Dolezal sparks new conversations

As a former member of the Spokane Human Rights Commission and the city’s last human rights specialist (1998-2004), and friend of the NAACP, how could I not comment on the Rachel Dolezal matter?

Yes, we have no doubt she deceived our friends and the general public by misrepresenting herself as a black woman. Her “racial dysphoria,” as I describe it, probably comes from a personal place we know little or nothing about. So passionate about civil rights and advocacy, it appears she became entangled in a web of desire to do good for herself and those around her by rising to a position of leadership in the community she chose to identify with.

In national news and through social media, she has made a mockery of our 20-plus years of notable human and civil rights efforts.

More important than us exploring her personal journey, she has prompted new conversations on racial identity, civil and human rights, and ethics and leadership from the view of a new lens folks previously disengaged from, or lost interest in. This new conversation may even convince me to rejoin the conversation after a 10-year hiatus.

Vince Lemus

Liberty Lake