Boy! There’s a bunch of people there expressing their opinions about Rachel Dolezal’s conversion from white to black. Maybe they have good reasons for agitation but I don’t see it.
What I’m looking for is the ending of that Kevin Kline movie about a teacher who “comes out” and gets downgraded and thrown out by the school board. The protest of the kids he taught (he was evidently a great teacher) consists of standing up on graduation day — each one — and saying “I’m gay, too.”
The distressing part of this is the extent to which we yield to — usually white, majority male — fellow Americans who are determined to keep us in fantasy-land. Poor thinking. Trying to keep other people crushed under your heel may make you look a little taller for a nanosecond, but only in your own eyes. There’s nothing more depressing than narrowing the scope of your colleagues and acquaintances to “people like me.”
Rachel Dolezal may be (I don’t know, do you?) slightly nutty, idealistic and/or standing at the edge. But it’s not nutty for young people to adopt the idioms, manners, and life styles of the people they admire. At worst, you can say in a patronizing tone, “It’s a stage she’s going through.”
For years I was a member of the NAACP as were other family members fighting the good fight. The organization, I’m pleased to see, is being wholly fair about Dolezal’s choices. They came out with this:
One’s racial identity is not a qualifying criteria or disqualifying standard for NAACP leadership. The NAACP Alaska-Oregon-Washington State Conference stands behind Ms. Dolezal’s advocacy record. In every corner of this country, the NAACP remains committed to securing political, educational, and economic justice for all people, and we encourage Americans of all stripes to become members and serve as leaders in our organization. …NAACP.org