#MeToo Leaders To Get MIT Disobedience Award

CAMBRIDGE (AP) — Three women influential in the #MeToo movement are receiving an MIT award that recognizes disobedience for the good of society.

The MIT Media Lab Disobedience award carries a $250,000 cash prize funded by LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman.

This year's prize will be shared by Tarana Burke, BethAnn McLaughlin and Sherry Marts. Burke is an activist who coined the phrase "Me Too" more than a decade before it became a slogan for survivors of sexual violence. McLaughlin and Marts have worked to combat harassment in science fields.

Tarana Burke. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images for Essence)

Organizers say the award highlights effective, ethical disobedience across disciplines like scientific research, civil rights, freedom of speech and human rights.

Four finalists will each get $10,000.

Last year's award went to two people who exposed problems from lead-tainted water in Flint, Michigan.