Movements Move areare mmade from moments.”
CIPRIANI WALL STREET, NEW YORK, APRIL 13
mom Tarana Burke, founder founde of the Me Tootoo movement,mo at Variety’s Variety Power of Women New York luncheon lunche
Honorees and speakers at Variety’s fifth annual Power of Women New York luncheon hailed the array of activists who have spurred a seismic shift in attitudes about the scourge of sexual misconduct in the workplace. The roomful of prominent women in entertainment and media were called on to use their voices, their power, their pocketbooks and their passion to drive the social change they want to see in the world.
“I never believed we’d be having a sustained national dialogue about sexual violence in this country, but here we are,” said Tarana Burke, founder of the Me Too movement. “Even in these gloomy political times, I feel like anything is possible.”
Burke joined actress Emily Blunt, author Margaret Atwood, musician Alicia Keys and multi-hyphenate Tina Fey as this year’s honorees. Hosted by Samantha Bee and presented by Lifetime, the gathering included kudos presented to “Top Chef” host Padma Lakshmi and former “Today Show” anchor Tamron Hall for their charitable endeavors.
In a powerful introduction of Burke, Viola Davis offered chilling statistics about the rate of sexual violence against women of color.
“Tarana has made it her mission to be the voice of women who are deemed unworthy,” Davis said, citing the activist’s work with the Brooklyn-based nonprofit Girls for Gender Equity. Davis, a former Power of Women honoree, compared Burke to a real-life superhero. “If that’s not a golden lasso and a cape, I don’t know what is,” she said.
Burke and others urged women in the audience to consider running for office. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) said a turning point came in October when The New York Times published its exposé of sexual assault allegations against movie mogul Harvey Weinstein. That story “lit a match on a fire that is still burning,” she said. “When women decide to own their ambitions, it changes the world.”