Prominent Indiana Black Lives Matter Activist Admits Lying About Being Black
Here we go again. Another white person pretended to be a Black activist.
Satchuel Cole, a prominent member of Indy10 Black Lives Matter in Indiana, apologized on social media for masquerading as African American. Under the username Satch Paige, the activist — who uses they/them pronouns — acknowledged that their deceit caused harm.
“My deception and lies have hurt those I care most about. I have taken up space as a Black person while knowing I am white. I have used Blackness when it was not mine to use,” Cole wrote.
They continued: “I will do the work to take responsibility for my actions and try to reduce the harm that I have already caused. If there are ways to repair the harm, I will do the work that is required to do so.”
According to IndyStar, Cole’s birth name is Jennifer Lynn Benton but legally changed in 2010 to Satchuel Paigely Cole. Cole was the VP of social justice organization DON’T SLEEP.
Cole admitted to being white only after BlackIndyLive.com published an expose about Cole’s family and race. The editor-in-chief Laron Anderson said Cole had claimed to have a Black father.
Earlier this month, Jessica Krug, a white Black studies professor at George Washington University, admitted in a Medium post published on Sept. 3 that she had been lying about her racial identity for years by posing as a Black woman.
In 2015, Rachel Dolezal stepped down from her post at Spokane, Washington’s NAACP after admitting that she falsely claimed to be Black for years.
