General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsA little history on the founding mothers and fathers of the NAACP
I don't have a clue why the lady may have lied about being African American, but Caucasians have been members of the NAACP since its inception.
http://www.naacp.org/pages/naacp-history
Founding group
The NAACP was formed partly in response to the continuing horrific practice of lynching and the 1908 race riot in Springfield, the capital of Illinois and resting place of President Abraham Lincoln. Appalled at the violence that was committed against blacks, a group of white liberals that included Mary White Ovington and Oswald Garrison Villard, both the descendants of abolitionists, William English Walling and Dr. Henry Moscowitz issued a call for a meeting to discuss racial justice. Some 60 people, seven of whom were African American (including W. E. B. Du Bois, Ida B. Wells-Barnett and Mary Church Terrell), signed the call, which was released on the centennial of Lincoln's birth.
Other early members included Joel and Arthur Spingarn, Josephine Ruffin, Mary Talbert, Inez Milholland, Jane Addams, Florence Kelley, Sophonisba Breckinridge, John Haynes Holmes, Mary McLeod Bethune, George Henry White, Charles Edward Russell, John Dewey, William Dean Howells, Lillian Wald, Charles Darrow, Lincoln Steffens, Ray Stannard Baker, Fanny Garrison Villard, and Walter Sachs.
Echoing the focus of Du Bois' Niagara Movement began in 1905, the NAACP's stated goal was to secure for all people the rights guaranteed in the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the United States Constitution, which promised an end to slavery, the equal protection of the law, and universal adult male suffrage, respectively.
enough
(13,272 posts)In this context, it would seem the strange thing in this story is the urge to "pass" for black even though there is no reason why one cannot participate in this struggle no matter what "race" one belongs to.
Nay
(12,051 posts)threads. Our point was that she could have been the head of the NAACP branch without pretending to be black.
Also, her fellow workers at the NAACP were pretty sure she was white, but didn't care, really, except the lie made them uncomfortable.
So what was her real reason? IMHO, she's one of those fantasists who make up a whole fake life history for themselves and end up believing themselves. She probably could have continued on if she hadn't called the police several times about racists leaving hate messages for her and her family; the police immediately suspected that she had sent this stuff to herself. That's another check in the "crazy" column, and things started to unravel from there.
CTBlueboy
(154 posts)Being white and being part of naacp is not the problem
You can be white and advocate on the behalf of black people ,but
Pretending to be black is where I draw the line!
Her filing fake hate crimes is harmful and offensive
Her articles on how "being black" when she never experienced it is beyond troubling