Note: This op-ed does not reflect the opinion of The Source, its owner, or editors. This is the opinion of the contributing writer.
Rachel Dolezal has decided to resign from NAACP amid all the controversy surrounding whether or not she lied about being African American.
I find it really unsettling that out of all the good Rachel has done in her position as president of the NAACP, we are more focused on how she identifies herself, rather than the difference she has made in the African American community! Of course she shouldn’t have lied, or pretended to be someone she is not; however, with all that is going on in the African American community, that should not be the focus when there so many other pressing issues that need attending to.
Seeing a Caucasian women emulating a black woman is nothing new to me. Black is beautiful; it always has been, which is why a lot of Caucasian women go and get tans, lip fillers, and butt injections. Those are features that woman of color represent. So why is this a huge scandal?! We live in a world where the majority of women are not who they pretend or claim to be. Half of the women idolized in today’s society are not true to who they say they are; just look at your favorite Instagram hunnies that lie about going to the gym or using waist trainers, when they really went to the doctor to get that 23 inch waist. We can support these women, but condemn Rachel for doing the same thing, just in a different matter.
We need as many people committed to building up our communities and fighting for black lives to matter as we can get. If you ask me, this is one of the reasons we are so far behind as a race; because we focus on things like this, when we have single mothers who don’t make enough money to take care of their kids, and so many young African American men losing their lives to gun violence every single day.
If everyone that posted about Rachel and hashtagged about this scandal got together and united as one, we could begin to truly make a difference in this world.
Rachel, I say to you be who you are, and be honest about it! If you identify with African American race, then so be it. Thank you for all the work you have done, and it is my hope that you will continue to do so.
Please feel free to comment and let me know your thoughts; good, bad, or indifferent, I want to hear it.
Katja S
