In one week Rachel Dolezal has challenged, questioned, and even mocked America's 400-year old concept of race. She is the embattled NAACP Washington state chapter leader who was born to White parents but self-identifies as African-American. 

Before I weighed-in on Rachel, I wanted to hear her story in her words, which she shared yesterday in an interview with Melissa Harris-Perry. What I heard made me respect her even more.

She is the one person I wish had stood her ground and continued to lead the NAACP. She is not a fraud but a woman who has chosen to give up the cloak of privilege that White skin can bring in the world and has traded it for the assumptions and biases that darker skin often carry. She has not co-opted Black culture like an entertainer strutting to (and capitalizing from) Uptown Funk; she is the real deal. 

What are your thoughts about Rachel? Is she a con-artist or a sympathizer?


As always, I welcome your feedback.

Enjoy!