NAACP leader Rachel Dolezal is actually white, her family claims: ‘It’s a farce’

[DonLever]

http://news.nationalpost.com/news/world/ncaap-leader-rachel-dolezal-outed-as-white-by-her-family-its-a-farce

From the National Post:

NAACP leader Rachel Dolezal is actually white, her family claims: ‘It’s a farce’

SPOKANE, Wash. — Controversy is swirling around one of the Spokane region’s most prominent civil rights activists, with family members saying the local leader of the NAACP has falsely portrayed herself as black for years.

Rachel Dolezal is president of the Spokane chapter of the NAACP, chair of the city’s Office of Police Ombudsman Commission, and an adjunct professor at Eastern Washington University.

The Spokesman-Review reported Thursday that questions have arisen about her background and her numerous complaints to police of harassment, of which the authorities say they have found little evidence.

Dolezal’s mother, Ruthanne, says the family’s ancestry is Czech, Swedish and German, with a touch of Native American heritage. She told the Washington Post that the family adopted four other children, including two that are black, and that Rachel’s need to identify as another race might be related to this.

“The adoption of the children definitely fuelled her interest as a teenager in being involved with people of color,” Ruthanne Dolezal said to the newspaper. “We’ve always had friends of different ethnicities. It was a natural thing for her.”

Dolezal has identified herself in application materials as white, black and Native American, and recently responded to the allegations in an interview on a local news station.

“Are you African American?” KXLY4’s Jeff Humphrey asked.

“I don’t understand the question,” she responded.

The family is not close anymore, according to the Washington Post. They say she took custody of one of her adopted brothers (who is black) after claiming the family was abusive, and allegedly told people in Spokane he is her son.

“It’s a farce, really, is what it is,” her 21-year-old brother Zach told the newspaper, adding that he believed she claimed another couple in one of her Facebook photos are her parents

[TOMapleLaughs]

Huh? Why?

[TOMapleLaughs]

Well, I guess it shouldn't matter, should it?

[thejazz97]

I don't see why this is a problem.

[Mr. Ambien]

[aGENT]

[awalk]

I don't see why this is a problem.

I guess just the lying is an issue more than anything. Weird con to pull, did she not think it would end like this?

[Mr. Ambien]

I guess just the lying is an issue more than anything. Weird con to pull, did she not think it would end like this?

Sounds like she fits right in.

[6YPE]

Have to agree with awalk... I dont think anyone cares what her ethnicity is to hold the positions she does... I think the issue is her lying about it. Sounds like a nutbar, or the family are the dingbats.... one or the other.

[awalk]

Sounds like she fits right in.

Fits right in with what

*crossing my fingers you don't say black people*

[Down by the River]

Have to agree with awalk... I dont think anyone cares what her ethnicity is to hold the positions she does... I think the issue is her lying about it. Sounds like a nutbar, or the family are the dingbats.... one or the other.

Maybe she doesn't feel like she is lying about it. Ethnicity technically means your social/cultural background and not your race. If she grew up in a home with African American brothers/sisters, and she better identifies with their cultural than other cultures, then she is not lying to say she is 'African American'.

[awalk]

Start at the 8 minute mark, when the reporter asks her if she is African-American. I'm not really seeing this whole thing as a massive scandal, but it's pretty clear she knows she is lying.

[unknown33429]

I don't see why this is a problem.

Based on some twitter responses, people are annoyed that she can choose to be white or black when she wants, whereas a black person cannot choose to be white when they are about to be shot for being a unarmed black teenager.

Seriously though, I can see why a historically disadvantaged group might be annoyed that someone else acts like they are a part of that group for whatever strange reason she did it for.

[unknown33429]

Maybe she doesn't feel like she is lying about it. Ethnicity technically means your social/cultural background and not your race. If she grew up in a home with African American brothers/sisters, and she better identifies with their cultural than other cultures, then she is not lying to say she is 'African American'.

I guess but culturally she is still an american, unless her siblings are actually from Africa and not just black.

African-American in this context I think means having ancestors that are from Africa, and not being part of a cultural group because very few black people in America actually belong to a distinct cultural group compared to the rest of Americans. My 2 cents.

[thejazz97]

Based on some twitter responses, people are annoyed that she can choose to be white or black when she wants, whereas a black person cannot choose to be white when they are about to be shot for being a unarmed black teenager.

Seriously though, I can see why a historically disadvantaged group might be annoyed that someone else acts like they are a part of that group for whatever strange reason she did it for.

Hey, if Bruce Jenner can switch teams...

[thejazz97]

Maybe she doesn't feel like she is lying about it. Ethnicity technically means your social/cultural background and not your race. If she grew up in a home with African American brothers/sisters, and she better identifies with their cultural than other cultures, then she is not lying to say she is 'African American'.

[unknown33429]

Hey, if Bruce Jenner can switch teams...

If we can all switch races, can I be Norse? I always thought vikings were pretty cool! Plus, you get all the advantages of being white.

I change my mind. I want to be aboriginal. Free education, Maybe I can get me undergrad fees reimbursed.

[TOMapleLaughs]

Hey, white people have been trying to be black forever now.

And vise versa

[awalk]

It used to be a criminal offense for a black person to try to pass themselves off as a white person. You can definitely understand how the black community isn't too forgiving about this.

[Mr. Ambien]

Fits right in with what

*crossing my fingers you don't say black people*

The NAACP.