The president of the Spokane, Wash. NAACP chapter is now under investigation for reportedly lying about her race.
In addition to her leadership position with the NAACP, Rachel Dolezal, 37, is an adjunct professor for the Africana Studies program at Eastern Washington University and a chairwoman of the Spokane Office of Police Ombudsman Commission, where she's responsible for providing oversight regarding police misconduct complaints.
Local news station KXLY reported that Dolezal identified herself as black when she applied for the city's Office of Police Ombudsman Commission, but it has since been revealed and confirmed that both of her parents are white.
Mayor David Condon and City Council President Ben Stuckart said in a joint statement Thursday,
"We are committed to independent citizen oversight and take very seriously the concerns raised regarding the chair of the independent citizen police ombudsman commission... We are gathering facts to determine if any city policies related to volunteer boards and commissions have been violated. That information will be reviewed by the City Council, which has oversight of city boards and commissions.”
Her parents, her mother specifically, have responded to media requests regarding the matter.
“It’s very sad that Rachel has not just been herself," Dolezal's mother said. "Her effectiveness in the causes of the African-American community would have been so much more viable, and she would have been more effective if she had just been honest with everybody.”
The NAACP, or the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said that Dolezal's race or ethnicity is not a concern for the group:
"One’s racial identity is not a qualifying criteria or disqualifying standard for NAACP leadership," the NAACP said in a statement.
"The NAACP Alaska-Oregon-Washington State Conference stands behind Ms. Dolezal’s advocacy record."
Dolezal has not responded to questions concerning her parents' testimony and allegations of falsifying information on a city employment application. Since the news broke, she has deleted a majority of her Facebook pictures, ABC News reports.