Rachel Dolezal, Head of Spokane NAACP, Accused of Lying About Her Race

Parents of civil rights activist say family as no African-American heritage and claim their daughter has been falsely portraying herself as black for many years

By Rebecca Macatee Jun 12, 2015 2:31 PMTags

UPDATE: The NAACP released a statement in support of Dolezal amid this racial controversy.

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Rachel Dolezal's parents have come forward to say their daughter, a prominent civil rights activist, has spent years lying about her race.

While serving as president of the Spokane, Wash., chapter of the NAACP and chairwoman of the city's office of Police Ombudsman Commission, Dolezal portrayed herself as black. However, her mother Ruthanne Dolezal told a local NBC affiliate KHQ the family has no African ancestry, saying instead they have Czech, Swedish and German roots with a touch of Native American heritage.

(NBC News was unable to reach Dolezal, and she declined to give a comment to affiliate KHQ.)

Per Today, Dolezal identified as black, white and American Indian on her application to become chair of Spokane's office of Police Ombudsman Commission. Now, city officials are questioning whether she violated policy if she indeed lied about her race on the application.

A reporter from KXLY 4 questioned Dolezal about her race this past February, after Spokane's NAACP president said racist and threatening letters had been sent to the chapter's post office box. She was shown a picture of her father Larry Dolezal, who is white, and confirmed his identity. When asked by the reporter if her dad "really is an African American man," Dolezal didn't give a direct answer.

"That's a very—I don't know what you're implying," she replied.

Then the reporter asked Dolezal, point blank, "Are you African American?"

"I don't understand the question. I did tell you that yes, that's my dad," she said, then abruptly ended the interview and walked away.

Dolezal, who has a masters degree from Howard University, a historically black university, and is also an adjunct professor of African studies at Eastern Washington University, reportedly cut off communication with her parents. Her father told BuzzFeed News the reason for this is that she "doesn't want us visible in the Spokane area in her circle because we're Caucasian."

He said he didn't know why his daughter might want to portray herself as a black woman. "She has over the past 20 years assimilated herself into the African American community through her various advocacy and social justice work," he added, "and so that may be part of the answer."

(E! and NBC are both members of the NBCUniversal family.)

(Originally published June 12, 2015 at 6:31 a.m. PT)