Having been mistaken three times for a midget, twice for a North Korean, and once for a Democrat, I can empathize with Rachel G. Dolezal. As a semi-comrade, I have several questions since she crawled into the office on all three and resigned this afternoon as president of the funny looking Spokane NAACP chapter:
- How did Bill Clinton miss you during his rape tour in the 1980s?
- Are all liberals insecure?
- Are you auditioning to be Hillary’s first black vice president or wife?
- According to vox.com, when you and your comical Hillary-style hairdo applied for a seat on the Spokane Police Oversight Commission, you reportedly listed your racial identity as “black, white, and American Indian/Alaskan Native, and two or more races.” You, too? We may be related.
- Are you still living? Or are we watching a YouTube version of your zany life?
- How can you call yourself black for almost 20 years without cracking a smile? You are good. And humorless.
- Did you meet your hairdresser at an A.A. meeting or after a fireworks display?
- Who deserves the Boob of the Year award – you for snookering the squirrels who welcomed you into the Spokane NAACP as a full-blooded sister or the squirrels?
- Your quite white parents say one of your two black “sons” is your adopted black brother. Were you the comedian in an unfunny family?
- Someone is knocking at your front door. He is wearing a white coat. He is schlepping a net in each hand.
- Thank you for not claiming to be Jewish. We already have the slightly odd editor of the Jewish Journal.
- Is it true you petitioned the chapter to modify its acronym to NAACRD, National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored Rachel Dolezal?
- Was your resignation statement below written with a white pen or a black one?
Dear Executive Committee and NAACP Members,
It is a true honor to serve in the racial and social justice movement here in Spokane and across the nation. Many issues face us now that drive at the theme of urgency. Police brutality, biased curriculum in schools, economic disenfranchisement, health inequities, and a lack of pro-justice political representation are among the concerns at the forefront of the current administration of the Spokane NAACP. And yet, the dialogue has unexpectedly shifted internationally to my personal identity in the context of defining race and ethnicity.
I have waited in deference while others expressed their feelings, beliefs, confusions and even conclusions – absent the full story. 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.
While challenging the construct of race is at the core of evolving human consciousness, we can NOT afford to lose sight of the five Game Changers (Criminal Justice & Public Safety, Health & Healthcare, Education, Economic Sustainability, and Voting Rights & Political Representation) that affect millions, often with a life or death outcome. The movement is larger than a moment in time or a single person’s story, and I hope that everyone offers their robust support of the Journey for Justice campaign that the NAACP launches today!
I am delighted that so many organizations and individuals have supported and collaborated with the Spokane NAACP under my leadership to grow this branch into one of the healthiest in the nation in 5 short months. 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.
It is with complete allegiance to the cause of racial and social justice and the NAACP that I step aside from the Presidency and pass the baton to my Vice President, Naima Quarles-Burnley. It is my hope that by securing a beautiful office for the organization in the heart of downtown, bringing the local branch into financial compliance, catalyzing committees to do strategic work in the five Game Changer issues, launching community forums, putting the membership on a fast climb, and helping many individuals find the legal, financial and practical support needed to fight race-based discrimination, I have positioned the Spokane NAACP to buttress this transition.
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. 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.
With much love and a commitment to always fight for what is right and good in this world,
Rachel Dolezal
