NAACP Chapter President Rachel Dolezal Steps Down After Race Controversy

On Monday, Rachel Dolezal, president of the NAACP chapter in Spokane, Washington, announced that she is stepping down from her position due to the controversy that swept the nation regarding her real ethnicity. Dolezal’s parents, both Causasian, told reporters that their daughter is, in fact, in no way black, and, “she is Caucasian by birth.”

Dolezal is a professor in the Africana Education Department at Eastern Washington University. She teaches multiple courses on African-American culture, and is a leader in the Spokane black community. Naima Quarles-Burnley, the vice president of the chapter, will assume the position of president.

In a statement released by the Spokane chapter of the NAACP, “It is a true honor to serve in the racial and social justice movement here in Spokane and across the nation,” she said regarding her tenure as president of the chapter. She explained that she will never cease fighting for human rights, and will do everything in her power to help forward the causes she holds so close to her. “This is not me quitting; this is a continuum,” she said.

By Alex Lemieux

Sources:

Facebook: Spokane NAACP

NBC News: NAACP Chapter Postpones President Rachel Dolezal’s Statement on Race Controversy

Photo Courtesy of Justin Valas’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License