*In a new piece for Time magazine, Tavis Smiley says that, much like the rest of the world, his first reaction to the Rachel Dolezal story was, “LOL.”
When we initially heard about Rachel we thought she was a Funny or Die skit. We’re still clutching our pearls because Rachel’s story is indeed real life, a sad, kinda funny, yet deceptive life that is possibly ripe with mental-illness. Has anyone called Iyanla Vanzant to swoop in and have a fix it, Jesus moment with Ms. Dolezal? Maybe take her out for dinner to Sweetie Pie’s after a lengthy therapy session. Just saying’…. Soul food has a way of making the truth set one free. Wash it down with a glass of sweet ice tea and then tuck Rachel in bed for a deep slumber. We’re so over her.
Since her parents have taken to the media to put their estranged daughter on blast about her true identity, Rachel has been confronted about her lies many times over and continues to double down and double talk while proclaiming that, despite the fact that her biological parents are white, she still “considers” herself black, and that white folks just don’t understand the definitions of race and ethnicity like she and black folks do.
This is a good moment for us to pause and quote antiracist activist Tim Wise who said, “First off, you can consider yourself a damned Leprechaun but that doesn’t mean you’re gonna be on the Lucky Charms box.”
We also co-sign Wise’s statement regarding race and people of color:
“(People of color) don’t get to just “consider themselves” anything…they get to be exactly what white supremacy says they are. For her to proclaim a greater flexibility is to wear her privilege like a pendant around her neck–or maybe I should say, like Flavor Flav’s clock.
Black folks full well understand the definitions of race and ethnicity. They know, for instance, that (it is) not so malleable as to be tried on and off like a costume. The fact that race is a social construct does not mean you get to fabricate a heritage or a shared experience of struggle, let alone bronze your face and twist your hair to demonstrate solidarity and then act shocked when people — mostly BLACK people — call you on it.”
Preach.
Rachel Dolezal, an NAACP official, has been “disguising” herself as black for years. Why?
Smiley joked about how much white people are willing to go to “get the black experience in America,” like tanning and getting “an injection in the behind.”
“When God was passing out colors,” Smiley asks, “who raised their hand for a life of social disenfranchisement, political marginalization, economic exploitation and cultural larceny?”
The PBS host found this to be the most troubling aspect of Dolezal’s actions:
“The real question this sordid matter raised for me is simply this; assuming again that her intentions were noble, is there a better way for Ms. Dolezal to have advocated for the rights of marginalized fellow citizens without fronting as somebody she’s not?”
Below is an excerpt from Smiley’s Time piece:
When I first heard the story about the “black” NAACP head in Spokane, Washington, Rachel Dolezal, being outed as a white woman, honestly, I laughed. Out loud.
LOL.
Because I knew how this story would land in Black America, I tuned into urban radio and perused black Twitter to get a sampling of the jokes that I knew would be flying.
As expected, the jokes were plentiful, ranging from versions of “She actually signed up for this?!” to “Why would you ruin a good credit score!”
You can read Smiley’s full piece at Time.
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