About a week ago, I sat down and watch The Rachel Divide, a documentary on the controversial story of Rachel Dolezal. And, I must say that her story is tragic. But, not in the way that people think. This woman was a naturally born “white” woman who truly believes in her heart that she is “black”. I am putting the “race” in quotes because “race” is a social construct. Biologically we are all human, and we just have different skin pigmentation. That’s it. But, because of the history of this country, we cannot get out of the mindset that skin pigment doesn’t make us any less or greater than another. That skin pigmentation has a greater impact on how you get treated in this country than gender, class, etc. Anyway, Rachel identified as a “black” woman. And that given the history of the impact this social construct has on our country, is “a big f*ckin deal” (to quote a great V.P.). She was a professor of African American studies. She ascended to the head of the NAACP in Spokane, Washington. She was married to a Black man and she adopted her adopted Black brother from her parents. She also helped her adopted Black sister when she needed her. She was a true ally to black people.
Now most people have heard the story about her posing as black and blah, blah, blah. What most haven’t heard is the story behind it. The real reason why she was “outed” as “white” and why in many ways, Black people were hurt by it all.
Rachel’s adopted sister had a court case against her naturally born brother. Both her sister (a black female) and Rachel, were going to testify against her brother about the sexual abuse he did to them. The parents, who took the side of their golden boy, told the press that their daughter was “white” and told it to anyone who would listen. All because they wanted to discredit Rachel and prevent her from testifying against their son.
The fact is that black people lost a true activist for black lives all because she identified as “black”, but wasn’t. It is a shame that her lighter skin probably got people to listen to her message that someone of darker pigment probably wouldn’t have been able to deliver. No, she wasn’t black, but her lack of pigmentation allowed her access and to give a voice to the plight of people of color. We lost that ally because she was buried and wasn’t protected in the way she should have been.
Could she have done more as a white woman? Of course she could have. The fact is that white people will listen to other white people even if its a topic that they don’t agree with. She could have used her privilege in a way that benefits more than it hurts. Today, she identifies as “black” even though she was born “white”. It doesn’t completely negate the “white” privilege that her skin automatically gives her. But through changing her name, and attempting to shed her “white” privilege she is losing out on certain opportunities that are automatically afforded to her in this country. My question is if that she is willing to go as far to shed her name and continuing to identify as a “black” woman, even at a disadvantage to herself and her family, if she is still willing to help people of color in a way that benefits the cause, why are we preventing her from doing so?
Another horrible tragedy in this story is her adopted sister. Her voice was totally muted due to this and her day in court may never come. She may never get the justice that she rightfully deserves. And, in that lies the problem. We have inadvertently stalled progress. We gave the justice system an out because of Rachel’s belief. We went after the wrong cause. And this is where the black community hurts themselves. In my opinion, we have a tendency to stall our own progress. And, the sad part is that it isn’t our fault. We have ingrained to do so. I truly believe that slavery has done a number on our people. It’s engrained in us. And we truly need therapy to stop doing harm to ourselves. The truth is we should have embraced Rachel and help her understand where she went wrong. She didn’t need to identify as Black to be an ally. She could have done more good as a white woman. Honestly, she could have said, “I was born white, I identify as black. I have black children and I want to be an ally and help people of color because I want to make a better world for my and our children”. Had she done that in the beginning, I really believe that people of color wouldn’t have turned on her. But we did. And it was NASTY. I have never seen such hate thrown at a person other than the racists that hate us. And that is SAD. I think we as a community need to be better than that.
Rachel was an ally I believe we could have kept. And, I believe that had we talked to her and used her understanding for the greater good, we would have been far better off than demonizing her. And that’s the tragedy of it all.
Bj
