Rachel Dolezal resigns as Spokane NAACP president

Rachel Dolezal, the woman who has been thrust into a big controversy over her racial identity, has resigned from her position as president from the Spokane NAACP.

Rachel Dolezal resigns from job

The letter, posted on Facebook, did not address allegations that have landed her and her family in the national spotlight over the past several days.

Her parents, who are white, allege that she has been lying and presenting herself as Black when she is not.

Resignation letter

In her letter to the NAACP’s executive committee and its member, she wrote,

“I have waited in deference while others expressed their feelings, beliefs, confusions and even conclusions — absent the full story. I am consistently committed to empowering marginalized voices and believe that many individuals have been heard in the last hours and days that would not otherwise have had a platform to weigh in on this important discussion.

“Additionally, I have always deferred to the state and national NAACP leadership and offer my sincere gratitude for their unwavering support of my leadership through this unexpected firestorm.”

Rachel Dolezal said that though “many issues face us now” such as “police brutality, biased curriculum in schools, economic disenfranchisement, health inequities, and a lack of pro-justice political representation … the dialogue has unexpectedly shifted internationally to my personal identity in the context of defining race and ethnicity.”

“While challenging the construct of race is at the core of evolving human consciousness, we can NOT afford to lose sight of the five Game Changers (Criminal Justice & Public Safety, Health & Healthcare, Education, Economic Sustainability, and Voting Rights & Political Representation) that affect millions, often with a life or death outcome. The movement is larger than a moment in time or a single person’s story, and I hope that everyone offers their robust support of the Journey for Justice campaign that the NAACP launches today!” the letter reads.

While she is “delighted that so many organizations and individuals have supported and collaborated with the Spokane NAACP under my leadership to grow this branch,” she wrote that she “can see that a separation of family and organizational outcomes is in the best interest of the NAACP.”

She said that she has “complete allegiance to the cause of racial and social justice and the NAACP” and is passing her role to the chapter’s Vice President Naima Quarles-Burnley.

“Please know I will never stop fighting for human rights and will do everything in my power to help and assist, whether it means stepping up or stepping down, because this is not about me. It’s about justice. This is not me quitting; this is a continuum,” she wrote.