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[h=4]Spokane NAACP leader Rachel Dolezal steps down[/h]SPOKANE, Wash. — Rachel Dolezal, the embattled president of the Spokane chapter of the NAACP, stepped down from her post Monday amid questions surrounding her racial identity.
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Rachel Dolezal, the embattled president of the Spokane, Washington chapter of the NAACP, stepped down from her post amid controversy surrounding her racial identity. VPC
Rachel Dolezal, president of the Spokane, Wash., branch of the NAACP, poses for a photo in her Spokane, Wash., home on March 2, 2015.(Photo: Colin Mulvany, AP)
SPOKANE, Wash. — Rachel Dolezal, the embattled president of the Spokane chapter of the NAACP, stepped down from her post Monday amid questions surrounding her racial identity.
In a statement the chapter posted on Facebook on Monday, Dolezal wrote: "It is with complete allegiance to the cause of racial and social justice and the NAACP that I step aside from the Presidency and pass the baton to my Vice President, Naima Quarles-Burnley."
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In the lengthy statement, Dolezal mentioned some of the issues and concerns of the Spokane chapter, including police brutality, economic disenfranchisement and health inequities. She noted the dialogue had shifted from the chapter's work to her personal identity.
"I have waited in deference while others expressed their feelings, beliefs, confusions and even conclusions — absent the full story," she wrote. "I am consistently committed to empowering marginalized voices and believe that many individuals have been heard in the last hours and days that would not otherwise have had a platform to weigh in on this important discussion."
Dolezal, 37, came under scrutiny last week when her parents said she was a white woman of German and Czech ancestry.
Her parents, Ruthanne and Larry Dolezal, said Thursday that she was born Caucasian and has been deceiving people into thinking she is African American since 2004.
They said their daughter has always identified with the African-American culture and had black siblings who were adopted. They said she went to school in Mississippi and was part of a primarily African-American community.
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Dolezal has been credited with energizing the Spokane chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People since she took the helm in January.
But some of the increased publicity came from accusations that the civil rights organization's chapter had received threatening letters and packages in its post office box starting in February.
On Friday, the Spokane Police Department, which said earlier some of the material didn't have bar codes and other markings consistent with travel through the U.S. mail, announced it was suspending its investigation into the matter until new information comes to light. It already had eliminated postal workers as suspects in the potential hate crime.
In Monday's statement, Dolezal said she will continue to fight for human rights.
"Please know I will never stop fighting for human rights and will do everything in my power to help and assist, whether it means stepping up or stepping down, because this is not about me. It's about justice. This is not me quitting; this is a continuum."
Dolezal and the executive board had previously said they would issue a statement regarding Dolezal being outed as a Caucasian woman by her parents.
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On Sunday, she sent an email out to NAACP members stating that Monday's meeting was canceled. When one member questioned her ability to cancel the meeting, Dolezal cited her ability to cancel meetings as the Spokane NAACP president. She said the meeting was postponed "due to the need to continue discussion with regional and national NAACP leaders."
The Baltimore-based civil rights organization issued a statement Friday supporting Dolezal.
"One's racial identity is not a qualifying criteria or disqualifying standard for NAACP leadership," the NAACP said in its statement. "The NAACP Alaska-Oregon-Washington State Conference stands behind Ms. Dolezal's advocacy record."
Since Sunday's cancellation announcement, Spokane NAACP members started a petition calling for her to step down that had more than 500 signatures as of Monday morning. Some had planned to protest outside Monday's meeting.
USA TODAY
Parents out 'black' NAACP leader as white woman
"This is not about race," said Kitara Johnson, a member of the Spokane chapter of the NAACP and organizer of the petition to remove Dolezal. "This is about integrity."
Even after Dolezal announced her resignation, Spokane NAACP members said they will still show up at the Spokane NAACP headquarters Monday night. They said they will now be focusing on calling for members to stand in solidarity and begin healing within the organization.
Contributing: Kate Royals and Jimmie Gates, The (Jackson, Miss.) Clarion-Ledger; and Shawn Chitnis, Briana Bermensolo, Raishad Hardnett, Taylor Viydo and Lindsay Nadrich KREM-TV, Spokane, Wash.
Related:
NAACP
NAACP Statement on Rachel Dolezal | Press Room
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