At the end of the evening, Burke was able to present the school with a $10,000 grant to activate initiatives to stop sexual violence and assault and further discussions on Howard’s campus.

A roster of discussions and activations were held throughout the day.

During the fireside chat, Blay broke down the ways different communities discuss different things saying, “Tarana went to Alabama State, I went to Delaware State,” making it clear the the panelist were not outsiders but people who lived through many of the same experiences.

“The yard is like home,” Blay said. “So you know that there’s a particular way we talk about these things at home and a particular way we talk about these things in public.”

“There’s an experience of being a student at a HBCU and being a faculty at an HBCU which is something else. So what I was becoming discouraged by was the fact that many of my Black women students didn’t feel safe on their own campuses and they didn’t feel that there would be any recourse.  There was no one really to talk to if something were to happen.”

The ‘me too’ HBCU tour has other planned stops in Spring of 2019 including Spelman College, Clark Atlanta University & Morehouse College (April 9), Alabama State University (April 12) North Carolina Central University (April 18) among others. For more information Please go to https://metooHBCU.eventbrite.com