On Tuesday, a text confrontation between photographer Shakira Rochelle and one of her clients went viral on Twitter.
In the screenshots, a bride-to-be that had hired Rochelle to photograph her wedding requested a release from their contract and refund for her deposit. The initial text message stated that, because of Rochelle’s support of Black Lives Matter, her and her fiancé “would be truly embarrassed” to have her attend their wedding. In addition, the client remarked that they felt Rochelle was not “stable enough” to do her job properly.
Rochelle responded that the $160 deposit was nonrefundable, per their contract. She then wished the bride “a lifetime of growth” before revealing her plans to donate the deposit towards the BLM movement. Her client responded by threatening legal action.
This interaction was sparked by a post Rochelle shared on social media: a picture that simply read “BLACK LIVES MATTER.” Rochelle did this to express solidarity with the Black community, following the acts of racial injustice that have been brought to light this past month.
Rochelle, who has been a professional photographer in Cincinnati, Ohio for five years, admitted that the messages made her feel shocked and upset. She decided to share the confrontation to remind people that, despite the wave of recent support for BLM, there are still people working against anti-racist activism.
Since the tweet went viral, Rochelle’s Facebook page has received over 100,000 likes, and thousands are praising her actions over social media. Some are even offering her their legal services for free, if she does in fact hear from her former client’s attorney. However, Rochelle doesn’t want her story to keep people from seeing the big picture.
“I lost a day of work,” Rochelle said. “It doesn’t even begin to compare to what… people of color go through every day just waking up.”
Rochelle donated the deposit to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and has continued to advocate for BLM on her social media.
Want to do your part in the fight against racism? Here are five ways you can support the Black community right now.
