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Honestly, I have not paid much attention to the story. This is what I'm seeing. There have been Black women throughout American history who have tried to look as non-Black as possible. There have been Black women bleaching their skin to look as light as possible, putting hair extensions in,etc. No one has batted an eye at this. In fact, a Black woman wearing her own natural hair is considered adventurous. With this story about Rachel Dolezal, it is taken as the equivalent of being mentally ill. Same goes for the woman who tanned herself to the point where she looked very dark. Think about the message being sent in society.
There are no advantages to being black in this country, so her reasons for doing this are an interesting psychological study.
Apparently, it's been advantageous to her in terms of selling her art, working in "civil rights" and getting interviewed, publishing, etc. Not sure if people'd be so impressed with a white girl from Montana working for the NAACP. She'd obviously seen & heard enough coming up through college that she decided being black was advantageous FOR HER.
It's not hard to understand someone completely submerging themselves in black culture once they have gotten familiar with it. The culture is full of extraordinary people of great compassion, depth, intelligence, genius, pizzazz, and character. Maybe she identified with this on a deep level. It's an interesting study, and I wish her well.
I agree and she could have been one of those extraordinary people. Now she'll just be the punchline of internet joke & fodder for late night TV for a few weeks. She'll have her 15-minutes of fame as the object of speculation and ridicule, then she will disappear into middle-class (white) obscurity.
Honestly, I have not paid much attention to the story. This is what I'm seeing. There have been Black women throughout American history who have tried to look as non-Black as possible. There have been Black women bleaching their skin to look as light as possible, putting hair extensions in,etc. No one has batted an eye at this. In fact, a Black woman wearing her own natural hair is considered adventurous. With this story about Rachel Dolezal, it is taken as the equivalent of being mentally ill. Same goes for the woman who tanned herself to the point where she looked very dark. Think about the message being sent in society.
Y'know, actually blacks passing for white has traditionally been portrayed in this society as a mental illness that always ultimately led to their dissolution. Check out, for instance, either the 1934 or 1959 version of "Imitation of Life."
Y'know, actually blacks passing for white has traditionally been portrayed in this society as a mental illness that always ultimately led to their dissolution. Check out, for instance, either the 1934 or 1959 version of "Imitation of Life."
I'm not talking specifically about "passing for White". I'm specifically talking about doing things like skin bleaching and replacing one's hair. Now, as far as passing for White, in that movie it was portrayed as a problem. However, in the larger media as a whole, how many stories were done and blow up in the media about Blacks passing for White?
All jokes aside, I actually feel bad for her. If she wants to be black, let her be black. I don't see the harm.
.......... The jokes have been great though. The people who have been missing out on the hilarious jokes by taking this story seriously don't know what they've been missing out on.
The jokes pretty much write themselves with this one.
There are absolutely no "tests" for race in the USA. They were all made illegal long ago. It it perfectly legal and OK for anyone to claim they belong to ANY race.
Actually I called you, but I'm not surprised you missed that.
Do you really expect any organization could or should keep anyone on staff who had lied so completely about her background?
It wasn't a matter of race--the NAACP has from its inception had whites in high positions--it was a matter of the deceit.
But it doesn't surprise me that you'd construe it as a matter of race.
Nor does it surprise anyone else in this thread.
This has nothing to do with her being white, and has everything to do with the flat out deceit, the monetary and professional gain she received by it, the unnecessary hell she's going to put her loved ones through and the potential legal ramifications as a result of potentially lying about hate crimes against her.
Any organization in this position would be foolish not to cut ties with that person.
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