A Washington state woman who has risen to become a prominent champion for civil rights as an NCAAP leader is white, but identified herself as a black woman for years.
Rachel Dolezal is chair of Spokane’s Office of Police Ombudsman Commission and president of the city’s chapter of the NAACP. Her mother, Ruthanne, revealed to the Coeur d’Alene Press that Dolezal is actually white, and has Czech, Swedish and German origins.
Her birth certificate also lists the woman’s race as “white,” her mother showed the news organization.
“It is very disturbing that she has become so dishonest,” Ruthanne said in a phone interview from Northwest Montana, where her daughter grew up.
Dolezal had identified herself as a black woman in an application for the Office of Police Ombudsman Commission, which was uncovered by a reporter from KXLY.
According to Spokane City spokesman Brian Coddington, if it is determined that a commissioner fabricated information on his or her application, the City Council has the authority to remove or appoint members to that committee.
Being a person of color is not a requirement to become president of the NCAAP, according to James Wilburn, the past president of the Spokane chapter.
