Rachel Dolezal steps down from NAACP post after questions over race

(Image credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images)

published 15 June 2015

Rachel Dolezal, the NAACP chapter president in Spokane, Washington, whose racial identity was called into question by her parents and the media last week, has resigned, she announced in a Facebook post Monday. Dolezal's biological parents claim she is white, though Dolezal identifies as black and mixed-race and has reported being a victim of hate crimes via mail multiple times.

I am delighted that so many organizations and individuals have supported and collaborated with the Spokane NAACP under my leadership to grow this branch into one of the healthiest in the nation in 5 short months. In the eye of this current storm, I can see that a separation of family and organizational outcomes is in the best interest of the NAACP. [Facebook]

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Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.