There has been a lot of speculation with regard to the Rachel Dolezal case. Some say that she lied about her race; lied about who her father was; and maybe even took her adoptive brother and claimed him as her own Black son. She may have also disowned her White parents, and she verbally identifies as African American. She has been pulling the wool over people’s eyes for years about her race, and now that they know the truth, they are mad.

When her parents revealed the truth about her ethnicity, they said that what she was doing was very “puzzling and sad”. Understandable. They went on to say the following:

Her passion for civil rights is influenced by her years in Mississippi, where she advocated for equal rights and participated in community development…She has over the past 20 years assimilated herself into the African American community through her various advocacy and social justice work, and so that may be part of the answer.

Based on the memes, jokes, and rants on Twitter and other social media sites, it seems as if the Black community more or less is not responding well to the NAACP Spokane Branch President lying about her ethnicity. One tweet goes as far as to say:

Just a friendly reminder that a black person passing as white was once a criminal offense. Enjoy ur day. #RachelDolezal

— Amanda Seales (@amandaseales) June 12, 2015

She lied and lied and lied…and continued to lie. Then when she got caught, she lied some more. That definitely isn’t okay, but does it really make Dolezal a bad person? Some people say “lying is lying;” that it’s wrong and because she did it she’s in the wrong. I am not necessarily sure if that is true. Lying is not okay, and it was clearly not the best way for her to accomplish what she was trying to do. But my thing is, didn’t just last week Bruce–I mean Caitlyn–Jenner come out and reintroduce herself as a woman? Yes, she received a lot of negative backlash, but at the same time there was so much support and positivity surrounding her. Revered as a hero to some who struggle with gender identification, others hold her up as a brave soul who has a lot of courage to reveal who she really felt she was inside. It seems to me that if Dolezal personally identifies as Black, she has every right to pursue that, same as Caitlyn Jenner.

Some Black people have been quick to respond, saying things like “they want to be us so bad,” upset with White America for ignoring Black culture, and instead reestablishing it as their own. Without getting too off subject, here’s an example of what that means exactly.

It’s been a little over a year since Marc Jacobs revealed models for his 2015 Spring line featuring “mini buns,” also known as Bantu Knots. Giving this hairstyle a new title, Jacobs completely discredited its African roots. 

I wonder how many Bantu Knots it took for #RachelDolezal to achieve this look… pic.twitter.com/XlkhMKqFK7

— banjila davis (@TiatheDiva) June 12, 2015

@TiatheDiva didnt you know thye called mini buns now inspired by marc jacobs

— Lovely Murrell (@NatRemedieCoach) June 12, 2015

But this is not that. She is not “stealing” Black identity, but instead is accepting and fully embracing this ethnicity because this is the race she identifies with the most. Although it was misleading, Dolezal appears to be transracial. Social media has been quick to address the topic and reactions varied.

Black Twitter bemoaned that switching race does not work like switching gender, noting that Black people can’t pretend to avoid discrimination.

My prob w/ #Transracial: Black folk cant decide to be white when the cops raid their pool party. But a white woman can be NAACP president.

— |L I Z Z O| (@lizzo) June 12, 2015

If #RachelDolezal can do it, so can I. I am now a white American. Give me: good credit, the ability to swim, and police NOT beating me.

— PrestonMitchum (@PrestonMitchum) June 12, 2015

Some in social media have accused Dolezal’s actions of being despicable and offensive, because Black rights can still be supported while being White. But aren’t there Black people who bleach their skin so they’re lighter? Michael Jackson? Those people don’t actively give back to the race they claim to identify with; those people are not civil rights activist. The lines of being transgender are not as black and white as the lines of being transracial, but that doesn’t mean that this identification does not exist.

After taking a look at her LinkedIn profile, her entire life’s work appears to be socially reconstructing and advocating for the Black community. She has a Master’s Degree from Howard University and has spent over 20 years as an instructor and expert on African American culture. She represents the black community publicly and vocally, including as a spokeswoman on race-influenced police violence.

Look at all of the hard work she has put in. She may not have gone about it in the best way, but that does not mean that Rachel Dolezal’s intentions or what she did was wrong.

Angel Idowu

Angel Idowu is a member of the Beloit College Class of 2016 and was a Law Street Media Fellow for the Summer of 2015. Contact Angel at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Rachel Dolezal is Transracial and it Doesn’t Negate Her Justice Work appeared first on Law Street.

The biological parents of civil rights activist Rachel Dolezal, president of the NAACP’s Spokane, Washington chapter, have revealed shocking news about their daughter’s true racial identity. Dolezal, 37, is the chair of the Office of Police Ombudsman Commission and professor of Africana Studies at Eastern Washington University, where she specializes in Black Studies and African American culture. She has regularly spoken out on local media about racial justice, but it turns out that there is information that she may have been keeping from everyone.

In a recorded interview with the local Spokane news channel KREM 2 News this week, Ruthanne and Larry Dolezal said their daughter’s biological heritage is not African American, but German and Czech, with traces of Native American ancestry.

“Our daughter is Caucasian” say parents of Spokane NAACP President Rachel Dolezal. pic.twitter.com/6VHxm9v4Wt

— Taylor Viydo (@KREMTaylor) June 11, 2015

Her parents said Rachel had black adopted siblings, a social circle consisting primarily of African Americans, and she was formerly married to a black man. After her divorce in 2004, Rachel began identifying herself differently. She started claiming to be partially African American and the daughter of biracial parents. According to her mother,

It’s very sad that Rachel has not just been herself. Her effectiveness in the causes of the African-American community would have been so much more viable, and she would have been more effective if she had just been honest with everybody.

The Dolezals state that they do not have a problem with their daughter being an advocate for civil rights; their problem is that she is being deceptive about who she really is. The same day the Dolezals were interviewed, Rachel told KREM 2 News that due to an on-going legal issue she does not speak to her parents. She brushed off the controversy surrounding her racial identity as part of a family dispute. Rachel would not directly answer the newspaper’s questions about her ethnicity and said she wanted to talk to local NAACP leadership first. “I feel like I owe my executive committee a conversation.”

In an interview with KXLY, she spoke about multiple alleged racist threats made against her, including nooses found near her home. Each case was closed by police because of insufficient evidence to prosecute and some even questioned if she did these things herself. When asked during the interview if she is African American, Dolezal said that she did not understand the question and walked away. Mayor David Condon and the council president Ben Stuckart said in a joint statement,

We are gathering facts to determine if any city policies related to volunteer boards and commissions have been violated. That information will be reviewed by the city council, which has oversight of city boards and commissions.

The former president of the Spokane NAACP, James Wilburn, told the CDA Press that although it is traditional to have a person of color in Rachel’s position, that has not always been the case. Wilburn believes that Dolezal’s race was not what had qualified her for the job.

Dolezal has been trending all over social media, with some people even seeing it as a comical matter.

This morning #RachelDolezal woke up, opened her eyes, took her durag off & wished ystrdy was just a bad bad dream.

— Amanda Seales (@amandaseales) June 12, 2015

People seem to believe that Rachel would have been more effective in white communities challenging white supremacy, rather than identifying herself as black. Most are upset that Rachel was claiming an oppression that she never truly endured.

The question that everyone wants answered is simply why? I truly hope that Rachel will be able to comfortably embrace who she is while still being an advocate for civil rights.

Taelor Bentley

Taelor is a member of the Hampton University Class of 2017 and was a Law Street Media Fellow for the Summer of 2015. Contact Taelor at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Community Reels After Local NAACP President’s Parents Reveal She Isn’t Black appeared first on Law Street.