Page 2 - 6-19-15 Friday's Edition

Features
Residents Respond To Former NAACP President Controversy
OTIS ANTHONY MS. ANN JENKINS REP. EDWIN NARAIN DR. SAMUEL WRIGHT
RONNIE MOORER DANNY GREEN
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
Recently, Ms. Rachel Dolezal resigned as the Pres- ident of the Spokane Branch NAACP Chapter. Her resigna- tion came about after it was learned that her parents were white and she was not African American as she has previ- ously stated.
Some Sentinel readers shared their opinions about the controversy surrounding the incident.
Otis Anthony said, “The whole issue of racial identity has been an issue ever since enslaved Black women were brutalized and raped by white men who had absolute power over their lives. Rachel may be a bit strange, confused, and showed this with her flip-flop at Howard University.
“She may even be dishonest to herself about her Black identity, but the jury is still out on her DNA, and her par- ents DNA. Nevertheless, peo-
ple who have served in serious Civil Rights leadership roles know that there is still some- thing strong, special, and car- ing about her work for the NAACP.
“She is so afraid of being forced to say she is white that she is missing her window of opportunity to apologize for the lies, that even she believes. Rachel Dolezal is salvage- able and should go to work for another Civil Rights organiza- tion when she clears her head. All over the country white folks are marching to support us against police bru- tality. We need to be careful about the message we send!”
Ms. Ann Jenkins said, “I think whoever interviewed this young lady, dropped the ball by allowing her to tell them that she was Black with- out investigating her. We are losing NAACPs all over the world, such a shame, even in our backyard, there is no NAACP in St Pete, what's going on? We need to go back
to the basics, our people need the NAACP.”
Rep. Edwin Narain said, “It’s disappointing that she in- tentionally misled so many people. I wish she would have conducted her advocacy work with integrity so the story would have been about ad- dressing the needs of African Americans in Spokane, WA instead of her deception.”
Dr. Samuel Wright, Sr.,
said, “It is important to have leadership officials of any or- ganizations to have uttermost integrity. Of course, many branches don't excel because of the fact that leaders are shady. Considering the histor- ical facts about the genesis of the NAACP, we all know that the NAACP was formed by Whites as well as Blacks, and here in Florida, we have had branches led by Caucasians.
“In my opinion, actions speak louder than words. If Rachel has been most effec- tive as a local Branch Presi- dent, she should have
remained in her post.
“It is apparent that she has
some affinity with Black peo- ple because she attended Howard University. Does any- one know the intricacies of her DNA? She may have some Black lineage, just as many of us have White lineage. Look- ing at her, she looks like she has some African ancestry! Even if she is lily white, some people identify with other eth- nic groups/races and she may not be an exception.
“I do believe too much time has been spent on this issue in the news. Perhaps, we could minimize the racial divide in America, if more Whites would take the mantle of lead- ership in the NAACP and sim- ilar organizations. The problems with which we are confronted are America's problems... not necessarily those of the Black commu- nity.”
Ronnie Moorer said, “It was extremely wrong for Rachel Dolezal to lie about
being Black, just to be Presi- dent of the Spokane NAACP. My question is, what was her motive? History tells us that there were more other whites who helped start the NAACP in 1909, than Blacks. W.E. B. Dubois was the only Black person in the group.
“There is nothing wrong with White people in the NAACP, they are a great help!! The NAACP does need some- one who is Black to lead it's people and others in this Civil Rights Movement. Being Honest gets you ahead, Being dishonest don't.”
Danny Green said, “If she wants to be Black it’s no prob- lem, but I think she should have let everyone know up front. It shouldn't make any different what your race is as long as you do a good job. I think she should keep her job. I think she should apologize to everyone. We have too many serious thing to worry about in this world then race.”
PAGE 2-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, JUNE 19, 2015