The NAACP released a statement about Rachel Dolezal, the president of the Spokane, Washington branch whose parents say was lying about her race. Meanwhile, city officials say they plan to investigate.
As previously reported, Dolezal’s parents told local Washington state media that she is not African-American as she had been claiming for years. The question of her race came up in recent days when she was asked about a black man she claimed on Facebook was her father. However, both of her real parents are white.
When asked about her race by the Spokane Spokesman-Review, Dolezal refused to answer the question. “That question is not as easy as it seems. There’s a lot of complexities … and I don’t know that everyone would understand that,” she told the paper, adding, “We’re all from the African continent.”
While the Spokane NAACP has not said anything on their Facebook page or website, the national NAACP office has said that, “the NAACP Alaska-Oregon-Washington State Conference stands behind Ms. Dolezal’s advocacy record.”
“NAACP Spokane Washington Branch President Rachel Dolezal is enduring a legal issue with her family, and we respect her privacy in this matter,” the statement reads in part. “One’s racial identity is not a qualifying criteria or disqualifying standard for NAACP leadership.”
Mayor David Condon and City Council President Ben Stuckart told The Associated Press that they are investigating if she broke city policies by listing her race as white, black and American Indian when she applied for the Office of Police Ombudsman Commission.
“If this is true, I’ll be very disappointed,” Stuckart said.
Dolezal’s mother said that the family is mostly of European descent with some Native American roots. She started claiming she is African-American in 2006 or 2007 when the family adopted four African-American children.
screenshot from KXLY YouTube Video