Rachel Dolezal Resigns As NAACP Spokane President

The 37-year-old civil activist  has resigned as the NAACP Spokane’s chapter President amid controversy over her race.

Rachel was outed by her white biological parents last week after spending years pretending to be a black woman. Her parents decision to speak out was prompted by Rachel’s claims of being a victim of hate crimes. As journalists began digging deeper, they found out that Rachel was not only a white woman, but she lied about her past and her childhood.

After being exposed, Rachel was scheduled to make a statement last Friday, at Spokane NAACP’s monthly member’s meeting, but that was pushed back to Monday. Now that Monday’s here, the only statement Rachel’s making is one on her resignation.

Posting to the chapter’s Facebook account, Rachel advised NAACP members not to let her “challenging the social construct of race” cause them to lose sight of the bigger picture — The “Five Game Changers” affecting the black community. The embattled leader says she will continue her fight for human rights as her resignation isn’t quitting, but part of her progression.

Read her entire statement below.

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

Being black wasn’t a requirement to be NAACP president. So everything Rachel has done “for the advancement of colored people” could’ve still been done had she been honest. But, she still marched, protested and tried to help the black community in her own way (after benefiting from both sides), therefore nobody can take that away from her.