Rachel Dolezal: Why is Race so Important?

Hello everyone. Many of you may recognize the name Rachel Dolezal. If you don’t, she is the women who was born white but says that she identifies as black. She also used to be the leader of the NAACP, but has since stepped down since this whole scandal started.

 Many people are very upset by this. Truthfully, I feel that a person should be allowed to be whoever they want to be. And, it’s not like this is the first time we have seen this. For example: Michael Jackson. However, I think what lots of people are upset about isn’t the fact that she chose to change race, but the fact that she lied about it. When asked if she was born white, the first time, she denied it and later went as far too even denied her own parents. Her doing that makes me, first, feel sorry for her parents and, second, make me feel like she is hiding something. Honestly, I don’t understand why she wouldn’t just tell people. It’s not like people would hate her for it, and if they did, who cares. People hate others just for breathing.

Later on she did and interview on the “Today Show”, where she admitted to being born white and changing her race. In the interview she said, “I was drawing self-portraits with the brown crayon instead of the peach crayon, and black curly hair.” Maybe I just don’t understand the feeling of wanting to be another race, but I don’t get how a person can feel a certain race. I am a biracial person, yet I don’t ever really feel myself identifying with one race more than another. However, like I said before, maybe I just don’t get it.

One thing that upsets me is that some people are saying that if Caitlyn Jenner can be a girl then Rachel Dolezal can identify as black. However, and this is in no way Rachel’s fault, should race be that important? I mean gender is very important because in today society women can do certain things that men can’t, for example wear makeup, dresses, and other “girly” things, and vice versa. Not to say that everyone follows those strict guidelines, just society’s norm is for girls and boys to be different. However, I thought this country was over viewing races differently. I mean, that is what I was taught in school; people are people no matter what skin tone. I understand that there is and always will be racism, but in most situations, one race is never excluded from doing something another race can. I just think that it is sad that in America today, people feel that race is so important. Why does there have to be things that black people do, and white people do. Why can't we just look at people as people; not the color of their skin?

How do you feel about this? Does Rachel Dolezal have the right to change her race, or should she have to identify as white? Comment below.

And as always, THANKS FOR READING!