NAACP leader pretended to be black

[Paul in Saudi]

Race has no meaning. Further, Americans are not what we are born, we are what we choose to be. I really see no problem with this.

Still, it does has potential for a reality TV show.

 

[Rashiminos]

This. I think a lot of the people calling her 'transracial' are doing so to mock Caitlyn Jenner but anyone who's serious is absolutely ridiculous.

I believe their mockery extends towards transgenderism as a whole.

This thread was born non-Red Diamond - no use in pretending to be something it is not.

Exactly.

 

[Formaldehyde]

This thread was born non-Red Diamond - no use in pretending to be something it is not.

Silly thread deserves silly responses, IMO.

Speaking of which, I had no idea that being German and black were mutually exclusive.

Regional NAACP president accused of not being black but german

What I find ironic is that this doesn't seem to bother the NAACP all that much, as well it shouldn't.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was founded in 1909-1910 in New York City by a group of white and black intellectuals. United in their opposition to the gradualism preached by Booker T. Washington, the NAACP leaders sought, first, to make whites aware of the need for racial equality. To do this, the organization launched a program of speechmaking, lobbying, and publicizing the issue. It also started a magazine, the Crisis, which was edited for years by the black leader W. E. B. Du Bois. At the same time, the NAACP attacked segregation and racial inequality through the courts. It won a Supreme Court decision in 1915 against the grandfather clause (used by many southern states to prevent blacks from voting) and another in 1927 against the all-white primary.

However, the same is not true for many conservatives: the ones who claim there is no more racism, and who need to be constantly reminded that the need for racial equality is just as true today as it was when the NAACP was founded.

Perhaps more whites should start pretending to be black, if nothing else just to further confuse the cops.

 

[warpus]

It shouldn't bother them that she's been deceiving people and lying about who she is? What she's done seems fairly offensive in my eyes, why wouldn't it be offensive in theirs? I mean, it doesn't matter if you're white or black, but.. a white person pretending to be black? and lying about it at every turn? Surely they have a problem with this.

 

[Formaldehyde]

Is that right?

NAACP supports its leader accused of falsifying race

SPOKANE, Wash. - In response to allegations that the president of the Spokane, Washington, NAACP, falsely portrayed herself as a black woman, the NAACP is speaking out in support of the woman.

"One's racial identity is not a qualifying criteria or disqualifying standard for NAACP leadership," the African-American civil rights group said in a statement released Friday.

How is this all that different than blacks pretending to be white to attempt to escape racial intolerance? Why shouldn't she be praised for making herself a target?

 

[warpus]

But.. She's been lying to everyone about her racial identity, for her own personal gain, not to escape any sort of racial intolerance. I find it odd that they're okay with being lead by such an extreme liar and charlatan. I'd imagine any organization to prefer to be lead by someone honest.

I'm going to assume that their acceptance of this is due to internal organizational politics rather than a policy of hiring habitual liars.

Imagine if a Jewish organization was lead by an atheist who pretended to be Jewish, but really wasn't. Or a large bank hiring a CEO who lied about his credentials and actually knows nothing about banking. Or a soccer team being lead by a manager who lied about his credentials and actually knows nothing about the sport, but managed to lie his way to the position.

Most organizations would be vehemently against such actions, so it surprises me that they aren't. Internal politics likely explains their stance, but I don't presume to understand their motivations.

 

[BvBPL]

Why shouldn't she be praised for making herself a target?

Because she is a liar.

 

[Formaldehyde]

I see no "personal gain" by identifying as being a member of a racially oppressed group in the US. She was apparently even a victim as a result.

Again, perhaps more of us should engage in this particular "lie".

 

[shadowplay]

How do we even know her biological parentage? Maybe her mother had an affair. It wouldn't be the first time this has happened.

Either way, race is not a qualifying factor for working for the NAACP.

I agree with the person earlier who suggested it's some kind of psychological disorder. I think she deserves compassion.

 

[Ajidica]

I see no "personal gain" by identifying as being a member of a racially oppressed group in the US. She was apparently even a victim as a result.

Again, perhaps more of us should engage in this particular "lie".

I have no issue if she is white, black, Klingon, Wookie, or Kzin.
The issue I -and presumably most of this forum had- is that she apparently lied about both her race and went to the effort of finding people to pretend to be her parents to maintain that lie.

 

[BvBPL]

I see no "personal gain" by identifying as being a member of a racially oppressed group in the US.

You should look closely; her whole career is based on it.

Not that personal gain should be a standard at all. She lied; that is contemptible in itself.

 

[warpus]

I see no "personal gain" by identifying as being a member of a racially oppressed group in the US. She was apparently even a victim as a result.

So she's not only a liar, but she's also crazy. That's even worse.

Nowhere have I seen her claim that she did this to highlight and/or understand the plight of African Americans. That I could have even understood.. to a degree. But nope, she just did it for.. some weird crazy reason? And that's supposed to make it "okay" ?

 

[NovaKart]

The problem I see with this is that she appears to been mentally unbalanced. This I find to be pretty serious:

This was prompted after Dolezal reported a hate crime—someone had purportedly mailed a threatening package to the local NAACP—that was challenged by postal workers who “told police the envelope was not timestamped or canceled.” The only way it could have been delivered there, notes BuzzFeed, is if it “had been placed there by a post office employee or someone who had the P.O. Box key

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_...e_naacp_official_was_part_of_the_african.html

The article linked to talks about passing for a different race and is more about passing from black to white. It's an interesting article.

Personally I don't really have such a problem with her pretending to be black but I think manufacturing hate crimes while part of the NAACP is a big problem if that's what she's doing.

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

I agree with the person earlier who suggested it's some kind of psychological disorder.

Yeah because who in their right mind would WANT to be Black anyway, right?

 

[JollyRoger]

I heard that she is going to team up with Senator Elizabeth 'Fauxcahontas' Warren and run for President.

Their campaign slogan will be "You are whoever you pretend to be"

Luckily for her she is a progressive liberal so she will not be held accountable. Imagine the outcry if she was a conservative Christian Republican.

Reading this post and the 3 threads on the subject in this forum helps me imagine it.

 

[shadowplay]

Yeah because who in their right mind would WANT to be Black anyway, right?

That's your own ridiculous knee-jerk insinuation, not mine.

 

[Hygro]

I see no "personal gain" by identifying as being a member of a racially oppressed group in the US. She was apparently even a victim as a result.

Again, perhaps more of us should engage in this particular "lie".

No personal gain? She became a respected leader of society.

 

[downtown]

It's one thing to tell people "yeah, I'm 1/whatever Indian" at a party or whatever, or click the wrong box on the Census. It's another thing to bring in multiple other people into a lie, throw your parents under the bus, build a professional identity around the lie, and make up a hate crime. Those are all pretty crummy things to do.

After reading what some of her students have said about her classes though, and looking at this entire episode, I feel like there's a real chance she might be mentally ill though...which would change how we should all react to this episode, imo.

 

[Leonel]

It seems to me that she was almost doing a modern Black Like Me where she got really into her role to explore the black experience in a way she possibly couldn't as a regular white woman. Plus it seems that if she was the president of the NAACP, she may have actually contributed to helping black people as opposed to other people who co-opt black identity for personal gain.

 

[BvBPL]

...but she did co-opt it for personal gain.