# Local NAACP Leader Fabricates Black Ethnicity **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 12, 2015, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/local-naacp-leader-fabricates-black-ethnicity/722357 "2015-06-12T13:35:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2015, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/local-naacp-leader-fabricates-black-ethnicity/722357/101 "2015-06-13T12:58:02Z")
> [@Richard\_Parker](#): > > So I assume you think science showing homosexuality is not a mental disorder is also suspect, by the exact same reasoning? And that you’re also suspicious of science showing that “hysteria” is not a female disease brought on by the fragile female psyche? I have never considered homosexuality a disorder, because homosexuals are more often than not happy and comfortable with who they are. The transgendered as often as not find out they aren’t any more comfortable being the other gender as they were being their real gender. For what it’s worth, Cecil did a column on this in 2012: > **[Does Gender Reassignment Surgery Lead to Happiness?](https://washingtoncitypaper.com/article/212544/does-gender-reassignment-surgery-lead-to-happiness/)** > > Credit: Slug Signorino In a recent Straight Dope Message Board thread about transsexuality, one commenter offered the following: “People who have gender identity disorders . . . are just dudes dressing up as chicks and/or dudes who have gotten a... As far as racial disphoria goes, since race cannot be firmly established, and there are no psychological traits that differentiate members of different races, then it’s entirely a subjective experience. If someone says they are black, they are black. If someone says they are white, they are white. This of course does not mean that other people have to acknowledge their self-image. Barack OBama, despite his identification as black, for example, is biracial, IMO, which is such a large group today that I think it is distinct. But that doesn’t mean he’s a liar, he just self-identifies as black and chose to join a black church and to represent a predominantly black legislative district. Likewise, this lady has chosen to live as a black woman and has fought for the rights of African-Americans. She is, for all intents and purposes, black. Since race is a social construct, and she successfully portrayed herself as black, then she’s black. Since race has no scientific basis, it makes no sense to worry about the skin color or national origin of her parents. There’s a lot of people with a drop or two running around claiming this or that ethnicity when there’s a benefit to be had(cough, Warren), but never shared any of the struggles of actually having to be considered non-white by others. THis lady has made herself look black to the extent that she is treated as a black woman, with all the good and bad that that entails. She is, therefore, a black woman. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2015, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/local-naacp-leader-fabricates-black-ethnicity/722357/102 "2015-06-13T13:03:54Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Even assuming you’re right(admittedly, I don’t keep up with the very latest in science, my knowledge might be out of date), it’s interesting how science followed only after the movement for transgender rights gained momentum. And that if the science was “wrong”, then scientists and doctors could lose their careers. First, what is your citation for saying that science only followed after the movement for transgender rights gained momentum? Second, what is your cite that ANY researcher who came up with the “wrong” science in this area lost their career? Can you name one or two who did? ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2015, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/local-naacp-leader-fabricates-black-ethnicity/722357/103 "2015-06-13T13:08:16Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > I have never considered homosexuality a disorder, because homosexuals are more often than not happy and comfortable with who they are. The transgendered as often as not find out they aren’t any more comfortable being the other gender as they were being their real gender. > > For what it’s worth, Cecil did a column on this in 2012: > > [http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/articles/43084/does-gender-reassignment-surgery-lead-to-happiness](http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/articles/43084/does-gender-reassignment-surgery-lead-to-happiness) For what it’s worth, Cecil was wrong. In fact, he and I have been discussing this and an update to the column is supposed to be forthcoming. [http://transascity.org/quality-of-life-in-treated-transsexuals/](http://transascity.org/quality-of-life-in-treated-transsexuals/) ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2015, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/local-naacp-leader-fabricates-black-ethnicity/722357/104 "2015-06-13T13:15:01Z")
The irony is that the NAACP doesn’t care, and said as much in its press release. The only people who seem to care are the media, her family, and the professionally offended. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2015, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/local-naacp-leader-fabricates-black-ethnicity/722357/105 "2015-06-13T13:38:23Z")
Yep. And personally, I question the motives of the media folks who thought this was a story worth reporting on, at least to the extent that they gave it top billing. Some people are just obsessed with race I guess. ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2015, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/local-naacp-leader-fabricates-black-ethnicity/722357/106 "2015-06-13T14:34:55Z")
> [@GrumpyBunny](#): > > The irony is that the NAACP doesn’t care, and said as much in its press release. The only people who seem to care are the media, her family, and the professionally offended. They don’t care about skin color…until they do. ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2015, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/local-naacp-leader-fabricates-black-ethnicity/722357/107 "2015-06-13T14:45:24Z")
I fall into the ‘let people be whatever they feel they are’ camp where it comes to gender, and am comfortable with their doing whatever they can to make their bodies mesh better with their beliefs. And I’m mostly indifferent to the racial classification matters. Since there’s no real objective ‘rules’ on who is what race, especially with the huge numbers of people who are from a mixture of backgrounds, what does it matter? You’re a hulking six foot tall redhead of Norwegian descent and what to say you’re Japanese? \ Okay, whatever. Feel free to dye your hair or wear makeup or whatever. And I guess I’d be okay with pretty much any plastic surgery that they might seek. At least, I’m assuming that a surgery to create a folded eyelid, for example, is possible. But there does seem to be a whole spectrum of … somethings, call them disorders, where people internally feel something that the outside observer wouldn’t agree with. Surely there is a line somewhere, where we stop agreeing that their emotions overrule reality? Take those people who earnestly believe that some part of their body ‘isn’t theirs’ and thus want it taken off. Should doctors cut off perfectly normal, functional arms or legs from these people? Or refer them to psychiatrists? And what about people who claim they are wholly or in part something other than human? Half elf, reincarnated dragon, part wolf or whatever? Can we agree that their beliefs are simply wrong? Delusional? What if Mister “I am destined to be a dragon” decides the way to complete the transition is to get burned alive? Should we stand aside and let him try? And if those are ‘disorders’ aren’t to be allowed… how are those beliefs different than those about sex or race except in how extreme/rare they are? ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2015, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/local-naacp-leader-fabricates-black-ethnicity/722357/108 "2015-06-13T15:41:21Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > The point is, it’s entirely subjective, so it is whatever a person says it is. But it’s not, unless your position is that every classified and studied mental disorder/syndrome out there is “entirely subjective”. Which would be bonkers. > [@](#): > > This lady might be mentally ill, but her choice of racial identity is not evidence of that by itself. I agree. And I think people in general absolutely have the right to decide that they’re part of this race or that race if it makes them happy or feel special. While living in perma-blackface is a bit more involved that claiming you’re 1/16th Cree, it’s not really harmful to anybody. A bit sad I guess, but, eh. However, her living in perma-blackface is not the \*only \*element we have to assess whether or not that person has a serious case of the cray-crays. > [@](#): > > And personally, I question the motives of the media folks who thought this was a story worth reporting on, at least to the extent that they gave it top billing. Some people are just obsessed with race I guess. I don’t think there’s any motive beyond “this is downright _weird_” clickbait. It’s a man bites dog story on so many levels. ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2015, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/local-naacp-leader-fabricates-black-ethnicity/722357/109 "2015-06-13T16:01:56Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > I don’t think there’s any motive beyond “this is downright _weird_” clickbait. It’s a man bites dog story on so many levels. I admit I haven’t followed this story closely–but isn’t there some indication that she reported hate crimes against her to the police, crimes which either did not happen at all or which she herself was responsible for? If true, that may still not move the needle past “clickbait,” but does put the deception into a very different place–and to my mind at least makes it much more newsworthy. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2015, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/local-naacp-leader-fabricates-black-ethnicity/722357/110 "2015-06-13T17:55:36Z")
That’s my understanding, yes. But I haven’t followed this story very closely either. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2015, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/local-naacp-leader-fabricates-black-ethnicity/722357/111 "2015-06-13T19:33:42Z")
Can we agree that, regardless of their other mental issues, this woman whose name I forgot and Ms Jenner are both attention whores? I liked Jenner much better during her Wilderness Decades, when she and her families vanished from my consciousness, and that other woman all of her life up to two days ago, when I first heard of her. Absence truly does makes the heart grow fonder sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![Lochdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/edb3f5/32.png) [@Lochdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lochdale)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2015, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/local-naacp-leader-fabricates-black-ethnicity/722357/112 "2015-06-13T20:53:45Z")
Personally I don’t care (though deception of this type would make me wary of giving her any fiduciary obligations) but what about the various claims she has made about being racially abused? They all seem to have been false but the fact that they were made at all is troubling. ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2015, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/local-naacp-leader-fabricates-black-ethnicity/722357/113 "2015-06-13T21:02:07Z")
One of her brothers gave an interview: > [@](#): > > “She just told me, ‘Over here, I’m going to be considered black, and I have a black father. Don’t blow my cover,’” Ezra Dolezal, 22, told BuzzFeed News in an interview. > Rachel also told him to tell people that he and her other adopted brother were her “blood brothers,” he said. > **[Rachel Dolezal's Brother Says She Warned: "Don't Blow My Cover"](https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/tasneemnashrulla/rachel-dolezals-brother-says-she-warned-dont-blow-my-cover)** > > Ezra Dolezal told BuzzFeed News that his adopted sister warned him to not tell anyone in Spokane that she wasn't really black as she started a new life for herself. ---
**Author:** ![Sarabellum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarabellum/32/3492_2.png) [@Sarabellum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarabellum)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2015, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/local-naacp-leader-fabricates-black-ethnicity/722357/114 "2015-06-13T22:00:22Z")
I’m reminded of a girl I went to high school with, that identified as African-American (she was born in apartheid South Africa, so this wasn’t technically a lie, but misleading as hell!) on college scholarship applications. She thought it might give her an edge. Just to be clear, she was lily-white, blonde and blue-eyed. Don’t think it actually got her any scholarships. But I remember the anger that it stirred up - even the school faculty were said to be horrified, and one teacher allegedly vowed to FedEx a picture of her to any scholarship foundation that awarded her a nickel. Black kids, white kids, teachers - EVERYONE hated it and wanted to expose her for a fraud. Honestly, I think Dolezal should lose her job - it’s built on a lie, and what with the accusations of abuse, fabricated racial hate incidents… that’s not something that sincerely wants to help race relations would ever do. And idle curiosity… that’s got to be a wig, right? Judging by earlier pictures, that’s got to fall into the realm of very implausible hairstyles for straight-haired people. It looks really natural though. ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2015, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/local-naacp-leader-fabricates-black-ethnicity/722357/115 "2015-06-13T23:45:41Z")
There are tutorials out there for temporarily setting straight hair into a more coily, puffy look. Her brother said she got it permed, though. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2015, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/local-naacp-leader-fabricates-black-ethnicity/722357/116 "2015-06-14T08:17:52Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Save yourself the outragery. This is already being beat up here. > [Charlamagne Tha God Compares Rachel Dolezal To Caitlyn Jenner: ‘You Can Be Transgender In America & Not Transracial?’](http://www.gossipcop.com/charlamagne-tha-god-rachel-dolezal-transracial-caitlyn-jenner-transgender-tweets-twitter-rant/) > > I think main difference is that there is relatively little evidence for racial disphoria as a condition. This an attention mongering scam by someone who has been making a LOT of stuff up, not a tortured soul living a lie. I don’t wish to add more fuel to what may not in fact be an honest debate, but historically, hasn’t it often been the case that what is now diagnosed as a condition, starts off being categorised as bad behaviour? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2015, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/local-naacp-leader-fabricates-black-ethnicity/722357/117 "2015-06-14T09:05:16Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I suspect a key factor was when her parents began adopting black children. “Began” would imply one after another. From the parents’ phrasing and the ages involved, it looks like the kids may have come as a pack. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2015, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/local-naacp-leader-fabricates-black-ethnicity/722357/118 "2015-06-14T09:14:50Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I don’t wish to add more fuel to what may not in fact be an honest debate, but historically, hasn’t it often been the case that what is now diagnosed as a condition, starts off being categorised as bad behaviour? And furthermore, the desire to avoid being “exposed” led to a lot of lies. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2015, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/local-naacp-leader-fabricates-black-ethnicity/722357/119 "2015-06-14T10:33:58Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > And furthermore, the desire to avoid being “exposed” led to a lot of lies. Are you arguing this because you think ethnicity disphoria could be a real thing, or because you think gender disphoria _isn’t_? ---
**Author:** ![Ramira](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ramira/32/344_2.png) [@Ramira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ramira)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2015, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/local-naacp-leader-fabricates-black-ethnicity/722357/120 "2015-06-14T10:34:32Z")
This is a strange story but it is interesting to see the real faces something > [@adaher](#): > > Even assuming you’re right(admittedly, I don’t keep up with the very latest in science, my knowledge might be out of date), it’s interesting how science followed only after the movement for transgender rights gained momentum. And that if the science was “wrong”, then scientists and doctors could lose their careers. It is quite interesting you automatically invent the idea automatically that the science around this must be biased and invent also out of thin air the idea of scientists being coerced - contra you simply admitting you know nothing of the subject. it says a great deal. About your thinking and bias, not about the science. > [@aceplace57](#): > > I shudder to think what chemicals were used on her hair. i suppose you shudder to think of any women’s hair salon where the perms are done… or the straightening. You think somehow to have curly hair is so specially difficult? > [@Omega\_Glory](#): > > There are tutorials out there for temporarily setting straight hair into a more coily, puffy look. Her brother said she got it permed, though. This would seem the normal way, it is not as if either the straightening or the curling of the hair in salons is some kind of unusual operation… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/local-naacp-leader-fabricates-black-ethnicity/722357.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/local-naacp-leader-fabricates-black-ethnicity/722357.md?page=7)