There has been an enormous amount of performative activism in response to the Summer 2020 protests and, for me, it is emotional abuse. Calling it out as I see it is a habit I will never break. One apology in particular was the first time I’ve experienced any acknowledgement of this emotionally damaging cycle. The discussion began on social media where I was blocked by someone who posted a black square, but disregarded my opinions on racism in real life. Performative activism doesn’t replace human connection and sometimes, a simple apology makes a greater impact.

Update: If you can publish a black square on Instagram, you can have your apology published. If you can publicly whitesplain about a 30ft KKK mural to me, you can have your apology published. If this blog post made you feel something, then it worked.

Have a Pleasant Day
-Rae Pleasant

Date: March 2021
From: Rae
To: X

You are deeply full of shit, but I'm not surprised.

—-

Date: March 2021
From: X
To: Rae

Hey, I'm not trying to further offend you in any way. I'm sorry for any hurtful comments I made that displayed my ignorance. I do wish you the best.