I Have Questions About That White Lady Who Maybe Pretended to Be Black

The leader of the Spokane, Washington chapter of the NAACP is being accused of pretending to be a black woman. The mother of Rachel Dolezal has come forward to assert that her daughter is actually a white woman who has pretended to be black for the last nine or so years.

Rachel Dolezal’s mother spoke to the Spokesman-Review about the hot mess of a situation of her daughter masquerading as a black woman:

She said her daughter began to “disguise herself” in 2006 or 2007, after the family had adopted four African-American children and Rachel Dolezal had shown an interest in portrait art.

“It’s very sad that Rachel has not just been herself,” Ruthanne Dolezal said. “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.”

There is also the matter of an interview with Spokane’s KXLY4 where Dolezal is unable to respond to the relatively simple question of: “Are you African American?”

The Spokesman-Review story also includes these childhood photos of Rachel Dolezal provided by her family.

Image via the Spokesman-Review.

Hmm.

This story has the distinct honor of being both incredibly offensive, yet not at all offensive, as well as hilarious. One thing I must say: If this really was one giant ruse, girlfriend committed to that shit. Not only is she the President of her local chapter of the NAACP, but she’s also an Africana Studies professor. Rachel wasn’t playing around with y’all.

No doubt there is more to this story—because sweet God, there has to be—and Rachel Dolezal will likely cry her way through an off-the-charts awkward interview with Anderson Cooper sometime soon. However, for now, this story raises a whole hell of a lot more questions than it answers. Here are some of those questions.

• Girl, what?
• Is her husband part of this charade or is he also just learning that the woman he previously thought was just light-skinned is actually a whole other kind of light-skinned?
• How did she get her hair in those coils? Was it Miss Jessie’s? Kinky Curly perhaps?
• In a failed attempt to explain what in the high holy fucking hell she was doing, Dolezal said in response to a question about her race: “We’re all from the African continent.” True, Rachel, but then why doesn’t every human in America consider themselves African American?
• Girl, WHAT?
• Why doesn’t the Spokane chapter of the NAACP have a more thorough vetting process?
• Does the Spokane chapter of the NAACP have any vetting process at all?
• Are there so few black people in Spokane that all the members just looked the other way? BE HONEST.
• Is the Spokane chapter of the NAACP real?
• Can we get a few statements from some of the students that she taught at Eastern Washington University? I’m willing to bet that a few of them have some pressing thoughts to get off their chest.

James Wilburn, who served as president of the Spokane NAACP before Dolezal, said that some members of the group did have doubts about her background: “It was discussed among close members to me, and we kept it like that.”

• JAMES WHAT IN THE HELL? If you thought that the president of your local NAACP was LYING about being black, why why why why why why why why why would you keep that under wraps?

Tony Stewart, a civil-rights activist in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho who used to work with Dolezal, had this to say:

“Certainly when things like this happen it’s sad, but what I really deeply believe, and I think history has borne this out, human rights and civil rights is far, far stronger than any one personality or even one organization,” Stewart said.

• What kind of convoluted-ass statement is that, Tony? What are the words you’re trying to mean?
• Does the NAACP need to clarify its name? “Colored people” isn’t a term we use anymore and maybe some are taking it too literally and think you just have to have any pigment at all.
• RACHEL WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS, GIRL?
• Did Rachel Dolezal really learn how to do black hair?
• Can we also get some interviews with anyone who used Rachel Dolezal’s services?
• How pissed are all these people right now?

Image via the Spokane NAACP.

• At least this story didn’t break during Black History Month?
• Seriously, what?

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Top image via Inlander.