Founder of the “Me Too” movement Tarana Burke addressed a group of reporters in a small reception room of Calvary Episcopal Church Feb. 6, stressing the importance media has in the movement’s progression.

“We live in a world where we can create our own media,” Burke said. “We live in a world where our collective voices can move the needle.”

Later in the evening, Burke went on to address a crowd of around 1,000 people at an event hosted by Public Source, a nonprofit media organization in Pittsburgh. Burke discussed the movement’s journey from a MySpace page in 2006 to present day and her hopes for the “Me Too” movement’s future.

Executive Director of Public Source Mila Sanina described the non-profit’s goal.

“Our mission is not only to inform and engage, but also to convene communities of shared interest, that’s part of our mission as a nonprofit media organization” Sanina said during a phone interview.

The “Me Too” movement has made substantial waves in the media. The faces of the movement, such as Burke, earned the title of Time Person of the Year in 2017.

Sanina says the goal of their event was to bring the movement closer to home.

“‘Me Too’ has become such a force and movement and has been driving conversation on the national level, and we felt that there are not enough opportunities to have that conversation on the local level,” Sanina said.

The evening’s events also included a panel discussion and Q&A session with Burke.

“We really hoped that this lecture and conversation would not only inform, but inspire people in the Pittsburgh region to talk about specific steps and actions to address the concerns that were raised by the ‘Me Too Movement,’” Sanina said. “It’s easy to tackle this topic if you’re a Hollywood celebrity that has financial independence and it’s not so easy when you’re living in the small town of Pittsburgh and dealing with those issues in your microworld.”

Attendees of the event were encouraged to tweet their thoughts to Public Source’s account along with #MeToo.

“The hope is to really inspire a conversation and also inspire change. All of us can inspire that change on a local level,” Sanina said.