Keith Girard
Rachel Dolezal, a high-profile civil rights activist in Spokane, Washington has been claiming for years that she is African-American, something her own parents dispute. (Photo: NBC)
Rachel Dolezal, a high-profile civil rights activist in Spokane, Washington who has been claiming for years that she is part African-American, has touched off a controversy after being accused of lying about her race. And get this: Her own parents busted her.
Dolezal is president of the Spokane chapter of the NAACP and teaches a course on African studies at a local university.
She came under question after she landed a posh job as chairwoman of the city’s Police Ombudsman Commission, according to NBC.
On her application for the job, she claimed African-American, Native-American and White ancestry. But a local television station looked into her background and discovered that she was white.
Her own parents provided the damning evidence. “She wants to recreate reality. She wants to just invent it herself,” her mother told a local television station.
Her parents, both of whom are white, say Rachel’s heritage is Czech, Swedish, German and some Native American. Photos of her as a child show her with pale skin and straight blonde hair.
Today, Dolezal’s hair is dark brown and tightly curled like African-American hair. She’s also adopted other aspects of African-American culture.
The charade has been going on for years, said her parents.
“She knows its false, but I think she’s told herself, as well as she told others, this erroneous identify enough by now that she may believe it now, more than she believes the truth,” her mom said.
The city is investigating her background, but she still holds her position with the NAACP, which so far has taken no action. The case has caused an uproar on social media.
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