14 DAY TRIAL // In what might be this week's most shocking, head scratches-inducing piece of news, a 37-year-old African-American civil rights activist in Washington, US, stands accused of lying about being black.
The NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) leader, Rachel Dolezal, was outed by her parents who, in an interview with the press, revealed that she was actually born white.
Apparently, it was sometime in 2006 or maybe 2007 that the woman started pretending to be black. When she was younger, however, she was a regular white girl with freckles and fair hair.
These days, 37-year-old Rachel Dolezal, who apart from being an NAACP leader also teaches Africana studies at Eastern Washington University, has much darker skin than she used to and curls.
The woman is Caucasian, her parents insist
Rachel Dolezal's birth certificate, made public by her parents, identifies her as the child of Ruthanne and Lawrence Dolezal, both white and of European descend. True, there might be some faint traces of Native American blood in the family, but definitely nothing from Africa.
“It's very sad that Rachel has not just been herself,” Ruthanne Dolezal told the press in an interview.
“Her effectiveness in the causes of the African-American community would have been so much more viable, and she would have been more effective if she had just been honest with everybody,” the woman went on to comment on this uncanny affair, as cited by DM.
Further, Ruthanne says that a young man Rachel has been claiming is her son is actually her adopted brother.
As for why their daughter thought it a good idea to lie about being black, Rachel Dolezal's parents say that they are clueless about why she did it. They haven't spoken to her in years and so can't explain or at least wrap their heads around the woman's peculiar behavior.
Rachel Dolezal is yet to deny the accusations
When approached by journalists and questioned about her race, 37-year-old Rachel Dolezal neither confirmed nor denied her parents' accusations. When shown a photo of Lawrence Dolezal, she confirmed that he was her father.
When bluntly asked whether she had lied about her race, however, the woman did not answer. “I don't understand the question” is what Rachel Dolezal reportedly told one of the journalists grilling her.
“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. We're all from the African continent,” the woman went on to say.
An investigation into this bizarre incident is now ongoing, and more information should soon become available, so keep an eye on this page for updates.
Meanwhile, check out the tweets below to see how folks reacted to Rachel Dolezal's being accused of pretending to be black by her own parents.
omg RT @Phil_Cosby_: Reporter: "Are you African-American?" #RachelDolezal: pic.twitter.com/XLtG7DQFF0
— Zeba Blay (@zblay) June 12, 2015
Black person: You have to give up your white privilege Rachel: Ok pic.twitter.com/aUcSW39kSi
— PostBadMelanin (@melaninmatters) June 12, 2015
Who let Iggy Azalea become a NAACP president?
— #FreeEricSheppard (@SankofaBrown) June 12, 2015
#RachelDolezal why would you voluntarily choose to be black? I love my people but this life ain't easy...
— Almighty Bread Winnr (@CEOphlo) June 12, 2015
#RachelDolezal does not 'self identify as black'. She constructed an identity and used fake stories of victimization for personal gain
— Ayanna Gillian Lloyd (@AyaRoots) June 12, 2015
