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In
this March 2, 2015 file photo, Rachel Dolezal, president of the Spokane chapter
of the NAACP, poses for a photo in her Spokane, Wash. home. (Colin Mulvany/The
Spokesman-Review via AP)
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Rachel Dolezal resigned as president of
the NAACP's Spokane chapter Monday amid a furor over racial identity that
erupted when her parents came forward to say she has been posing as black for years
when she is actually white.
The
announcement, posted on the civil rights organization's Facebook page, said the
attention surrounding Dolezal has distracted from the group's goals.
"In
the eye of this current storm, I can see that a separation of family and
organizational outcomes is in the best interest of the NAACP," said
Dolezal, a longtime figure in Spokane's civil rights community who was elected
to the NAACP post six months ago. "Please know I will never stop fighting
for human rights."
AP report continues:
City
officials, meanwhile, are investigating whether she lied about her ethnicity
when she landed an appointment to Spokane's police oversight board. On her
application, she said her ethnic origins included white, black and American
Indian.
Dolezal,
a 37-year-old woman with a light brown complexion and dark curly hair,
graduated from historically black Howard University, teaches African studies at
a local university and was married to a black man. For years, she has publicly
complained of being the victim of racial hatred in the overwhelmingly white
region.
The
uproar over racial authenticity and professional honesty began last week after
Dolezal's parents told the news media that their daughter is white with a trace
of Native American heritage. They produced photos of her as girl with a pale
complexion and straight blond hair.
Her
mother, Ruthanne Dolezal of Troy, Montana, told reporters she has had no
contact with her daughter in several years. She said Rachel began to
"disguise herself" after her parents adopted four black children more
than a decade ago.
Rachel
Dolezal initially dismissed the controversy, saying it arose from a legal
dispute that has divided the family. And she sidestepped questions about her
race, saying, "That question is not as easy as it seems. There's a lot of
complexities."
Late
last week, the national NAACP stood by her, saying "one's racial identity
is not a qualifying criteria or disqualifying standard for NAACP
leadership."
But
Dolezal came under increasing pressure from local chapter members to resign.
Kitara
Johnson, an NAACP member in Spokane who has been calling on Dolezal to step
down, welcomed the resignation as "the best thing that can happen right
now."
Johnson
said that the most important thing is to focus on the work of the NAACP, and
that she hopes Dolezal remains a member of the organization.
"She
knows her stuff," Johnson said.
Cornell
William Brooks, national president of the NAACP, declined to comment on the
resignation.
Dolezal
has not returned numerous calls to her home and offices by The Associated
Press.
On
Friday, police said they were suspending investigations into racial harassment
complaints filed before the uproar by Dolezal, including one from earlier this
year in which she said she received hate mail at her NAACP office.
Police
released files showing that one package did not bear a date stamp or barcode,
meaning it was probably not handled through the post office.
In
resigning, Dolezal boasted that under her leadership the NAACP chapter acquired
an office, increased membership, improved finances and made other improvements.
She said the conversation had "unexpectedly shifted internationally to my
personal identity in the context of defining race and ethnicity."
Dolezal's
parents appeared on the "Today" show Monday and said they hoped to
reconcile with their daughter.
"We
hope that Rachel will get the help that she needs to deal with her identity
issues. Of course, we love her," her mother said.
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