#MeToo – Revelation, Reckoning, Revolution, Lament. A panel of survivors discuss their experience of the social media phenomena and whether the hashtag has become the modern-day equivalent of a lament.

Sat 1 PM | Bridge

Laura Parrott Perry, Matt Bays, Shannon Dingle, Brittany Pashcall

The #MeToo movement, originally created by Tarana Burke to support survivors in underserved communities, evolved into a phenomenon on social media. The simple hashtag became a courageous eruption of truth-telling, a powerful expression of anger and frustration, and a call for societal change. It was also an expression of grief. A panel of survivors discuss #MeToo; how it felt to participate in and bear witness to the public reclamation of stories of assault, abuse, and harassment, and how sharing their own stories publicly has shaped their ability to grieve, heal, and reclaim them.

Laura Parrott Perry

Laura Parrott Perry is the author of She Wrote it Down; How a Secret-keeper Became a Storyteller, a speaker, and co-founder and CEO of the non-profit Say It, Survivor – an organization devoted to helping survivors of child sexual abuse reclaim their stories as part of the path to healing. Her work has been featured on Trigger Points Anthology, No Make-up Required, Parenting with PTSD, Huffington Post and in Boston Magazine. Laura is a frequent public speaker on the topics of story, child sexual abuse, addiction, and shamelessness, and was a contributor at Wild Goose Festival 2016 and 2017. She is the single mother of two incredible human beings and the devoted servant to a glorious dog.
lauraparrottperry.com
sayitsurvivor.org

Sessions:
119 #MeToo Panel Discussion

Matt Bays

Matt Bays is a sought-after speaker and nationally published author of the book, FINDING GOD IN THE RUINS: (How God Redeems Pain), which New York Times bestselling author, Ann Voskamp, has described as “Rare, raw, gorgeous writing—profoundly moving.” With a passion to call people out of their hiding places, Matt joins the ranks of writers such as Ann Lamott and Donald Miller in offering readers an honest, raw, funny, and insightful compassion for sorting through the struggles and joys of life. He is also a life coach and freelance musician in the Indianapolis area and has 2 creative and amazing daughters.

mattbayswriter.com

Sessions:
119 #MeToo Panel Discussion

Shannon Dingle

Shannon Dingle is a freelance speaker and writer who talks about all the topics we’re taught to avoid in public settings, from politics and privilege to trauma and pain She’s written for The Washington Post and Teen Vogue, and is Managing Editor of SKEW, a monthly publication of Level Ground. Her passion is to educate faith and secular groups to be live-affirming, inclusive of disability and other marginalized identities, and trauma-informed. She draws from her life as a survivor with PTSD and her experiences as a disabled woman, with a professional background and master’s degree in disability education, now raising kids living with disability and trauma histories. Her work and story have been featured by the Today show online, The Atlantic, the Wall Street Journal, NPR, Slate, Sojourners, and The Daily Kos. She, her husband, and their six children live in Raleigh, NC where they’ve found a home in the faith community SouthEast Raleigh Table. You can find her @shannondingle or at shannondingle.com

Sessions:
119 #MeToo Panel Discussion

Brittany Paschall

Brittany T. Paschall is a radical liberator, ally, and friend. Brittany is committed to justice as Gospel work and to centering the needs of the marginalized. A proud native of Nashville, TN, and recent graduate of Grand Canyon University; Brittany is a 2017-2018 National ELLA Fellow with the Sadie Nash Leadership Project and the Next Steps Minister at New Garden Church. She is a core member and the Operations Director of the Students for Justice, Truth, and Reconciliation (SJTRGCU), a collective of GCU alumni, students, and friends for racial justice.

You will often discover her organizing (people + things), reading something good, or traveling as she prepares to pursue her MDiv in Fall 2018.

Visit her website at btpaschall.com.

Sessions:
119 #MeToo Panel Discussion

Session #119