Tarana Burke, the civil rights activist who coined use of the phrase "Me Too" in bringing awareness to the prevalence of sexual assault and harassment in modern society, is coming to Tampa for a free, public lecture at the University of South Florida.

Burke, who was among the "silence breakers" honored as Time's Person of the Year in 2017, will appear at the Marshall Student Center's Oval Theatre on Jan. 22 as part of the University Lecture Series during the university's MLK Commemorative Week.

Burke, who started the Me Too campaign years before the widespread use of social media and a decade before the #MeToo hashtag was publicized by actor Alyssa Milano, is also the founder of Just Be Inc., a nonprofit foundation dedicated to helping survivors of sexual harassment and assault.

The lecture, which begins at 8 p.m. Jan. 22, is free and open to the public. USF students can reserve a seat at usf.edu/ulsreg. All others are seated first-come, first-served.

Contact Christopher Spata at cspata@tampabay.com. Follow @SpataTimes on Twitter.