Rachel Dolezal, who was thrust into the national spotlight Friday when her parents told Washington state media that she lied about being African-American, has resigned from her leadership position in the NAACP Spokane chapter.

In a lengthy letter to executive committee and other NAACP members, Dolezal tried to hit back at the media, claiming that “the dialogue has unexpectedly shifted internationally to my personal identity in the context of defining race and ethnicity.” She also wrote that her entire story has not been revealed.

“I have waited in deference while others expressed their feelings, beliefs, confusions and even conclusions - absent the full story,” Dolezal wrote. “I am consistently committed to empowering marginalized voices and believe that many individuals have been heard in the last hours and days that would not otherwise have had a platform to weigh in on this important discussion. Additionally, I have always deferred to the state and national NAACP leadership and offer my sincere gratitude for their unwavering support of my leadership through this unexpected firestorm.”

After listing her achievements in Spokane, Dolezal wrote that she will be resigning from her position as President. Vice President Naima Quarles-Burnley will replace her. She then insisted that she will still fight for human rights and that this situation is somehow not about her.

“Please know I will never stop fighting for human rights and will do everything in my power to help and assist, whether it means stepping up or stepping down, because this is not about me. It's about justice,” Dolezal concluded. “This is not me quitting; this is a continuum. It's about moving the cause of human rights and the Black Liberation Movement along the continuum from Resistance to Chattel Slavery to Abolition to Defiance of Jim Crow to the building of Black Wall Street to the Civil Rights and Black Power Movement to the ‪#‎BlackLivesMatter‬ movement and into a future of self-determination and empowerment.”

Dolezal made no mention of her parents, who are the ones who outed her in the Spokane Spokesman-Review and Seattle Times. Her mother, Ruthanne, claimed that she began to “disguise herself” as black in 2006 or 2007, when the family adopted four African-American children.

"I think Rachel has tried to damage her biological family and those kind of claims, as false as they were, seem to serve her purposes in her mind," Ruthanne told the Today Show this morning.

The NAACP national office first stood by Dolezal in its initial comment on the situation. “NAACP Spokane Washington Branch President Rachel Dolezal is enduring a legal issue with her family, and we respect her privacy in this matter,” the NAACP’s statement read in part. “One’s racial identity is not a qualifying criteria or disqualifying standard for NAACP leadership.”

screenshot from KXLY YouTube Video