Rachel Dolezal has been a leader in the Spokane (Washington) chapter of the NAACP for many years.  Having previously worked as the education director for the Human Rights Education Institute in Coeur d’Alene, Dolezal is credited for re-energizing the NAACP chapter.

She is not just president of her local NAACP chapter; she is also an academic expert on African-American culture and teaches many related classes at Eastern Washington University.

But now there is a controversy surrounding her.  It turns out that Rachel Dolezal…. “has been falsely portraying herself as black for years.”

Here is a picture of Rachel and her family:

A family photo shows Rachel Dolezal’s family at her wedding reception in Jackson, Mississippi on May 21, 2000. Ruthanne and Larry Dolezal identified the people in the photo as: Back row: Ruthanne (mother), Kevin & Rachel, Larry (father), Peggy & Herman (Larry’s parents); Front Row, our (Larry and Ruthanne’s) adopted children: Ezra, Izaiah, Esther and Zachariah.

As the caption says, Rachel is in the back row, third from the left.  Here is a family photo of Rachel:

But here is Rachel as she is known publicly around Spokane:

I don’t know how she got away all these year fooling people that she was black.  Actually I do.  You can read the full story here.

You just know that some asshole is going to ask why its OK for Caitlyn Jenner to live as a woman but not ok for Rachel Dolezal to live as a black woman….  [UPDATE:  Apparently, LOTS of people are making the comparison.  The hashtag #transracial is trending on Twitter]

UPDATE:  The NAACP has weighed in, and I like what they say, especially the part I have emphasized below…..

For 106 years, the National  Association for the Advancement of Colored People has held a long and proud tradition of receiving support from people of all faiths, races, colors and creeds. NAACP Spokane Washington Branch President Rachel Dolezal is enduring a legal issue with her family, and we respect her privacy in this matter. One’s racial identity is not a qualifying criteria or disqualifying standard for NAACP leadership…