Why I consider Rachel Dolezal a “Sister"

There has been a lot of controversy over the case of Rachel Dolezal, the former head of the Seattle NAACP who was revealed to be a Caucasian woman passing as black. As a bi-racial woman reading all of the negative reactions I found myself experiencing an unusual feeling for her: empathy. For most of my life I’ve wanted to be something I’m not: white, or completely black. I only recently stopped straightening my hair and let it grow back natural. As a child I watched the Brady Bunch and dreamed of having long flowing beautiful blonde hair, like Marcia or Janet. As an adult, I see a woman being interviewed who was born with natural long blonde hair who wants to have kinky curly hair and tanned skin, like me. What’s more, she said she changed her appearance to look more like me, not one of the Brady girls, so she could “feel beautiful.” I could tell she was genuine when she said it, and my heart melted for her.

The idea of whiteness is based on the concept of racial purity, and in slave days there was the “one drop rule,” where you were considered black, no matter how light skinned you were if you had any black ancestry. Fast forward to today and there is a cultural debate on what constitutes being authentically black. Is it how dark your skin is, or a state of mind? I say it is a combination of the two. The concept of race, like the concept of gender is becoming more fluid. We have bought wholesale stereotypes of blackness, where speaking proper English is called “talking white,” when in reality the black community is very diverse and includes a wide spectrum of colors, cultures, and customs.

Black people are embraced, emulated, and celebrated in art, music, and sports. I think that what troubles people most about Rachel Dolezal’s case is that in assuming blackness, she also occupied a high profile professional position of privilege that people believe rightfully should belong to a woman of color. I don’t think it would have troubled people as much if she were an entertainer, or lower income white woman passing as black. I believe we will have truly arrived as a society when it is no longer necessary to reserve token positions for a few people of color to show diversity in academic and professional careers that are traditionally dominated by white people. This day will arrive faster if we allow anyone, no matter what color they are take up the fight for equality. There are many people of color who have attained high status positions who would, understandably, prefer to fly under the radar, rather than take on what sometimes seems like an impossible fight for racial equality. I welcome anyone who would like to step up to the challenge, no matter what their skin color is.

Some argue that part of white privilege is that today Rachel Dolezal could live as a black woman, but tomorrow she could return to being a white woman. If this is true then we could say the same about Caitlyn Jenner that today she could be a woman, but part of male privilege is that tomorrow she could be a man again if she wanted to. The answer to both is that SHE DOESN’T WANT TO. Bruce Jenner lived at the pinnacle of white male privilege, but deep in his soul he was unhappy because he wanted to be free to live as a woman. Rachel Dolezal was born a white blonde woman, but deep in her soul she wants to live as a black woman. She didn’t have any glib answers for the reporter who asked questions about her deceptions to hide her white racial heritage, and she appears to be in deep denial about her white family because she no longer feels an emotional connection to them for whatever reason. Her desire to live black appears to be more because she genuinely identifies as black, than for status or gain.

This week there was a heinous random hate crime committed in Charleston, South Carolina that resulted in the violent and senseless deaths of nine black people. These were all people who defied the negative stereotypes of black people we always fighting, though that shouldn’t matter. As black people we are always fighting to prove that we are as worthy, as beautiful, as intelligent, as deserving of justice, mercy, and economic opportunities, and we shouldn't have to. Why are we fighting a woman who embraces black culture, wants to be one of us, and wants to fight to uplift us? I say, “keep your chin up, sister,” soon people will get back to arguing about things that really matter and deeply affect our progress as the human race.