COEUR d'ALENE - She's risen from North Idaho civil rights champion to positions of power in Spokane as a self-described black woman.
But what if Rachel Dolezal is really white?
Dolezal, chair of Spokane's Office of Police Ombudsman Commission and president of the city's chapter of the NAACP, has made claims in the media and elsewhere about her ethnicity, race and background that are contradicted by her biological parents.
"It is very disturbing that she has become so dishonest," said Dolezal's mother, Ruthanne Dolezal, in a phone interview from Northwest Montana, where Dolezal grew up.
Rachel Dolezal, 37, was highly visible in the media in North Idaho when she lived in Coeur d'Alene and was employed from 2008 to 2010 as education director of the Human Rights Education Institute.
Dolezal's application for appointment to Spokane's new police ombudsman commission was signed by Dolezal and submitted in May 2014. The application was acquired by The Press through a public record request.
According to Spokane City spokesman Brian Coddington, Dolezal was appointed to the Police Oversight Committee by the mayor himself. In April 2014, the city held two public workshops to consider how the oversight committee should be formed, Coddington said.
"Once that was done, job descriptions were written and we began recruiting applicants," he said.
Coddington said the selection committee was formed in May that year and a decision was made based on community input to do very limited background checks on the applicants.
"The community wanted diversity and limited background checks," Coddington said, explaining that the committee didn't want to deter applicants who may have had a misstep or two in their past. "The low level background checks were intentional."
On the application for the oversight committee is a section to declare ethnicity. On Dolezal's application, she indicated that she was white, African-American, Native American and two or more races.
While ethnicity was not a criterion for selection, Coddington said it was certainly taken into account. The section of the 2-year-old city ordinance that details the age and residency qualification requirements of commissioners also lists six characteristics given serious consideration in the appointment process. One of them is the individual's ability to "Contribute to the diversity of the commission so that the makeup of the commission reflects the diversity of the people most likely to have contact with members of the police department, including geographic, racial and disability diversity."
"Race wasn't a criteria in the selection process, but certainly diversity was an important part of the process," he said. "Really, the important thing is we wanted to make sure the committee was a reflection of the community."
After the final list of applicants was vetted, the city council appointed one member from each of the city's council districts and the mayor nominated two people to sit on the committee. Dolezal was one of Mayor David Condon's picks.
The Police Oversight Committee has a significant amount of power in Spokane city government, Coddington said, but not any more authority than the city's Parks Board, Library Board or Planning Commission.
"In terms of profile I would say that the oversight committee is on par with the other three," he said.
Coddington said if it is determined that a commissioner fabricated information on his or her application, the City Council has the authority to remove or appoint members to that committee.
"I don't want to speak for the council, but I believe the process would be to gather information and review policies to ensure that everything was done right," he said.
According to James Wilburn, the past president of the Spokane chapter of the NAACP, being a person of color is not a requirement to become president of that organization.
"It is traditional to have a person of color in that position, but that hasn't always been the case in Spokane," Wilburn said, adding that a woman of European descent was elected president of the organization in the 1990s.
In fact, Wilburn said, at least half - if not a majority - of the Spokane Chapter members are of European descent.
"And that is probably a result of the fact that only 1.9 percent of the population in Spokane is African-American," he said.
Dolezal, a multi-media artist, professor of Africana studies at Eastern Washington University and former instructor at North Idaho College in Coeur d'Alene, has reportedly made similar ethnicity claims to local media outlets. In recent years, she has portrayed herself physically, and on social media platforms, as a woman of black African-American heritage.
However, her parents, Ruthanne and Larry Dolezal, who are both white and live in the Troy/Libby area in Montana, told The Press their daughter is not African-American. They backed up the claim with a copy of their daughter's birth certificate and photos. The images show a younger, pale, blonde-haired, blue-eyed Dolezal who looks much different than the woman with caramel-colored skin now leading the Spokane NAACP and helping review claims of police misconduct in that city.
"Rachel is very good at using her artistic skills to transform herself," Ruthanne said in a recent telephone interview.
In January, Dolezal made headlines by questioning the owner of a Spokane restaurant who had put up a sign referring to the dying words of Eric Garner - a black man who died after being placed in a police chokehold in New York City and said several times, "I can't breathe." Dolezal was quoted by a reporter in the Pacific Northwest Inlander - a Spokane-based weekly publication Dolezal is a frequent contributor to - as saying: "The strangling of Eric Garner's case reminds us of our cultural memory of the strangling through the nooses."
In a February issue of the Easterner, EWU's student-run newspaper, Dolezal reportedly told a reporter that the man who raised her with her mother is her stepfather. In January, a photo of Dolezal and a black man appeared on the Spokane NAACP's Facebook page with the message: "President Dolezal's father announced today that he will be coming to town for January 19th ribbon-cutting ceremony for the NAACP office ... and is expected to speak at the 7 p.m. MLK tribute membership meeting."
But the man in the photo is not her father. The person in the photo is Albert Wilkerson - a black man who lived in North Idaho and volunteered at the Human Rights Education Institute several years ago when Dolezal was in charge of the organization's education programs. A similar picture was posted on Dolezal's personal Facebook page in December, with a comment made from Dolezal's account on the social media platform: "L-R: Me, my oldest son Izaiah, and my Dad."
Dolezal's mother said she has never met Albert Wilkerson and Rachel does not have a stepfather. She said her daughter's father is Larry Dolezal, a former Lincoln County Commissioner in Montana. Ruthanne and Larry just celebrated their 41st wedding anniversary on Monday, she said.
"Anybody who lives in the town of Troy or Libby knows that Larry is her father," Ruthanne said.
Wilkerson, who has since moved away from the area, could not be reached for comment.
Dolezal's birth certificate filed in Lincoln County, Montana in 1977 states that Ruthanne is her mother and Lawrence Albert Dolezal is her father.
Ruthanne also clarified that Izaiah, who Dolezal often says is her son, is actually Dolezal's adopted brother. Between 1993 and 1995, Ruthanne and Larry adopted four black infants: Ezra, Izaiah, Zachariah and Esther.
Rachel Dolezal confirmed in a recent phone interview with The Press that Izaiah is one of her adopted brothers.
"He used to be my brother," she said. "But I have full custody of him now."
There are other questionable details of Rachel's personal history that have appeared repeatedly in media articles about Dolezal.
Multiple interviewers have reported that Dolezal told them she was born in a teepee in Montana. The detail appeared in 2012 in a profile for Spokane Coeur d'Alene Living magazine and several times in interviews and features published by EWU's student newspaper.
"That is totally false," Ruthanne said.
Dolezal's mother said she and Larry lived in a teepee for a while in 1974, when they were first married and three years before Dolezal was born.
"That was the end of living in the teepee," Ruthanne said.
Ruthanne said other claims attributed to her daughter in the media are untrue.
Rachel did not have to use bows and arrows to hunt for her own food, Ruthanne said, and she never lived in South Africa or Colorado. Ruthanne said she, Larry and the younger adopted siblings moved to South Africa in 2002, and lived there until 2006. Larry was stationed there as an employee of the faith-based Creation Ministries International.
"Rachel did not even ever visit us there," Ruthanne said.
Larry Dolezal told The Press that he and Ruthanne and the children moved to Colorado during the time their daughter was finishing her bachelor's degree at Belhaven University in Jackson, Miss.
In stories published by the Easterner in 2014 and earlier this year, Dolezal is reported to have claimed Larry and Ruthanne used violence to punish her and her siblings.
The Easterner reported: "Dolezal has no contact today with her mother or stepfather due to a series of events that still haunt her thoughts today. Dolezal and her siblings were physically abused by her mother and stepfather."
"They would punish us by skin complexion," Dolezal reportedly told the Easterner.
The article went on: "According to Dolezal, the object her mother and stepfather used to punish them was called a baboon whip, used to ward baboons away in South Africa. These whips would leave scars behind, 'They were pretty similar to what was used as whips during slavery.'"
That claim offended Dolezal's parents.
"She is fabricating a very false and malicious lie," Ruthanne said during a phone interview on Tuesday.
The Easterner also reported: "In Idaho, Dolezal took on the role as director of the Human Rights Institute, where North Idaho white supremacy groups burglarized every home she and her son lived in. Dolezal said she believes the white supremacy groups felt threatened by female power. According to Dolezal, they hung nooses in her home, vandalized and stole from her property, directed death threats toward her along with threatening to kidnap [her son] Franklin while he was in the second grade. She reported all of these acts to the police and each was admitted into police records as hate crimes, yet the culprits were never caught."
According to Coeur d'Alene Police Sgt. Christie Wood, Dolezal filed a handful of reports during her time in Coeur d'Alene. Wood said Dolezal filed a burglary report Dec. 12, 2008.
"But she never called back with any further info," Wood said. "The limited info we have is a washer was taken out of a storage shed she had behind her house."
On Nov 19, 2009, Dolezal filed a report on behalf of HREI when she said she discovered a swastika sticker on the institute's door. According to police reports, the security cameras that normally would have been trained on the doors apparently malfunctioned and failed to record the timeframe in which the sticker would have been placed there.
On Sept. 3, 2010, Dolezal filed a malicious injury report on an incident that occurred in July of that year.
"Her car was parked at HREI over Art on the Green weekend," Wood said in an email Tuesday. "She found a palm-size dent on the front passenger panel on July 31."
On April 11, 2010, Dolezal filed a report for harassing phone calls. Wood said, according to the report, that Dolezal received a phone call from a female student at North Idaho College that was very vulgar in nature. It was investigated by police and deemed a one-time incident. The prosecuting attorney's office declined to prosecute the case because it did not meet the definition of continued harassment, Wood said.
On Aug. 8, 2011, Dolezal called in a possible prowler. Wood said Dolezal thought someone was trying to get into her back door. No report was filed.
On June 15, 2010, Dolezal filed a harassment report that her brother found a noose hanging in Dolezal's carport behind her rented Coeur d'Alene home.
In August 2010, a detective filed a supplemental report stating that in an effort to find potential witnesses who might have seen someone hang the rope, he telephoned the person Dolezal rented the home from, Randy Bell.
"He told me that he was 90 percent sure it was rope he hung there approximately (one year before the report)," the officer put in his report. "He said he hung a deer up there and he believes the rope is from that time."
Bell told police that he told Dolezal he was the one who had hung the rope in the rafters.
"I asked him when he gave Rachel the information that he was the one who may have hung the rope up there, and he said sometime around the time she filed the report," the police report states. "Randy was sympathetic to Rachel's concerns about the rope but he felt he may be the one who hung the rope up there."
The detective called Dolezal on Aug. 25, 2010 and left her a message to call him about the incident. He did not receive a return call from Dolezal, so he closed the case on Aug. 26.
In a recent telephone interview with The Press, Dolezal denied being told the rope was a deer-hanging apparatus or that the rope was in the rafters for about a year before she filed the report.
"That was not here when I moved in," Dolezal said. "They can claim whatever they want."
During that telephone interview, which Dolezal ended abruptly, she maintained that she is African-American.
"They can DNA test me if they want to," she said. "I would caution you on all of this. This is ridiculous."
Dolezal has recently filed a number of similar reports in Spokane claiming that she is being harassed because of her job at the NAACP, but not because of her race.
"I am the president of the NAACP," she said. "That is why I have been targeted."
Spokane Police declined to comment on Dolezal's most recent claim that someone mailed her a noose. They said the case is under active investigation.
"We don't have anything to add to that," Spokane City Police spokeswoman Teresa Fuller said Tuesday afternoon.
Dolezal has also filed police reports claiming that she has received threatening hate mail. Fuller said the U.S. Postal Service is investigating that case, but it has ruled out all postal employees as potential suspects.
Police Sgt. Wood, who also serves on the Kootenai County Task Force for Human Relations, said that while working in Coeur d'Alene, Dolezal was never the director of the Human Rights Education Institute, as has been reported. She was a staff member in charge of education programs.
"Rachel is passionate about human rights and has remained committed to that social justice cause for many years," Wood said, speaking as a task force member. "Her style in advancing a cause is different from our philosophy. Rachel has not worked on any joint issues with our board for several years."
Dolezal's father, Larry, told The Press by email Wednesday that Dolezal worked hard at her education. She graduated with a 4.0 GPA and was one of many co-valedictorians from Christian Liberty Academy Satellite School.
"We chose the option with parental oversight and a complete high school transcript processed through CLASS," Larry wrote. "Rachel required minimal supervision, because she was a highly motivated and responsible student."
He noted that his daughter graduated with high honors at the top of her class and received many awards for her work while she was earning her bachelor's degree from Belhaven and then her Master of Fine Arts degree from Howard University in Washington, D.C.
"She worked hard at her education and went above and beyond completing her art assignments," Larry wrote. "There is much positive we could share regarding Rachel's stellar academic and art achievements. We are saddened she has chosen to misrepresent her ethnicity."
Welcome to the discussion.
120 comments:
Muslim Patriot posted at 10:31 am on Sun, Jul 26, 2015.
Can Donald Trump be a Mexican? Or is there a double standard?
Randy Tetzner posted at 4:51 am on Mon, Jul 13, 2015.
The article Black Like Me? was a rip-off of the title of Black Like Me from John Howard Griffin. Griffin under a doctors care darkened his skin pharmaceutically to pass as a black man so he could experience racism in the 1960's south. Sandra Laing was born to white parents in apartheid South Africa, she was however classified as colored and all the racism that came with it. They traced white forefathers back 3 generations to no avail. Being black has its downside. Sandra's case was biological atavism. Griffin's was the curiosity of a writer. What was Racheal's Dozeals reason? Was she forthright and completely honest? Probably not. The ax the Press had to grind became apparent when they titled an article that she was "canned". Very unprofessional. So she wants to be black, so what. Will the press under Mike Patrick and Jim Thompson now go after transgendered people who live the life of another sex? Light skinned blacks during slavery found a modicum of protection being seen as white and they exploited that situation to survive. Wanting to be seen as a member of a race that is discriminated against seems a daunting task and one with few rewards. Leave her be. If a person wants to be associated with a race let them be. Would they have written about a black person passing as white?
ClearAndPresentDanger posted at 12:48 pm on Sun, Jun 14, 2015.
OPI is coming out with a new polish colour - 'Blacker Than Rachel'
It is dark beige.
Rogue Cop posted at 9:16 am on Sat, Jun 13, 2015.
Oink you!
Freemanofthemosthigh posted at 7:42 am on Sat, Jun 13, 2015.
New meaning to NAACP: Not Always A Colored Person.
J posted at 11:42 pm on Fri, Jun 12, 2015.
She's black!! Of course she will agree to a DNA test and that will settle that once and for all!!!
Tinkerbell posted at 11:28 pm on Fri, Jun 12, 2015.
What a whackadoodle.
DCIDAHO posted at 10:12 pm on Fri, Jun 12, 2015.
Ahhh, but it IS about what you wrote my wandering piggy friend.
Rogue Cop posted at 9:54 pm on Fri, Jun 12, 2015.
DCIDAHO...and you're still ignorant. Telling the truth doesn't make me a bigot, no matter how you try to make it about me. But deflection makes you a fool.
Joe D posted at 9:54 pm on Fri, Jun 12, 2015.
Read it again Humanist. I didn't say YOU or anyone else was living a lie, I said that you you have been Defending someone that has been living a lie for the past six and one half years. You know, oblameo.
And no, it does not bother me one bit not knowing who you are, so don't flatter yourself. You probably aren't worth knowing anyway.
And Right-O if i want any lip out of you I'll have Mahiun rattle his zipper.
DCIDAHO posted at 9:19 pm on Fri, Jun 12, 2015.
Yeo, she lied. You're still a bigot pig
Rogue Cop posted at 9:00 pm on Fri, Jun 12, 2015.
The "TRUE" colors were already demonstrated, jackass!
DCIDAHO posted at 8:06 pm on Fri, Jun 12, 2015.
Showing some true colors there pig
Rogue Cop posted at 7:19 pm on Fri, Jun 12, 2015.
I'll tell you why the HREI and the NAACP et al didn't vet this faker...because they don't give a hoot in a hollow log about the truth or veracity of any issue or individual's perspective as long as that individual advances their agenda. 'I am black.' 'Hands up, don't shoot.', 'I can't breathe.' "Don't talk to us like we ignant." "White folks was in caves while we was building empires…. We taught philosophy and astrology and mathematics before Socrates and those Greek ho-mos ever got around to it."
venualevu posted at 5:32 pm on Fri, Jun 12, 2015.
Time to go find her hairstylists, old and new - they can tell us how they make her hair black.
venualevu posted at 5:30 pm on Fri, Jun 12, 2015.
Yep, fraud. Fraud Fraud Fraud Fraud Fraud.
venualevu posted at 5:25 pm on Fri, Jun 12, 2015.
She can pretend to be an Astronaut for all I care, but not if she uses her black designation to receive special treatment which can be found all over our nation at this time - entrance exams to law schools give blacks up to 200 point credits before the thing is even corrected in some schools, preferential treatment to fast track into the job market, etc., etc.... This is fraud. Investigative journalists need to now find out how many people/organizations she has defrauded.
Righty-O posted at 5:02 pm on Fri, Jun 12, 2015.
Seems to be so, my point was, if it isn't there to extort we wouldn't even be talking about it. The fact that we offer extra perks for being different is absurd.
Politically Incorrect posted at 3:03 pm on Fri, Jun 12, 2015.
Actually Fraud IS against the law. And she has gained from her lies...
Politically Incorrect posted at 3:01 pm on Fri, Jun 12, 2015.
No, I was there. She claimed to be "black" and used that card to play her games and get promotions, housing and "affirmative action" credits.
HREI played along because they needed publicity and thought they could manage her.. When they couldn't, they pushed her on to avoid mud on their own face.
Politically Incorrect posted at 2:56 pm on Fri, Jun 12, 2015.
Perhaps she should be asked to pay back all the money she has gained from her "black" personality so a real black person can benefit....
Fraud is still a crime....
Politically Incorrect posted at 2:42 pm on Fri, Jun 12, 2015.
Ah, you also know the players. Her case has been suspicious for years now. HREI moved her on to be someone else' problem.
Now rather than admit they have been conned, Spokane is "standing behind her"... All this screaming about "feeling black" is an insult to real black people and real transgenders.
Wake up Spokane, you have been conned.
Politically Incorrect posted at 2:39 pm on Fri, Jun 12, 2015.
You can "identify" to being a cat. It does not make you a cat....
Politically Incorrect posted at 2:38 pm on Fri, Jun 12, 2015.
You are missing the point. Which is her use for personal profit of lies.. It is an insult to "real" black (or white) people.
This is NOT a race issue. It is a CON artist USING race to get what she wants regardless of truth, ethics or compassion.
Politically Incorrect posted at 2:36 pm on Fri, Jun 12, 2015.
So, By her definition, you can be Black because you "feel" black.. Interesting. Does that mean every black person can "feel" and "be" White?
Wake up people, this is a Con Artist now caught and doing her best to get out of all the lies she has been telling for years.
Further, claiming to "feel" black makes her "black" not only insults the real struggles of the entire real black race, but also the cause of the transgenders.
She has used her "I am Black" card to get jobs, housing, money and attention for far too long.
This is not about "Black vs White" this is about the abuse of credentials and making a direct profit from those lies.
Righty-O posted at 9:02 am on Fri, Jun 12, 2015.
What does someones real name have to do with her comments. You realize Joe that you can pen and editorial in the CDA Press with a moniker or just initials. Frankly its not the point, the point here is that we as society provide benefits for being part of a specific ethnicity or race, she quite possibly took advantage of this. In my mind both are wrong, politics aside, this has very little to do with ones standard political leanings.
Righty-O posted at 8:55 am on Fri, Jun 12, 2015.
I'll admit it... I do not care and good for her living her life. The lesson of the story is that if race is in fact a way to get into college, get a job, or further yourself in life, then we as people have much more to work on than a women who chooses to identify herself the way she wants. If society could get past the color barrier, sexual barrier, and religious barriers, we would realize that we are all the same only living a bit different than our neighbors.
If Jeb Bush can be Native American, then she can be "Black".
Humanist posted at 8:47 am on Fri, Jun 12, 2015.
Having an anonymous screen name on a local newspaper comment board, like 98% of the other commenters here, hardly constitutes "living a lie". Apparently the fact that you don't know who I am really bothers you, eh, Joe D?
lapua208 posted at 6:52 am on Fri, Jun 12, 2015.
""If you're willing to accept that Bruce Jenner can be born as a man and identify as a woman, than you certainly must accept that Rachel can choose to identify as a black person.""
Bruce didn't file a bunch of false police reports or lie on job applications, thus depriving others of those job opportunities. Dolezal directly benefited from being "black." She should go to jail.
Samsquantchin posted at 3:21 am on Fri, Jun 12, 2015.
If youre willing to accept that Bruce Jenner can be born as a man and identify as a woman, than you certainly must accept that Rachel can choose to identify as a black person. There are fewer physical differences across ethnicity than across gender. If you wont accept Rachel for the black person than she is, then you are a bigot, and shame on you!
wolfman posted at 1:26 am on Fri, Jun 12, 2015.
So if she was a man passing herself off as a woman, she'd have America's support? Maybe she's a black woman born into a white woman's body, so she made the switch. If we're we are supposed to accept trangender... what about transracial? If one is a mental illness or a fraud, then certainly the other must be as well.
Gem State posted at 11:33 pm on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
You don't have to be Dr. Phil to figure out this woman is obviously mentally ill.
Sideshow Bob, now that is funny!😆
Rogue Cop posted at 8:50 pm on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
Maybe the purveyors of the false discrimination narrative will take pause now and stop the nonsense The real race problems that exist in Baltimore, Ferguson, and other inner cities are non-existent here. Give it a rest, race hustlers! Take your show on the road.
Natural Liberal posted at 8:37 pm on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
I suppose now we wont get to see the security tapes that Rachel promised us a few years back. She was the greatest swastika artist that this community has ever seen.
lovie2000 posted at 8:26 pm on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
she needs to be in a mental ward
lovie2000 posted at 8:25 pm on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
naw... they shouldn't be outraged.... they should be disgusted with themselves that they would BELIEVE that she was an African American Black woman...... do they not do background checks..... just looking at her, they should have known better.... lol
lovie2000 posted at 8:23 pm on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
Not necessarily, there are some black people with gray, green, etc eyes.....
this woman is what they say she is though a Caucasian..... just pathetic how a person could do something like this
Joe D posted at 7:50 pm on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
"Why would I do that?"
Well since you don't ever give out your real name here, I guess we will never know if you do or not. You have however been defending someone that has been living a lie for the past six and one half years.
Joe D posted at 7:40 pm on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
"Why would a 'true' liberal defend a fraud?"
True liberals have been defending a fraud for the past six and one half years Louie.
"The main reason Proposition 8 passed in California, a law banning gay marriage, was because most African-Americans and Hispanics do not believe in same sex marriage."
You mean that most blacks and Hispanics are "bigots" and "homophobe s" because they do not believe in same sex marriage? Or are those labels reserved for just White Conservative Christian males?
RedWhiteandBlue posted at 7:10 pm on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
Makes you wonder about the powers to be that pull the strings behind the scenes. Funny that the usual suspects have never found a camera, microphone or media opportunity that they didn't fight for time on. All the letters to the paper are usually the same one or two players. Bet they can't be found now
sigmund123 posted at 6:53 pm on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
Is fraud in a human rights organization a human rights abuse? I think it is.
RedWhiteandBlue posted at 6:49 pm on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
Very interesting! More questions come to mind. How is it that people in the human rights business and years and years of teaching college or practice law or work for the police, can't tell what race someone is? It is very hard to believe that they were not suspicious of Rachel as they decided to fire her and than hope that she would just disappear. This is where we find out how deep the integrity of the personalities in local human rights organizations go. Will they cooperate or play CYA and play stupid or find a way to point fingers? Ending human rights abuse is good for the soul, but so is honesty and coming clean - Tony? Norm? Christy?
Humanist posted at 6:47 pm on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
Why would I do that? I see no reason to come to the defense of someone who has most likely been living a lie - regardless of political leanings.
Louis CDA posted at 6:19 pm on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
Why would a 'true' liberal defend a fraud? An African-American may be more 'liberal' than you, but that does not make an African American a true liberal. Most African-Americans, with their Baptist backgrounds do not embrace the LGBT movement. Even after Obama came out for same sex marriage. The main reason Proposition 8 passed in California, a law banning gay marriage, was because most African-Americans and Hispanics do not believe in same sex marriage.
You do realize MLK Jr. and Jackie Robinson were registered Republicans?
Joe D posted at 6:02 pm on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
I would imagine all the liberals are busy as hello right now writing LsTE for Sunday s paper in defense of this impostor... Humanist included.
Unvarnished posted at 5:57 pm on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
Oh, I forgot to mention in my post that I enjoy racial immunity. And, using the logic of the left, this immunity grants me license to say anything that flits around between my ears about others without their being able to object. Right? Sure. For, like Sheriff Bart, my grandmother was Dutch. But my grandfather was Cajun and used to say he had slave, Indian and French blood flowing through his veins. I'd wager I'd have a hellova lot more African in my DNA test than this homely Cindy Brady nut job with the Jackie Brown fixation. Hinckley made more sense when he described his feelings for Jodi Foster than this muckraking twit ever made shrieking about the race struggles in her life. What a maroon.
Joe D posted at 5:54 pm on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
" She is 1/4 American Indian."
No she is not, that has not been proven, let's see her provide her papers; My wife can. Elizabeth Warren is nothing more than another lying democrat that will tell you anything to get elected. And you being the good little liberal that you are, will lap it up time after time.
RetiredGoat posted at 5:35 pm on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
Sorry, this was aimed at WFBuckley. It is hard to type with cloven hooves. No thumbs you know.
RetiredGoat posted at 5:28 pm on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
Please do not use the word "Goat" in such a negative sense. That is very Humanist of you and I take offense. BTW, I thought people can be whatever they say they are and we must accept it. It just goes along with all the PC stuff and she duped us. I hope I did not offend the dupes out there. My Baaaaaaad.
Unvarnished posted at 5:25 pm on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
This Obamanaut is an Obama not? Sadly, the personality disorders that feed the inner demons of race hustlers like this shill are much more than skin deep. A powerful article. Hopefully she'll get help, get real and get lost. This society is coming undone at the seams because of race pigs rolling in the dirt and promoting the false narratives of the myth of present day black victim-hood. Nowadays, its the criminal blacks and false prophets of the Soros funded Acorn type groups, LaRaza, New Black Pampers, who are in fact delivering more terror to the streets of America than ISIL ever will. Not, that the Calypso Louie crowd isn't a fan of their work, but seriously. The real crime here is that this pimp hack, like all community agitators, parlays perceived and self-represented ethnicity to influence public policy, get teaching jobs and no doubt insist upon her brand of social poison in every classroom she enters. Double yuck. What a freak. The kind you don't take home to momma, not even her own momma, it would seem. Aw well, in the day of Bruce Jenner's veneration for taping his snausage, why NOT just recognize this head case's announced claims of race. Facts don't matter to liberals, anyway.
cisco posted at 5:11 pm on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
Too bad this paper did not put this level of investigatory effort into other stories (LCDC and its many curious transactions).
Everyone knew this lady was a flake long ago. That any official organization or academic group afforded her platforms or credence speaks to their own failed credulity.
Rogue Cop posted at 5:06 pm on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
The stain on the community is more permanent than the obvious skin coloring she uses to advance her race baiting agenda.
Rogue Cop posted at 4:57 pm on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
Echoing a few other comments on this report, congrats to the reporters who did an excellent job of uncovering this charlatan's true identity. The CdA Press gets a lot of criticism for not thoroughly fact-finding in some of these stories, but in this case they've outdone all the other local media. Keep up the good work.
gracious few posted at 4:41 pm on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
with green eyes...... dead give away that she is not a woman of color.... My Boss knows her ex-husband from the Gym... he says she has always been a flake... I cleaned up the word he used... hehehe =)
here posted at 4:29 pm on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
lol was thinking the same thing re: sideshow bob.
Obamatollah posted at 3:48 pm on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
Interesting, she picked up the trait from presidential spokesman Josh Ernest. Whenever she precedes a statement with AGAIN then what follows is a lie. This technique is used to let the listener know that they already explained it in the past and you are just too stupid to understand.
P.S. Kinda looks like Sideshow Bob from the Simpsons?
sigmund123 posted at 3:43 pm on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
Such a good interview, it needs no edits! I just watched almost 9 minutes of raw video.
Big Bear posted at 3:36 pm on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
Seems I remember an Inlander column in which she stated she was leaving CDA since CCWs were allowed at the college. Maybe Spokane colleges need to pass similar rules and send disingenuous Dolezal skedaddling to Seattle.
Rogue Cop posted at 3:36 pm on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
Says it all, dontcha think?
Rogue Cop posted at 3:35 pm on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
That may be her ticket to a strategic exit so she can continue her life's work as a charlatan after being discredited. Do you think she's an Obama supporter?
Big Bear posted at 3:27 pm on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
She sounds like a cultist. They convince themselves that up is down.
carol posted at 3:25 pm on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
Elizabeth Warren did not lie on her college app. She is 1/4 American Indian.
sigmund123 posted at 3:24 pm on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
Obamatollah, I read this EWU professor profile as well and felt cheated as an EWU alumni. The only right I will accept is her removed from a teaching position at my college. I also want Condon to fully investigate her role as ombudsman to flush out any violations. I also want the police departments (Cda/Spokane) to determine if any of the false hate crimes reported can land her in jail, especially considering her position in the community and how much damage it has caused in the long term. She has left a stain on the community that needs to be washed clean.
Fisher posted at 3:06 pm on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
Just watch the end of this interview
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKRj_h7vmMM
Rogue Cop posted at 3:06 pm on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
This woman is a lying race hustler in the tradition of Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson. Keep racism alive so she can be relevant. Next stop: elected office.
We can't breathe.
Eltech posted at 2:12 pm on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
MLK Junior, "Judge a man not by the color of his skin but the content of his character."
Under the make-up, hair coloring/perm is a white liar.
Obamatollah posted at 2:05 pm on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
It might help her to figure out if her Dad is a white guy i Montana or the black guy on her facebook page that she claims is her Dad. Get her "son" tested also.
Obamatollah posted at 2:02 pm on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
She should have just said that she didn't know who her Daddy was. That would have given her street cred!
Obamatollah posted at 1:57 pm on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
From her biography posted at Easter Washington University. Apparently she lectures on "Ferguson and Race Relations in America: Are we headed toward a deeper racial divide or a post-racial society." Why not, Ferguson was based on a lie of "Hands Up Don't Shoot." Even Eric Holder's justice department had to concede that it was a lie.
In the 1960's they made white people stop performing in black face. They said it was racist. I guess it will be time to appoint Al Jolsen to the Police Oversight Committee! Does anyone know the words to "Mammy?"
"Her efforts were met with opposition by North Idaho white supremacy groups, including the Ku Klux Klan, the Neo Nazis and the Aryan Nations, and at least eight documented hate crimes targeted Doležal and her children during her residency in North Idaho." Telling a police officer a story about a noose, when it was actually a rope that was used to dress out a deer by a previous resident constitutes a hate crime. The key word here being "Documented" as opposed to proven, investigated or somebody was arrested.
She also claims to have 2 children in this article Was her brother standing in front of a mirror?
But wait, this psycho thinks she is going to be a doctor now! "Doležal also entertains an interest in the medical field and has begun pre-medical studies, working toward an MD and a residency in trauma surgery. She hopes to combine her medical knowledge with her passion for human rights and engage in life-saving surgery efforts around the world."
Make sure that the area hospitals are notified that they should actually vet the background of new hires, if their medical school is from Eastern Washington University be very, very suspicious. The City of Spokane and their Police Department need to point this woman to Berkeley or Columbia. There has to be a need for a cross-racial, women's studies professor to teach applied ethics.
mjeder posted at 1:41 pm on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
Well I'll be. I'll be the first to admit I was wrong on this one. Had hopes up for an interesting debate. You libs are taking it on the chin like a champ. I do hope they oust her from the position she's in.
She has lost all credibility. Ide be ashamed if I were her.
Whoa posted at 12:56 pm on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
Wait… not a black woman from an oppressed background, but a mentally ill, white, blonde, pathological liar from Montana? This is just too good!
The NAACP and other black organizations should be outraged that this impostor has falsely attached herself to their struggle and benefitted from it. How did she get into Howard University (a black college)? How did she become the Africana professor at EWU? I’m sure even the Inlander Newspaper considered her a “diversity hire” when they gave her a column. She clearly stole opportunities that were meant for blacks with her lies and deception. And let’s not forget the fake hate-crimes and relentless trashing of this community by that fraud. That lunatic belongs in a mental institution.
TomTwoElk posted at 12:52 pm on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
Why would she lie like this and try to keep it up even after her family has proved she's lying? She definitely needs to be kicked off the POC for lying about her past.
Eltech posted at 12:10 pm on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
Maybe her Mom was embarrassed for working for the money they would throw!
Eltech posted at 12:09 pm on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
I have always wondered why a kid from Vietnam or China can come here, not speaking a word of English, and be a spelling bee champ by the 6th grade. Could it be proper parenting?
Eltech posted at 12:05 pm on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
"I am not sure of the progressive version of Alex Jones is." It is called Rachel Madcow and it is on MSNBC!
James87 posted at 11:53 am on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
This is like Obama saying he's not Muslim, but he thinks like one!
James87 posted at 11:49 am on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
Here! Here! I approve of this Message...
Sparrow posted at 11:30 am on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
If true, this is like the movie "Soul Man" but instead of Harvard Law School it's the NAACP.
greyhound2 posted at 11:23 am on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
Affirmative Action was originally passed a temporary head start program for some people who claimed they were disadvantaged and needed extra help. That program is now over 45 years old with an entire generation having grown up thinking that quotas are somehow "natural" and just the way things are. The old rules of achievement, qualifications and experience were tossed out the window in favor of gender, race and sexual orientation as guidelines for hiring and promotions in which none has anything to do with ability. Affirmative Action is destructive as it penalizes those with ability and rewards those with none and time is long past for removal. As long as it is still on the books, lawsuits can be filed on make-believe charges and even if proved frivilalous can be expensive and destructive to those charged. Repeal Affirmative Action. To the beneficiaries, if you can't make it in 45 years, you never will.
Eltech posted at 10:42 am on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
If I were the president of the Spokane Police a Union, I would demand that she be immediately removed from all oversight duties. If a police officer is found to by lying in an internal affairs investigation, it is termination. She is a liar and should be held to the same standard.
Obamatollah posted at 10:37 am on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
I saw her with a long, black wig in front of the fairfrounds. She was singing that song by Cher, " I was born in a wagon of a traveling show, Momma used to dance for the money they'd throw."
I have yet to hear back from her parents if she was indeed a Gypsy who was born in a circus wagon.
Eltech posted at 10:32 am on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
I agree, there is a reason why they threw her under the bus. Hopefully the investigative courage will continue.
joe0u812 posted at 10:23 am on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
This story should be picked up by the national press ... but ... don't hold your breath. Excellent investigative reporting of what appears to be a common everyday liar.
Obamatollah posted at 10:08 am on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
Below, you claim that somebody must have hacked her parent's life. What does the justice system have to do with a woman who was born white, changed her appearance and lied about her race to get a job?
It seems that you must have just returned from a LSD laced week at an Occupy Movement Camp.
"Sophisticated criminals can ruin any chance of social justice for society. " huh?
I am not sure of the progressive version of Alex Jones is but you need to come back to reality.
Obamatollah posted at 9:57 am on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
Looks like she channeled her inner Tawana Brawley. There is an article in the Spokane paper where she claims to have received rascists, threatening mail. Only problem is, it was never processed in the mail system and it could have been only put into her locked mail box by somebody who had a key. (There wasn't a slot)
http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/hbo/2015/jun/11/questions-raised-about-naacp-hate-mail/
The photo of her in the Spokesman makes her look a lot whiter. She must have smeared on a lot of instant tan for the photo of her in the CDA press.
lapua208 posted at 9:57 am on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
Again... I'm going to ask the same question here...... What changed? The CDA Press and others craftily defended Dolezal in their pages for years and years. Now they are "outting" her.... why now?
Athol's Finest posted at 9:52 am on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
Excellent investigative reporting. This resolved a question that has lingered for some time -- especially those who have watched Rachel's "transformation."
Athol's Finest posted at 9:50 am on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
A "life hack?" The photos prove otherwise, not to mention the birth certificate and Rachel's own admission that her son is really her adopted black brother. If anyone has hacked anyone's life, it's her and her own.
JesusIsTheLight posted at 9:44 am on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
Finally....this woman is a fraud and yes people have been saying she is a fraud from back when she was working for the Kootenai County Militant Human Rights Task Force of Social and Super Justice...
I remember reading the articles and I do remember people commenting on how odd the whole thing was..AND THEN BAM she is in Spokane and the same thing happens...WEIRD. She is a sad, sad woman. She is self loathing. I feel bad for her. So much education, but yet so foolish as to place so much value on the color of her and other people's skin...so ignorant and so lost.
777goingtoheaven posted at 9:39 am on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
You are name calling me. I am not nutty. I am educated. I don't know everything but I know stuntpeople exist. I also know their is a HUGE problem with the justice system. Don't assume judgement and care!!
Mac posted at 9:31 am on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
Congratulations to JEFF SELLE and MAUREEN DOLAN, investigative reporters for the Coeur d,Alene Press. This is what investigative reporting is supposed to be.. Good Work. No matter how controversial the story is you did the right thing by stepping out of the CdA padded comfort zone and wrote what is right . Well done not only to Selle and Dolan but also to Mike Patrick for allowing such a news worthy, well written report. I have not seen anything so well done in this town for about a decade. This should go far. Again, well done.
PhD posted at 9:26 am on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
They left out an important piece of the story. I recall a multitude of articles, back when she was in charge of the HREI (and Christie, she was in charge for a time), that she labeled herself as being "trans-racial." I didn't make that up. She used that word and so did the press . . . in quite a number of articles. Race is, after all, a social construct. There is no definitive genetic test for race. Sure, you can test for paternity/maternity and there are specific genes (or groups of genes) that code for specific traits that we think of as being more prevalent within certain races, as they are defined by society. But, there is no "black gene" or "white gene." Race is just one more made up thing that is used to polarize society and create rifts between groups of people. Don't get me wrong. I am not defending her. She sounds like a nut job and a disappointment to her parents. Her actions have probably done more to promote hostility then unification of the citizenry of the area, but in my opinion, her false police reports are more of a concern then what box she ticked in the race column of any application form.
cisco posted at 9:26 am on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
Now I wonder about Al Sharpton.
downtowncda posted at 9:21 am on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
Who really cares. Just another confused person with twisted values.
lyric21 posted at 9:21 am on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
I had long thought she had made up those incidents just to stir things up. And to show a need for the HREI. There is another high profile person in CdA that I believe does the same thing. What a tragedy and disservice to people who are REALLY victims of hate crimes! Shame on them.
wheels1 posted at 9:15 am on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
Will the real Rachel Dolezal please stand up.
Humanist posted at 8:52 am on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
This particular liberal won't be part of the wagon circle (which I highly doubt will occur anyway in light of the facts as they emerge). Fraud is fraud, no matter who you are.
Triumph posted at 8:45 am on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
Is this one of those gender identity things? Is she a black woman trapped in a white woman's body, or is she a dude who wants to be a black woman? Maybe she is racial fluid (meaning she is not sure what she is yet, but it's not white.... that would be way uncool).
cdanative33 posted at 8:20 am on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
I'm assuming the Press has done their homework and wouldn't have published a lengthy article without checking the validity of their sources.
civility posted at 7:27 am on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
If Elizabeth Warren can be native American to get a job why can't she be African American? Don't claim to be Asian American and you won't get admitted to Harvard......too many of those smart Asians applying!
Is this a nutty society that identifies everyone by their ethnicity and not, like Dr. King asked, "by the content of their character."
ancientemplar posted at 7:26 am on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
If the investigative reporter really wanted to get to the truth all they had to do was interview some of her childhood friends/ academic records..............oh wait, those records are probably sealed.
lapua208 posted at 7:18 am on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
Did she lie about her race on those applications Veeeeee? Don't know if that's breaking any laws perhaps an attorney can comment here? What I DO know is that when you lie about your race on a job application and state you're a minority so that it is favorably looked upon then that applicant should be sued in civil court for fraud. Reminds me of the "Native American" woman that lied on her application at Harvard to get the $400,000 per year teaching position.... Elizabeth Warren.
Fisher posted at 7:06 am on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
Not really, she is a fraud, manipulating the system. Why can't she accomplish these things without the Michael Jackson syndrome? Why does she post up a false "Dad" in her FB? She is a blonde haired girl from Montana, should that prohibit her from making a difference no matter what culture she supports? When asked if she is black, her trademark response is that she is multicultural, which is ambiguous and vague. She sits on a throne of lies and smells of beef and cheese.
will-- posted at 7:05 am on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
Shame , shame... It appears that somebody may have been operating on forged race card.
lapua208 posted at 7:01 am on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
ITS ABOUT TIME!!! Some of us have been screaming the truth about this woman for the last 5 years!!! What I'd really like to know, seriously, is why the CDA Press is finally addressing it after all these years?
Fisher posted at 6:58 am on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
HA, Molon Labe wins the interwebz today.
WFBUCKLEY posted at 6:38 am on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
As someone who has raised two daughters this article humors me along with some of the comments. First let me say though that it is sad that parents are estranged from a daughter apparently. Next, let me say that this woman knows the art of advancing one's career. She learned early how system works, then worked it. From this piece the system is the "goat" here. While others talk this woman actually does something. Feathers always get ruffled by those that do something. It is the way of world. Today I am raising an adopted daughter who is part black. She is being raised in a home that does not mention "black" or "white" or any other "color". When she gets to age 18 and if system affords her opportunities for advancement I would support her utilizing these opportunities. This 37 year old woman must be doing something right. Keeping in mind that title of this piece was not chosen by its author, the CDA Press knows exactly what they are doing to get people to respond. Good job Press, good job.
Molon Labe posted at 6:38 am on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
She's the man that's been keeping her down!
Veeeee posted at 6:30 am on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
Interesting piece of investigative reporting...but who cares? It doesn't appear that she has broken any laws. Why is this worthy of print?
wwrd posted at 6:01 am on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
Anyone see the Steve Martin move the Jerk? He was adopted by a black family when he was young. Can't forget his quote in the movie," I was born a poor black child". Haaahaahaa. Then in the same movie another one, " How to become a Millionaire, first get a Million dollars then invest it" haahaahaaa.
wwrd posted at 5:55 am on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
Hurray!!! I too have always thought I was a black person trapped in a white body......where can I get my EBTs and Reparations?
Joe D posted at 5:45 am on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
"While ethnicity was not a criterion for selection, Coddington said it was certainly taken into account."
Equality for all?
joe0u812 posted at 5:25 am on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
Are you really Cliff Harris?
joe0u812 posted at 5:25 am on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
Is anyone REALLY surprised by this? In this day of YouTube too many Brian Williams abound.
Joe D posted at 5:22 am on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
Whoa... where to begin. I really don't have to, because this story says it all. Tony S. you best come to the rescue son.
Fisher posted at 5:08 am on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
Little German white girl from Montana with a past full of lies, she always has been full of it. Now it catches up. What a complete fraud Rachel is, has been and always will be.
cisco posted at 5:03 am on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
So get her DNA tested and put the issue to rest. Regardless she is an agitator and does not serve the cause of improving race relations in a positive manner.
Why Not posted at 5:00 am on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
Michael Jackson's polar opposite?
mjeder posted at 2:25 am on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
It must be tough living a false, pretend life like she has. A life worth of lies.
Now let's watch all you liberals circle the wagons and try to protect her. I can hear you now. It will be it's what she accomplished, not that she is a person with no moral or ethical standards. Her "intent is what matters" will be the mantra spewed forth.
And triple7, you're as nutty as she is!
777goingtoheaven posted at 1:08 am on Thu, Jun 11, 2015.
It sounds like the phone call to her parents may not be her parents. It sounds like a life hack and I would caution people to assume judgement. The issue of life hacking is real and scary. Sophisticated criminals can ruin any chance of social justice for society. We live in the age of information, doppelgangers, digital phone hacks, cameras, etc. We can NO longer assume common sense.