She Takes Her Revenge

‘She Takes Her Revenge’ or maybe, ‘Slapping Piece’ or both. Art can have multiple titles, right? Slapping Piece (She Takes Her Revenge), there we go, is a performance piece to be filmed and presented on video. It is a piece designed to display the violence that can be casually inflicted and endured by nonBlack partners in interracial relationships and the pursuit of such. It would involve myself, and a white man, Alex R. Falk, who I have had an intimate relationship with and am now friends with. We would sit across from each other, and Alex would read from a pre-written list of microaggressive statements I have had the luxury to endure throughout the majority of my life as it relates to pursuing relationships with nonBlack people. With each statement, I slap him. He will remain astute. Unflinching. He will continue on, and I will continue to enact my revenge and slap him. It's often I must endure this verbal abuse, although it has not been universally framed or regarded that way. The microaggressions are only ‘micro’ to those who do not have to experience them. They have hurt me and continue to do so, and as I stupidly continue to pursue relationships with nonBlack people, I continue to be subjected to this violence in some form. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, I have not been allocated the social space as a Black woman to get and remain angry, least I risk social suicide. But I am angry. And I want revenge. I have chosen this specific white man, Alex, because he is one of very few nonBlack people who I cannot immediately recall subjecting me to some sort of microaggressive behavior of speech. Because of this, throughout our relationship we have held and maintained a safe space for discussing and contemplating our race based anxiety especially as it concerns each other. He has only ever made me feel safe, and this is an anomaly. Which is why I want to do this performance with him. I can’t predict how I’ll feel in the moment, but I know I will feel safest and the most comfortable to explore and perform with him, enduring violence from him by my direction and inflicting it as a release.