A PROMINENT CIVIL rights activist, who has been a leader of a rights group for African Americans has been disguising herself as a black woman for years, her family says.
Rachel Dolezal has been a leader of the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP) in Spokane, Washington for a number of years.
This, despite being of Czech, Swedish and German descent.
Dolezal, originally from Idaho, had become prominent in the media locally, campaigning on race issues and against hate crimes. She had claimed to be a victim of racial harassment, something police say there is little evidence of.
Her mother told the Coeur D’alene Press that Dolezal’s claims that she had been raised by a white stepfather were false and she had, in fact, just celebrated her 41st anniversary with Rachel’s father.
“Rachel is very good at using her artistic skills to transform herself,” Ruthanne Dolezal said.
“It is very disturbing that she has become so dishonest.”
Her parents say Dolezal married and later divorced a black man. They said after the divorce in 2004 Rachel began identifying as the daughter of bi-racial parents.
She had told fellow members that her father was coming to Spokane in January, sharing a picture on the NAACP Facebook page of her with a black man. His failure to show up, coupled with the discovery that she has identified herself as white, black and native American on different forms, raised suspicions.
Asked by a local TV crew if she was African American, she said she “didn’t understand the question” before walking off.
When contacted by the Spokane Spokesman-Review, Dolezal said the issue was “multilayered” and “We’re all from the African continent.”
She added that the controversy was sparked by an ugly litigation process with family members.
Reaction
Spokane’s City Hall says it is investigating the issue, but there is no indication that anything illegal was done.
The issue caught fire on Twitter last night, trending across the US. Some have accused Dolezal of cultural appropriation, but others have likened the case to that of Caitlyn Jenner.
Dolezal’s mother said that the family have long been aware of her racial claims, but only commented when contacted by the media.
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