Controversy is swirling around one of the Inland Northwest’s most prominent civil rights activists, with family members of Rachel Dolezal saying the local leader of the NAACP has been falsely portraying herself as black for years.
Dolezal, 37, avoided answering questions directly about her race and ethnicity Thursday, saying, “I feel like I owe my executive committee a conversation” before engaging in a broader discussion with the community about what she described as a “multi-layered” issue.

A white past: Dolezal's mother also showed reporters this photo of her daughter's 2000 marriage in Mississippi (she's seen at center)A white past: Dolezal's mother also showed reporters this photo of her daughter's 2000 marriage in Mississippi (she's seen at center)

“That question is not as easy as it seems,” she said after being contacted at Eastern Washington University, where she’s a part-time professor in the Africana Studies Program. “There’s a lot of complexities … and I don’t know that everyone would understand that.”
The City of Spokane announced Thursday it's investigating whether the president of the Spokane chapter of the NAACP violated the city's code of ethics in her application to serve on the citizen police ombudsman commission.

Rachel Dolezal serves as chair of the independent commission, in addition to her work as an adjunct faculty member at Eastern Washington University and president of the NAACP local chapter. On her application to serve on the commission, she identified herself as African-American. But public records, including Dolezal's own birth certificate, list her biological parents as Ruthanne and Lawrence Dolezal of Montana. The Dolezals told KXLY Thursday that Rachel is their biological daughter and that they are both white.

"We are committed to independent citizen oversight and take very seriously the concerns raised regarding the chair of the independent citizen police ombudsman commission," Mayor David Condon and City Council President Ben Stuckart said it a joint statement Thursday. "We are gathering facts to determine if any city policies related to volunteer boards and commissions have been violated. That information will be reviewed by the City Council, which has oversight of city boards and commissions."

On the NAACP Spokane Facebook page, a picture was posted earlier this year showing Dolezal and an African-American man. In the post, he's identified as Dolezal's father. KXLY4's Jeff Humphrey asked Dolezal about that claim Wednesday afternoon.

"Ma'am, I was wondering if your dad really is an African-American man," Humphrey asked.

"I don't understand the question," Dolezal answered. "I did tell you [that man in the picture] is my dad."
"Are your parents white?" Humphrey asked. At that point, Dolezal removed the microphone, ended the interview and walked away.

KXLY4 was interviewing Dolezal Wednesday about several hate crimes she's reported over the last several years. Most recently, Dolezal said she received a packet of hateful letters and pictures at the NAACP post office box in North Spokane. That crime led to rallies of support outside Spokane City Hall. 
Police are still investigating, but say in reports that whoever placed the mail must have had access to the box, as it was not processed through the regular mail. Dolezal denied any implication that she was responsible.

Dolezal says she's been the victim of eight documented hate crimes in Idaho; a public records request filed by KXLY yielded just three reports. Each was closed by police because of insufficient evidence to prosecute.


As Buzzfeed notes, Dolezal's blog posts and interviews often reference her 'black sons.'
However, her mother told CDAPress.com that one of those boys is Izaiah Dolezal--who was, in fact, one of four African American infants Rachel's parents adopted in the 1990s.
In an interview with the Coeur d' Alene Press, her mother shot down many other claims her daughter has made in interviews over the years. Specifically: 
Dolezal's claim she was born in a tepee.
'Totally false,' said her mother. She and Dolezal's father once lived in a tepee but it was before Dolezal was born.
Dolezal's claim she once had to use bows and arrows to hunt for her own food as a kid.
Not true, says her mother.
Dolezal's claim she once lived in South Africa.
'Rachel did not even ever visit us there,' said Ruthanne, who lived there as a missionary.
Dolezal's claim her parents punished her 'by skin complexion' with a 'baboon whip' reminiscent of those once used on slaves.
'She is fabricating a very false and malicious lie,' Ruthanne said.
Dolezal's claim that Larry Dolezal, who is white, is actually her stepfather. 
'Anybody who lives in the town of Troy or Libby knows that Larry is her father,' Ruthanne said.
Publicly available birth records, list her biological parents as Ruthanne and Lawrence Dolezal of Montana 
Her Eastern Washington University bio also says that Dolezal has been the victim of at least eight 'documented hate crimes.' 
Prior to her positions in Spokane, Dolezal served as director of the Human Rights Institute in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.
While in the position, Dolezal filed multiple police reports ranging from theft to harassment to the racially motivated hanging of a nooses in her home.
In a more recent claim of racially motivated harassment, Dolezal made local headlines early this year when hate mail was supposedly sent to her at the NAACP post office box in Spokane.
However, police reports on the case revealed this week that whoever placed the letters and packages into the box would have had to have the key because none had bar codes or stamps.