Sunday, June 14, 2015

Spokane NAACP Members Want Pres. to Resign; Rachel Dolezal Is White Woman,Said She's Black

The leader of the Spokane, Washington  NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) chapter, Rachel Dolezal, has canceled a meeting tomorrow where she was expected to speak about the furor sparked over her claiming to be a black woman when, in fact, she is white, the ABC News website reports today (June 14, 2015).

Her parents have said the 37-year-old activist has falsely portrayed herself as black for years. She has been president of the Spokane NAACP chapter for the past six months. Ruthanne Dolezal -- Rachel's birth mother -- said the family's ancestry is Czech, Swedish, and German, with a trace of Native American heritage.

Dolezal sent out an email today canceling the monthly membership meeting "due to the need to continue discussion with regional and national NAACP leaders." Some members are planning a demonstration tomorrow night calling for Dolezal to step down. Another member said Dolezal does not have the authority to arbitrarily cancel/postpone tomorrow's meeting.

Kitara Johnson -- a member of the Spokane NAACP chapter -- organized an online petition calling for Dolezal to take a leave of absence. "It's not about race, it's about integrity," Johnson said. "If you're a leader, you have to have integrity. She clearly lacks integrity. The other piece is credibility."

(ADDENDUM: Rachel Dolezal resigned today, June 15, 2015, as president of the Spokane NAACP chapter, according to the Yahoo News website.)


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