Following the downfall of Harvey Weinstein, there has been a domino effect of seeing men, mainly in Hollywood and broadcast journalism, being held accountable in the wake of the #MeToo movement.

But as #MeToo founder Tarana Burke said at a Chicago town hall event on October 4, 2018:

#MeToo does not have space for black girls...It doesn't have space for black women, it doesn't have space for queer folk, it doesn't have space for disabled people, people of color, trans people, anybody else that's other. … #MeToo is about who is going to be taken down next — what other powerful, white, rich man is going to lose his privileges for a period of time.

I was fortunate to be able to attend that town hall, held at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. The event was coordinated by a non-profit group called A Long Walk Home, which seeks to help women of color dealing with trauma from domestic violence through the arts.

Back in January, I wrote that Oprah's Golden Globes speech regarding the #MeToo movement should not be taken for face value. As a wealthy woman, Oprah is a woman who is naive to the struggle common people face when it comes to sexual violence. She is not a woman in STEM or film school, a housekeeper, or a secretary who is being blackmailed by her boss to be quiet.

Essentially, Burke's remarks at the town hall reiterated the points made in regard to Oprah: the #MeToo movement needs to be reoriented to focus on the safety and well-being of women of color.

A Long Walk Home co-founder Scheherazade Tillet mentioned in the town hall event that when fighting for justice among black women, there is the notion that you have to be a black woman yourself to care. And Tillet makes a good point.

When have you heard of Jessica Hampton, a woman murdered in cold blood on a Red Line train in broad daylight, ever get the same media attention as Alyssa Milano? When has the police shooting of Rekia Boyd ever been as amplified as those demanding justice for men like Laquan McDonald? Can you name a time when CNN has done wall-to-wall coverage that black women, especially in Chicago, endure in their own neighborhoods?

The #MeToo movement can help contribute to eradicating issues that we would never think to be associated with sexual violence. Take Chicago's issue with violence in some of its blighted neighborhoods, where sexual violence is prevalent so much so that over fifty women have been reported missing as of June of this year. Moreover, the town hall also shows us the power of the arts in helping to alleviate trauma from all forms of violence. As a society, we are quick to demonize some parts of big cities but we never stop to think what role does prioritizing mental health play in ameliorating this crisis.

With the new role of #MeToo in a post-Blasey Ford era, it's time to start rethinking how we create a dialogue that can be more inclusive. Instead of finding excuses to not being involved in certain struggles, we should be finding reasons to contribute to these struggles. With the midterms and 2020 on the horizon, the time for listening is now.