upcoming grant deadline: 05/15/2024

upcoming grant deadline: 05/15/2024

The Pleasure Principle: Finding Pleasure in the Age of #MeToo

Wednesday, December 5, 2018 6:00 pm-8:00 pm
[ Temple Contemporary - 2001 N. 13th Street ]
Click [here] to RSVP

A conversation between #MeToo founder Tarana Burke and sex positive artist and activist Favianna Rodriguez, exploring the intersections of pleasure, consent, and accountability in the movement to access individual and community healing as a result of sexual violence.

About Tarana Burke

For more than 25 years, activist and advocate Tarana J. Burke has worked at the intersection of racial justice and sexual violence. 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.

A proud native of the Bronx, NY, Tarana's passion for community organizing began in the late 1980s; when as a young girl, she joined a youth development organization called  21st Century, and led campaigns around issues like racial discrimination, housing inequality and economic justice across the city. That work, coupled with a desire to deepen her education and organizing skills led her to attend Alabama State University, a historically black institution.  Her organizing and advocacy work continued throughout college and remains a pillar of her professional life.

Her career took an intentional turn toward supporting survivors of sexual violence upon moving to Selma, Alabama to work for 21st Century. She encountered dozens of black girls who were sharing stories of sexual violence and abuse, stories she identified with very well.  Tarana realized too many girls were suffering through abuse without access to resources, safe spaces and support, so in 2007 she created Justbe Inc., an organization committed to the empowerment and wellness of black girls. The impacts of Justbe Inc. are widespread, as the program, which was adopted by every public school in Selma, has hundreds of alumni who have gone on to thrive and succeed in various ways. Tarana’s role as the senior director at Girls for Gender Equity in Brooklyn, NY, an inter-generational non-profit dedicated to strengthening local communities by creating opportunities for young women and girls to live self-determined lives, is a continuation of what she considers her lifes’ work.

Since #metoo, the hashtag she created more than ten years ago, went viral last fall Tarana has emerged as a global leader in the evolving conversation around sexual violence and the need for survivor-centered solutions. Her theory of using empathy to empower survivors is changing the way the nation and the world think about and engage with survivors, and her belief that healing isn’t a destination but a journey has touched and inspired millions of survivors who previously lived with the pain, shame and trauma of their assaults in isolation.

About Favianna Rodriguez

Favianna Rodriguez is an interdisciplinary artist cultural strategist and activist. Her work and collaborative initiatives address gender equality, racial justice, immigrant rights and climate change. Favianna works with cultural movements around the United States bringing together the powerful intersection of art, entertainment, social justice and cultural equity. Most recently, she has been collaborating with women in the entertainment industry to design timely initiatives addressing equity and inclusion, including 5050by2020.com. She is the Executive Director of CultureStrike, a national arts organization that engages artists, actors, writers and producers in immigrant rights. In 2012, she was featured in a documentary series by Pharrell Williams titled Migration is Beautiful, which addressed how artists responded to failed immigrant policy in the United States. In 2016, she received the Robert Rauschenberg Artist as Activist Fellowship for her work around mass incarceration. In 2017, she was awarded an Atlantic Fellowship for Racial Equity for her work around racial justice and climate change. Favianna lives and works in two California culture capitals∫ the Bay Area and Los Angeles.

In addition to being an innovative leader in the cultural sector, Rodriguez also has helped build The Lab, a co-working space in the heart of Downtown Oakland that is focused on racial justice, culture change and climate justice. She brings expertise in designing co-working spaces that foster collaboration, innovation, and friendship.

About Sonalee Rashatwar (moderator)

Sonalee Rashatwar (she/they) is an award-winning clinical social worker, adjunct lecturer, and grassroots organizer. Based in Philadelphia, she is a fat queer nonbinary therapist, specialized in treating sexual trauma, body image issues, racial or immigrant identity issues, and South Asian family systems, while offering fat and body positive sexual healthcare. Popularly known as The Fat Sex Therapist on Instagram, their fame hit an all time high when they were featured on Breitbart in March 2018 for naming thinness as a white supremacist beauty ideal. Sonalee is a sought-after speaker who travels internationally to curate custom visual workshops that whisper to our changemaking spirit and nourish our vision for a more just future. Sonalee is not paid for her labor as a community organizer, where she has fundraised and facilitated a free 5-day political action summer camp for LGBT+ South Asian and Indo Caribbean youth called East Coast Solidarity Summer.

what makes a

Leeway Artist or Cultural Producer?

The following does not describe one kind of artist; rather, it paints a larger picture of the many aspects of different Leeway artists. [read more]

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