Thoughts on Rachel Dolezal
A friend and I talked a lot yesterday about the controversy surrounding Rachel Dolezal with her family saying she is a white woman vs her living as a black woman. There have been jokes galore but I haven't really seen much seriously asking why she might have done such a thing assuming that it's true.
One thing that got me thinking about it in a non negative way were news reports I saw mentioning of her full scholarship to Howard being tied to her being black which made me confused because Howard is a historically black university and as such it's highly unlikely that they they are awarding minority scholarships to black people, that's not the way that works. I'm not saying she didn't get a scholarship or go to Howard just that the wedding of those things is disingenuous but that's often the way news is all too often reported.
Looking over her history she seems to be married to a black man (currently or formerly I wasn't quite sure) has children who are black, lives in a resoundingly white area, is a professor of Africana Studies, and has a long history of social justice work in visible positions. Trying to see life through her lense for a moment I had a couple of thoughts as to what would be the advantages of her presenting as a black woman.
The first is that due to the nature of where she lives/lived with her husband being a white woman with a black husband was a liability. It's often downplayed but white women with black men get a lot of flack. Unfriendly looks are one thing but it sometimes goes a lot further especially in areas that aren't known for being progressive and I'd dare say Spokane is such a place. Some people take the affront at mixed marriages to a violent degree. I can see worry over personal and/or family safety being an impetus for such a decision.
The second thought I had was that as someone dedicated to social justice issues and well versed in African American history (she is after all a professor of Africana Studies) she saw an opportunity to be of service to the community in a manner that did not put her in the "white saviour" position. As a black women her work isn't viewed with the cynicism of assumed white guilt nor is she personally the spotlight by virtue of being an outsider of the group for which she is advocating.
Whatever her reasoning I think it should be acknowledged that this is obviously not something she was playing at only to run back to the safety of whiteness in the face of adversity. Unlike folks who have come into the spotlight for appropriating aspects of black culture while securely hanging on to the safety net of their whiteness in order to avoid some of the more unpleasant parts of truly belonging to the culture, Rachel Dolezal went all in. I for one can't be upset with the manner that she has conducted herself. Black Like me was considered a brave and amazing account of a white man passing as black man and I'm looking at this in a similar light except for this woman it hasn't been a 6 week experiment that she took time to recuperate from the stress of afterwards She didn't return to her "real world" but continues to live and fight in ours.
One thing that got me thinking about it in a non negative way were news reports I saw mentioning of her full scholarship to Howard being tied to her being black which made me confused because Howard is a historically black university and as such it's highly unlikely that they they are awarding minority scholarships to black people, that's not the way that works. I'm not saying she didn't get a scholarship or go to Howard just that the wedding of those things is disingenuous but that's often the way news is all too often reported.
Looking over her history she seems to be married to a black man (currently or formerly I wasn't quite sure) has children who are black, lives in a resoundingly white area, is a professor of Africana Studies, and has a long history of social justice work in visible positions. Trying to see life through her lense for a moment I had a couple of thoughts as to what would be the advantages of her presenting as a black woman.
The first is that due to the nature of where she lives/lived with her husband being a white woman with a black husband was a liability. It's often downplayed but white women with black men get a lot of flack. Unfriendly looks are one thing but it sometimes goes a lot further especially in areas that aren't known for being progressive and I'd dare say Spokane is such a place. Some people take the affront at mixed marriages to a violent degree. I can see worry over personal and/or family safety being an impetus for such a decision.
The second thought I had was that as someone dedicated to social justice issues and well versed in African American history (she is after all a professor of Africana Studies) she saw an opportunity to be of service to the community in a manner that did not put her in the "white saviour" position. As a black women her work isn't viewed with the cynicism of assumed white guilt nor is she personally the spotlight by virtue of being an outsider of the group for which she is advocating.
Whatever her reasoning I think it should be acknowledged that this is obviously not something she was playing at only to run back to the safety of whiteness in the face of adversity. Unlike folks who have come into the spotlight for appropriating aspects of black culture while securely hanging on to the safety net of their whiteness in order to avoid some of the more unpleasant parts of truly belonging to the culture, Rachel Dolezal went all in. I for one can't be upset with the manner that she has conducted herself. Black Like me was considered a brave and amazing account of a white man passing as black man and I'm looking at this in a similar light except for this woman it hasn't been a 6 week experiment that she took time to recuperate from the stress of afterwards She didn't return to her "real world" but continues to live and fight in ours.
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