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Bloody Sunday
On March 7, 1965, activist John Lewis led over 600 marchers across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma en route to Montgomery who protested the killing of 26-year-old Jimmie Lee Jackson the month prior. Marchers were also protesting against discriminatory voting practices. Upon crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge at the very start of their journey, marchers were met with extreme state-mandated violence, later known as "Bloody Sunday". Joanne Bland ( Ms.Ann) and sister Lynda Lowery were in attendance -
Tarana Graduates from Auburn University
After 3 years at Alabama State, new policies enacted by new administrators forced Tarana and a couple of her friends to transfer to Auburn University in Montgomery, Alabama. Tarana graduated in 1996 and is offered a job in research development at the 21st Century Leaders Organization in Selma, Alabama. -
Tarana Moves to Selma, Alabama
After graduation, Tarana moves to Selma, Alabama to begin working full time with 21st Century Leaders. Her jobs included raising money, organizing the youth camps, and just about anything else that needed to be done! -
Tarana Organizes 1st Summer Camp
Tarana oversees her first 21st Century Leadership Camp at Gadsden State CC. Here Tarana meets Heaven, a girl who is having trouble fitting in with the others. Tarana takes Heaven under her and the two form a quick bond. After a girl's small group, Heaven decides to open up to Tarana about the sexual abuse she has endured by her step-father. Instead of offering comfort and support Tarana experiences PTSD and shuts down, thus running away from the conversation and running away from Heaven. -
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Tarana works for 21st C and the National Voting Rights Museum In Selma
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Tarana Learns She Is Pregnant
On this day, 23-year-old Tarana goes to a city council meeting to protest a vote which would take voting power away from the incoming city council. The incoming council was all black, and without this power, they could not appoint new city officials. When the vote to rescind this power was pushed through, Tarana spoke up against it and was arrested. When Tarana arrived home from jail, she ate so much food her boyfriend joked she must be pregnant. She took a test to be sure, and it was positive. -
Kaia Is Born
Two weeks before Kaia is born, Tarana kicks Sean, her abusive partner, out of her house and decides to raise Kaia on her own. -
Tarana Founds The Jendayi Aza Organization
In 2003 Tarana turned her focus to black and brown women and fems by co-founding Jendayi Aza, an African-centered Rites of Passage program. Jendayi Aza eventually evolved into "Just Be, Inc." and "JEWELS" sessions. These programs were "designed to map out their lives in ways they could use over and over again as they moved forward in life. It was about independence and sisterhood and worth" ( Burke 207) -
Hurricane Ivan hits Alabama
Hurricane Ivan was a Category 5 storm, the strongest storm that had hit Alabama since the 1970s. Gulf Shores, Alabama was the greatest affected but over 500,000 Alabama residents were displaced by the storm. Kaia who was staying with the Sanders family at the time of the storm was dropped off at a friend's house while the Sanders fled the city -
James Bevel is Accused of Incest and Sexual Abuse
In 2005, James Bevel was accused of incest by one of his daughters and abuse by three others. He was tried in April 2008. Bevel was convicted of unlawful fornication; he was sentenced to 15 years in prison and fined $50,000. -
Hurricane Katrina Hits The Gulf Coast
Hurricane Katrina was a Category 5 storm that devastated parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. Hundreds of thousands were
displaced, a disproportionate amount from black and brown communities. New Orleans, lower 9th ward was completely destroyed. -
Tarana creates "me too" Movement on MySpace
In 2006, the “me too.” movement was founded. The purpose of the hashtag and movement was to provide resources, support, and pathways to heal black and brown women and fems. It began as a way to show solidarity and express support for other survivors. -
Tarana and Kaia Move to Philadelphia
After over a decade of working with 21C and The National Voting Rights Museum in Selma, Tarana decided to move to Philadelphia to grow the JEWELS workshops and further the me too movement -
Alyssa Milano Tweets " Me Too"
Following the exposure of numerous sexual-abuse allegations against Harvey Weinstein in October 2017, actress Alyssa Milano posted on Twitter, "If all the women who have been sexually harassed or assaulted wrote 'Me too' as a status." Widespread media coverage and discussion of sexual harassment, particularly in Hollywood, led to high-profile terminations as well as criticism and backlash of known abusers. -
R. Kelly Is Found Guilty of All Counts and Faces Life in Prison
https://youtu.be/b3BhqvC1m7c The conviction of R. Kelly on all nine counts against him came as a significant moment in the Me Too movement for both black women and for the music industry. Tarana speaks on the verdict https://youtu.be/o6Iamxc4UqQ?t=26 -
