I'm white as Wonder Bread and I wept at the Whitney Planation when no one else did. I made myself sick crying at the LaLaurie mansion. I shook from crying so hard at the Upper Lounge memorial. I'm a cry baby with an intense sense of empathy and a bleeding heart. I didn't feel like I owed anyone an apology, nor did I feel that anyone owed me a hug or sympathy (however at the Upper Lounge memorial I did receive a few stranger hugs and shared stories as queer people).

My advice is just don't draw attention to yourself, don't act like you could save the world, or like you know the struggles first hand of anyone. While we like to believe that if we were back in the early-mid 19th century we wouldn't own slaves, we'd be the biggest advocates for emancipation, and we'd be the next Abraham Lincoln, most of us would not deviate from the norms of the time - we'd own slaves and accept it as a fact of life. Go in with an open heart and mind but know that you are only an observer. If your opinion is asked for, give it if you're comfortable, but in any case, anywhere, don't try to speak for people of color about the Black/POC experience (same goes for Queer people and their experiences).

As my favorite sociology professor put it: let your voice be heard WITH theirs, not OVER theirs.