NAACP Spokane President Rachel Dolezal Claims To Be Black, Parents Claim Dolezal Is White

Local NAACP leader Rachel Dolezal is in some hot water. The Spokane NAACP chapter is receiving some criticism after it was revealed that its president may have been pretending to be black for years. In an interview released by KREM News late Thursday (June 11), Dolezal was asked some tough questions about allegations that have surfaced. Her two white parents came forward, stating that their daughter had been deceiving people for years. That led to some important questions being asked of the NAACP chapter president.

Dolezal was asked by reporter Shawn Chitnis if she identified herself as an African-American. She gave a response that has already caused a lot of additional controversy online.

“I actually don’t like the term African-American. I prefer black. And I would say that if I was asked I would definitely say that yes I do consider myself to be black.”

When pressed further about what people might say and how she would respond if people said she was not black, Dolezal went into more detail.

“Whatever they say really I wish could say doesn’t affect me at all. Unfortunately people might listen to them. Or give them a platform that they don’t deserve. But I don’t have anything to say to them.”

When the news story broke in Spokane, it seemed hard to believe that a white woman could actually be posing as an African-American leader of the NAACP. It was reported by the Spokesman-Review that she is also a part-time professor in Africana Studies at Eastern Washington University. The paper states that she had been critical in re-energizing the Spokane chapter of the NAACP and serves as chairwoman of the Spokane Office of Police Ombudsman Commission. That’s where the controversy really takes a turn.

The Mayor of Spokane (David Condon) appointed Dolezal to the position based off her work with the NAACP and also what was on her application. The Spokesman-Review stated that, “Dolezal identified in her application… as having several ethnic origins, including white, black, and American Indian.” That is something her parents do not agree with. As reported previously on the Inquisitr, her parents stated that she is “disguising herself” and that she has been doing it for years. Ruthanne Dolezal (her mother) told the Spokesman-Review what she felt about her daughters actions.

“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.”

Mayor David Condon has already released a joint-statement about an investigation into what has taken place here. If Dolezal fabricated information she submitted to gain her seat on the Ombudsman Commission, she could be facing problems that include being fired. At the center of it all, Rachel Dolezal still continues to claim that she is black, even as many news affiliates in Spokane try to get to the bottom of this. Will the work that Dolezal has done for the NAACP be ridiculed due to the bad publicity it is receiving? Or will the Spokane NAACP and its causes actually receive more positive attention once the scandal has passed?

[Image Source: Wikimedia Commons User Mark Wagner]