Rachel Dolezal, president of the NAACP chapter in Spokane
The parents of a civil rights activist in Spokane, Washington, say their daughter has misrepresented herself as black for years, spurring a growing discussion on social media about race and identity.
Rachel Dolezal, 37, the president of the NAACP chapter in Spokane and a part-time professor in the Africana Studies program at Eastern Washington University, has claimed on at last one application that she is black, as well as white and Native American.
Members of civil rights organizations in the Spokane area say Dolezal has claimed that she is part African-American. Claims that she received hate mail in late February and March generated much local media coverage and more than a little skepticism.
But Ruthanne and Larry Dolezal told a local television station Thursday that their daughter is Caucasian and had changed her appearance over time to look black. "She chose to represent herself as an African-American woman or a biracial person, and that's simply not true," Ruthanne Dolezal said.
Rachel Dolezal deflected questions Thursday about her race.
"I feel like I owe my executive committee a conversation" before publicly discussing the "multilayered" issue, she told The Spokesman-Review in Spokane.
"That question is not as easy as it seems," she said.
The Spokesman-Review has credited Dolezal with re-energizing the Spokane chapter of the NAACP since being elected in 2014.
The City of Spokane is investigating whether Dolezal lied when she identified herself as African-American on an application to serve in a volunteer position on the citizen police ombudsman commission, according to KXLY, a local ABC-TV station. Dolezal, who in several instances has claimed to be a victim of racial harassment, ended an interview with the TV station when pressed on her background.
Dolezal's father told BuzzFeed that she had cut off communication from her parents.
"She's our birth daughter and we're both of European descent," he said.
The Dolezals provided what they said was their daughter's birth certificate to The Washington Post.
The news spread beyond Washington state Thursday night and attracted a voluminous response on social media, with an outcry surfacing on Twitter in particular.
Dolezal, who appears to have deleted posts from her Facebook page, maintains an active presence online, including a website displaying her artwork. In February, she told a reporter with the Eastern Washington University newspaper that her pieces, many with civil rights themes, sold for thousands of dollars.
Rachel Dolezal, 37, the president of the NAACP chapter in Spokane and a part-time professor in the Africana Studies program at Eastern Washington University, has claimed on at last one application that she is black, as well as white and Native American.
Members of civil rights organizations in the Spokane area say Dolezal has claimed that she is part African-American. Claims that she received hate mail in late February and March generated much local media coverage and more than a little skepticism.
But Ruthanne and Larry Dolezal told a local television station Thursday that their daughter is Caucasian and had changed her appearance over time to look black. "She chose to represent herself as an African-American woman or a biracial person, and that's simply not true," Ruthanne Dolezal said.
Rachel Dolezal deflected questions Thursday about her race.
"I feel like I owe my executive committee a conversation" before publicly discussing the "multilayered" issue, she told The Spokesman-Review in Spokane.
"That question is not as easy as it seems," she said.
The Spokesman-Review has credited Dolezal with re-energizing the Spokane chapter of the NAACP since being elected in 2014.
The City of Spokane is investigating whether Dolezal lied when she identified herself as African-American on an application to serve in a volunteer position on the citizen police ombudsman commission, according to KXLY, a local ABC-TV station. Dolezal, who in several instances has claimed to be a victim of racial harassment, ended an interview with the TV station when pressed on her background.
Dolezal's father told BuzzFeed that she had cut off communication from her parents.
"She's our birth daughter and we're both of European descent," he said.
The Dolezals provided what they said was their daughter's birth certificate to The Washington Post.
The news spread beyond Washington state Thursday night and attracted a voluminous response on social media, with an outcry surfacing on Twitter in particular.
Dolezal, who appears to have deleted posts from her Facebook page, maintains an active presence online, including a website displaying her artwork. In February, she told a reporter with the Eastern Washington University newspaper that her pieces, many with civil rights themes, sold for thousands of dollars.
© 2015, The New York Times News Service
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