By Madison Brown |Online/Design Editor
The 75th annual Golden Globes award ceremony included many actors and actresses sartorially showing their support of the #MeToo movement and Time’s Up organization by wearing black to protest sexual harassment and assault. The #MeToo movement was initiated in October by civil rights activist Tarana Burke and received a flood of attention as people began to speak out against sexual harassment and assault in the entertainment industry.The #MeToo movement served as direct inspiration for Time’s Up, an organization created to support men and women who are victims of sexual harassment and assault. Also, Time’s Up assists in protesting against inappropriate behavior by men in positions of power that is too often ignored because of the prestige that they hold.This year, in order to help the Time's Up movement gain more publicity, the founders of the organization asked those attending the Golden Globes to stand in solidarity with these men and women by wearing black. The response was staggering. Dozens of celebrities who attended the awards show wore black in support of those silence breakers, pushing the movement into the spotlight.Several actresses interviewed on the red carpet were asked why they chose to wear black. Star of the nominated show Master of None, Lena Waithe, explained that Time’s Up was formed as a platform to speak up and support victims of sexual harassment, but that it doesn’t stop there.“They not only want to stop sexual harassment but racism, homophobia, transphobia — all those things,” Waithe said.However, Time’s Up is not just a protest. With the backing of A-list celebrities like Natalie Portman and Reese Witherspoon, the organization has begun to raise money to help victims of sexual harassment and assault find and afford legal representation. The Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund has already surpassed its goal of $15 million.The Time's Up organization is a direct shift from focusing on individuals and their struggles with sexual harassment and assault, as it was with the #MeToo movement, to something that doesn't just focus on the individual, but on the problem and the victims as a whole. The shift turns the conversation around sexual harassment and assault into one that isn't just a sharing of stories, but a conversation that causes steps to be taken so that sexual harassment and assault can be eradicated.The name, "Time's Up," speaks volumes about what the organization hopes to achieve. It means that men and women facing sexual harassment and abuse can no longer be silent and wait for the abuse to end. With the support of Time's Up, the goal is to have victims speak up and take action against their harassers so that the abuse doesn't continue or begin to happen to others around them.The Time’s Up organization prides itself on being a movement that says it is time to break the silence, that it is time to stop waiting for the harassment to end, and that it is time to stop tolerating discrimination, harassment, and abuse. Like the name says—the time is up. Contact Madison Brown at madbrown@augusta.edu