- Silence from Rachel Dolezal herself
- Statements from her parents regarding her heritage
- Countless blogs, articles, and random people who've purchased tickets for the Indictment Train
The silence from Dolezal herself is telling. I mean, let's be honest here: if there was no truth to this, she'd out in front fighting. That's what I believe. So, her silence is damning in and of itself and seems to hold up the contention that yes, she is indeed a woman who was born white and passed as black for years. Her parents? While I don't really believe they're lying (see my previous assertion) the fact that their relationship with their daughter is "strained" at best makes me wonder why they've chosen to come forth now to unmask her. What's their motivation? It's certainly not to mend any fences with her because this act is sure to alienate her further. There's some legal action happening between them; maybe they hope to discredit her for some sort of advantage in whatever legal proceedings are happening. Parents who would go out of their way to "expose" and embarrass their child though? They get a huge question mark in both the motivation and character categories from me.
And lastly there are the people with pitchforks, ready to call down hellfire and damnation upon Dolezal's head. Let's get this straight, right here and right now: I have no problem with what Rachel Dolezal did. Not a one. The only things I have questions/concerns about are a) did she use "being black" as a leg up in some way (for example, let's get more info about her Howard scholarship), and b) did she do good works for the community in her role as NCAAP President? That's all that matters as far as I'm concerned.
There are some in the community (and by some I mean the majority it seems) who are eager to throw around words like "appropriation" and "exploitation", etc. Any word that ends in "ation". I fail to see it. You know what I do see? I see the real reason black folk are upset about this. If anyone actually read this blog I'd get a ton of shit about what I'm about to say, but since no one does, I'mma have a cup of Feel Free and tell you why I think black people are really pissed off about Rachel Dolezal.
Traditionally marginalized groups say that we're fighting for equality and inclusion. At the same time though we take a certain pride in our otherness. We like the fact that there are certain qualities attributed to us that seem out of reach of "outsiders". We make these comparisons jokingly, but there's an underlying pride and truth in it. Dolezal knocked on the "Black Door" and gained entrance, and that pisses some of us off. She managed to become "one of us" and stepped right into so many things that we think of as intrinsically "Black". That's what has people tripping so hard.
Go to Twitter. The #AskRachel hashtag was focused solely on her ability to fake "black knowledge". Do you know the theme song from "A Different World"? Can you tell us how many 'leven times the Yin Yang Twins been to the club (that one made me laugh)? Stupid shit like that. Testing her cultural literacy–her "black" cultural literacy. Never mind that the woman teaches Africana Studies; can you tell us what you do after you stop and drop*? On Facebook people are all aflutter about the fact that she had a small business doing black hair. How could she do black hair?! She's white!
She knocked on the secret black door, got let in, and did "black" things—well enough to fit in! But—gasp—black things are for black people! If everyone is able to do them, well...we lose what makes us black. Y'know, because we define blackness by stuff like sitcoms and lyrics instead of ideology and roots. So when a white woman is able to mimic, replicate the things that we think make us inherently black (she rocked the shit out of those braids) it's threatening. It's the same reason people give so much shit to rappers like Iggy Azalea. It's not necessarily that she sucks–although I'm not particularly a fan—but it's more that this white, Australian woman has the audacity to try and take part in something that belongs to black people.
Two weeks ago folks were falling all over themselves to congratulate Caitlyn Jenner on having the courage to be herself, to let her outside reflect who she is on the outside. People were also quick to attack anyone who thought differently about that. Now, work with me here for a moment. If we live in a time and society where we're attempting to understand and accept that people can be born into bodies that don't match who they are on the inside in regards to sex...is it not possible that people may also feel they weren't born into their proper bodies on a racial spectrum? I know, it sounds crazy, but if you had said to me 5 years ago that there were people who thought they were really the opposite sex I'd have said the same thing. Obviously I have no idea what Racel Dolezal's internal working are, or what her motivation for the last 10 years has been. I like to give her the benefit of the doubt and think that she felt no connection to her parents but a great affinity to black people and our community and simply wanted to be a part of it; in essence, that she felt "black inside". I don't understand why a journey to match your sex up with how you feel is more lauded and acceptable than a journey to match your race up with how you feel inside. It's all about finding ourselves, right, you hypocrites?
So, an argument I've read as to why this is so "harmful" and "disingenuous" is that because she's white she has the ability to shake her black persona and reclaim the privilege of being white whenever she wants, and black people can't do that. I object to that simply because it's a gross oversimplification. We have historical accounts of light-skinned black people who could and did pass as white as the need arose, and could therefore move between cultures just as Dolezal can. Just because I, as a chocolate-skinned black woman, could never be mistaken for a white woman, doesn't mean there are not black people who can and are. So let's not pretend that that doesn't exist and that she has cornered the market on being able to pass.
I finally got all of that off my chest. Y'all need to let Rachel Dolezal be. You have no idea what she's done, why she's done it...nothing. You've already tried and convicted her in the court of public opinion and it's stupid. Some of you are just mad because she's done more in her 10 years as a "black woman" to help/give back to the community than you have in your life. Others of you are, again, just mad because she gained entrance into a club that you thought had special requirements, but she can watch The Cookout with the best of us.
Rachel, I ain't mad at you.
*Shut 'em down, open up shop - Ruff Ryder's Anthem
