"Tan Years A Slave"? My twitter fam is a hot mess.
But seriously, there is nothing funny about this story. It goes to show you how maddening the issue of race has become in this country.
White folks can't figure out why this confused soul would give up her "white privilege" and all the trappings it brings and choose to be a Negro in America. Just doesn't make sense to them. Which, I am sure, is one of the things that is driving this story.
And black folks, bless our souls, can't really make up our minds about girlfriend, either. I think until the news came out today that she actually sued one of our most revered HBCU schools for reverse discrimination, most black folks were in her corner. Heck she got View love from Whoppi, and that black icon, Dave Chappelle (who speaks wisdom disguised as comedy from behind the mic), was riding with her as well. Dave says he won't be making any jokes about her because there is something very "nuanced" going on with racism when it comes to her. He says it has something to do with how black and white people view her emotionally.
As is often the case, I agree with Chappelle. Some white people view what she is doing as a racial betrayal. (She is a Wigga!) It's supposed to be the other way around: Blacks wanting to be white and passing themselves off as such; not the other way around. Unless, of course, it was for a social experiment to write a book , to make us laugh at a silly movie for 90 minutes, or to paint our faces black for a frat party to impress our racist alcoholic friends.
So this seemingly serious and normal white woman choosing to go black in such a public way is a conversation starter at the water cooler for sure.
Of course, not all black folks are feeling the Rachel Dolezal switch from lily white to black. Some have written quite eloquently about their own experiences with other Rachel Dolezal types, and others have weighed in on how Dolezal can't truly share the experience of being a black woman because it's not as easy as putting on a "pair of shoes".
Ms. Dolezal of course will have her 15 minutes. (Maybe more in her case.) A nice book deal and a high profile sit down interview is sure to follow. ( Hi, Ms. Dolezal, this is Oprah. I was wondering....)
Her book about what it felt like to be a Negro in America for 10 years should be interesting.
We will all get to see her get over this time of confusion and identity crises in her life, and we will watch her go down to Montana where she will have a heart to heart with her estranged parents and tell them how sorry she is for making them go through all of this.
America will watch it all and shed a collective tear.
And then, once again, all will be
