I just clicked on the Time story about Rachel Dolezal. It was the first I'd heard of it and it was the top link on Google News with a pretty decisive title:
Everything You Need to Know About the ‘Transracial’ NAACP Activist
Look at all the buzz words in there! I immediately interpreted the title as saying, "Hey! If you're a person who is annoyed by all things "trans" in the news lately and you have a racist bent, here's a story you can take to the bank to keep all your equal rights friends distracted and apologetic because now you have all the facts! Ha! Look, she's a LIAR! AND she's a woman. Slam dunk."
After decoding the message hidden in the title, I just had to go see what all the excitement was about and judge for myself, like any self-respecting, self-loving human being would do.
I began to read the article and right off the bat, I could see the motivation for all of this hoopla. She was doing a really good job.
Dolezal, 37, has been a key player in the Washington state and Idaho civil rights communities, and currently serves as president of the Spokane, Wash. chapter of the NAACP, where she was credited with reinvigorating the organization. She also chairs the city’s Office of Police Ombudsman Commission, teaches part-time in the Africana Studies Program at Eastern Washington University, and previously served as the education director for the Human Rights Education Institute in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.
The next thing I see is that her parents are awful. And if they're awful now, they were probably worse when she was growing up. Any parent who would do this to their child and feel justified by their actions are missing a lot of love in their lives and have been for a very long time.
But as her parents spoke out about what they said was a years-long deception—telling The Spokeman-Review that Dolezal is white, but had been pretending to be black for years—other details about Dolezal’s past emerged, raising questions about everything from a scholarship she received to her current role on the Spokane commission.
Armed with this context, I then proceed to the "facts". This is where is actually starts to get laughable. I mean it is absolute overkill! They are literally attempting just about everything to eviscerate this woman. Surely other people can see that, not just me, right? Let me just touch on a few of them...
Most of the accusations, at least according to this article, came directly from her parents. Now why do you suppose they might hate their daughter? Maybe this has something to do with it:
Dolezal has previously identified her youngest adopted brother, 21-year-old Izaiah, as her “oldest son” on social media. She recently clarified to the Coeur d’Alene Press: “He used to be my brother, but I have full custody of him now.” Ruthanne Dolezal said that Rachel obtained custody of Izaiah by alleging abuse in her parents’ household—at which point her parents and two of her adopted brothers ceased contact with her.
The only way this would piss them off to that degree is if the allegations were true.
But people love a diabolical white woman pretending to be a black woman, so it's much easier to believe that she made it all up. And let's reinforce that by adding that two of the brothers also ceased contact with her. That's proof right there she made it up... I mean, who in their right mind would bother taking all the time and effort to officially adopt a child from abusive parents unless they were crazy?
Oh and she's a liar too, let's not forget that! She's not even black!
How DARE she make her life's work an attempt at bringing together people of different colours!
How DARE she spend all of her time and effort in life to bringing communities together and succeeding to "reinvigorate" an African American organization!
How DARE she accuse upstanding, law-abiding citizens (that happen to be her parents) of acts of abuse!
How DARE she get an education at top-notch educational institutions! AND she got scholarships!!! OMG, she's not just a liar, she's a thief too!!!
How DARE she report that she gets hate mail!
How DARE she even exist???
Now let's just take a moment. A nice, rational, thoughtful moment laced with a bit of compassion. Could it be reasonable that a white girl growing up with judgmental, abusive parents may not actually want to be identified as white? Perhaps she lied because she felt she had no choice as a white person whose empathy has always gone to those human beings being mistreated thanks to a racially charged society?
I'm willing to entertain that notion. I'm willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. I'm willing to do that because, based on her actions as viewed through my realistic life lens, it seems to me that her heart is in the right place. In fact, she said it best herself:
In response to those who are asking about her race in the wake of her parents’ statement, Dolezal has said the question is “not as easy as it seems,” and that “there’s a lot of complexities” to the “multi-layered issue.”
Perhaps her most decisive statement on her background is: “We’re all from the African continent.”
And ain't that the truth.
May she be blessed, this lady named Rachel Dolezal, and may we all be blessed with with the compassion necessary to bring all of us together, no matter the differences and in spite of the lies.
