Champion of black rights ‘is white’

Controversy is swirling around a prominent civil rights activist, with family members saying a local leader of America’s National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People has falsely portrayed herself as black for years.

Rachel Dolezal is president of the Spokane chapter of the NAACP; chair of the city’s Office of Police Ombudsman Commission; and an adjunct professor at Eastern Washington University.

The 37-year-old stormed out of an interview yesterday after she had been ‘outed’ by her family.

Responding to the allegations being made against her, Dolezal appeared uncomfortable during an interview with ABC KXLY.

In the interview, Dolezal is shown a picture of her father by reporter Jeff Humphrey, who asks whether the man is her father. After saying the image was indeed her dad, she asks, “Do you have a question about that?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Humphrey replies, “I was wondering whether your dad really is an African-American man?”

“That’s a very...I don’t know what you’re implying,” Dolezal replies.

“Are you African-American?”#

LMAO. She walked off so fast 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 RT @deray: #RachelDolezal. Receipts. http://t.co/sbcsKRrVml

— Johnetta Elzie (@Nettaaaaaaaa) June 12, 2015

She then storms out of the interview.

Her parents, Ruthanne and Lawrence, said their daughter is white, stating that they wanted people to know that Rachel is Caucasian, and specifically Czech, Swedish, and German. There is also a trace of Native American heritage in the family.

Dolezal has identified herself as white, black and Native American in application forms.

In her role as president of the NAACP, Dolezal has made complaints to police of harassment. Police say they have found little evidence of racial harassment

Dolezal is also a professor of Africana Studies at Eastern Washington University, where she specialises in Black Studies and African American culture. She has regularly spoken out on local media about racial justice.

But her parents decided enough was enough this week.

They revealed their daughter had black adopted siblings, and attended school in Mississippi where her social circle had been primarily African-American, later marrying and subsequently divorcing an African American man.

Her parents claim that when she divorced in 2004 she took on something of a new persona.

“Rachel has wanted to be somebody she’s not. She’s chosen not to just be herself but to represent herself as an African-American woman or a biracial person. And that’s simply not true,” Mrs Dolezal said.

It's not just her appropriation. It's that she claimed an oppression that wasn't hers. #RachelDolezal pic.twitter.com/we4yn3aAlk

— Charlotte Clymer 🇺🇦 (@cmclymer) June 12, 2015

The Dolezals released pictures of their daughter as a blonde child, and a birth certificate.

Dolezal has since said she does not consider the couple to be her real parents.

Pressed in another interview, Dolezal said her background was a complex, “multi-layered issue”.

“The question is not as easy as it seems. There’s a lot of complexities … and I don’t know that everyone would understand that. We’re all from the African continent.”

City hall officials are conducting their own investigation. A series of online videos has since been widely shared on social media, including one in which Dolezal gives a lecture on the cultural significance of black women’s hair.

Others openly ridiculed Ms Dolezal, with Twitter user Desus Nice writing: “Next black people’s meeting expect long lines. Everybody gotta reapply #RachelDolezal.”

Another Twitter user, Danielle Henderson, wrote: “Her own mame outed her. HER OWN MAMA! That is the blackest thing that ever happened to her. #RachelDolezal.”