In Honor of All Survivors: Tarana Burke

23 snips

Feb 17, 2026

A candid conversation about the hidden rules that shift blame onto children and force survivors into secrecy. They explore how community can both protect and silence, and how performing “goodness” becomes a survival tactic. The talk highlights practices of truth-telling, joy as resistance, and reclaiming safety and pleasure after trauma.

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ANECDOTE

Secret Burden Of Childhood Assault

Tarana Burke describes being sexually assaulted as a child and internalizing blame through a litany of rules.
She learned to perform 'goodness' to hide the secret and avoid being 'found out.'

INSIGHT

Rules Without Rescue Create Self-Blame

Tarana explains adults give children rule-heavy messages but fail to say that rule-breaking by an adult is never the child's fault.
This omission trains children to blame themselves for violence done to them.

INSIGHT

Community Protection Can Silence Survivors

Tarana highlights a double bind: community protection can simultaneously silence survivors.
Structural factors like immigration status or policing compound shame and prevent disclosure.

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At this moment, as the Epstein horrors are being revealed and many survivors are carrying fresh grief and reopened wounds, we wanted to return to one of the most grounding conversations we’ve ever shared.

This is Part 1 of our honest and deeply hopeful conversation with activist, advocate, and founder of the me too movement, Tarana Burke. For nearly three decades, Tarana has worked at the intersection of racial justice, gender equity, and anti-violence—interrupting systems that disproportionately harm marginalized people, particularly Black women and girls.

We talk about the impossible double bind survivors live inside of—how community can both protect and silence—why so many are taught to perform “goodness” to survive, and how joy, truth-telling, and collective care become radical acts. Tarana’s work has not only exposed hard truths about power and harm, but has also expanded access to resources, support, and pathways forward—inviting each of us to find our place in the movement.

For Part 2 of our conversation with Tarana Burke, go here.

And for Amanda’s two-part series on the Epstein Files, go here:

THE EPSTEIN FILES, EXPLAINED: Everything You Need to Know

EPSTEIN SURVIVORS’ ATTORNEY WHO EXPOSED GOVERNMENT CONSPIRACY: Brad Edwards

CW: We reference sexual abuse and trauma.

About Tarana:

Tarana J. Burke has been working at the intersection of racial justice, arts and culture, anti-violence and gender equity for nearly three decades. Fueled by a commitment to interrupt systemic issues disproportionately impacting marginalized people, like sexual violence, particularly for black women and girls, Tarana has created and led campaigns that have brought awareness to the harmful legacies surrounding communities of color. Specifically, her work to end sexual violence has not only exposed the ugly truths of sexism and spoke truth to power, it has also increased access to resources and support for survivors and paved a way forward for everyone to find their place in the movement.

Tarana’s Book: Unbound: My Story of Liberation and the Birth of the Me Too Movement

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