Rachel Dolezal. Picture: Facebook
Rachel Dolezal wore hairstyles associated with black people – braids, dreadlocks and tight curls – to convince people she was mixed race, which is considered black in the US. She was then able to hold position in the Spokane NAACP chapter in Washington state and lecture at the Eastern Washington University on matters of race.
But all these distinguished positions hang in the balance after Dolezal was revealed by her family to be a white woman, telling KREM News their daughter was of German and Swedish descent. According to CDA Press, Ruthanne and Dolezal presented a copy of their daughter’s birth certificate and photos as evidence.
Reports have come in saying Dolezal had disowned her white family.
It has also been revealed that Dolezal fabricated her past, claiming she had faced abuse and violence for being black.
She even made claims she once lived in South Africa, a claim her parents denied, saying she never came to visit in the four years they had spent in the country.
When questioned, Dolezal continued to assert she was black. “They can DNA test me if they want to,” she said. “I would caution you on all of this. This is ridiculous. I am the president of the NAACP. That is why I have been targeted.”
The NAACP said they were still investigation the allegations made against Dolezal. As expected, Twitter ate it all up. A humorous trending topic, #AskRachel, took off yesterday, with users tweeting “tests” to verify Dolezal’s racial identity.
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