Rachel Dolezal, the former president of the Spokane, Washington chapter of the NAACP, in the moment she was caught living a lie.
Rachel Dolezal, the former head of the NAACP chapter in Spokane, Washington, was caught posing as a black woman and resigned from her post. Most voters — 65 percent — agree that race is based on birth, not self-identification or preference. Still, 14 percent say race should be determined by preference, while another 21 percent are not sure.
A new Rasmussen Reports survey finds that 63 percent of likely voters believe Dolezal was intentionally lying when she claimed she was black, but 13 percent disagree and 23 percent are not sure. Dolezal, who also claimed she was raised hunting with a bow and reprimanded by her father with a monkey whip, both of which are untrue on multiple levels, was exposed when authorities met with her parents in the course of an investigation.
The former NAACP head claimed that she received threats in the mail — sent to a lock and key mailbox, strangely — and the red flag was noticed by authorities immediately. When they went to speak with what turned out to be her biological parents, they were shocked to see they were white. A local reporter caught wind of the story and confronted Dolezal, who promptly ran off of camera after she realized her world had collapsed.
However, while 65 percent of white and 68 percent of other minority voters say Dozelal was being deceitful, just 46 percent of black voters agree.
Further, 52 percent of black voters think Dolezal, who’s family says she is mentally ill, should have kept her leadership role at the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. That’s a view shared by just 20 percent of whites and 32 percent of other minority voters.
Overall, 56 percent say Dolezal’s decision to resign was the correct decision, while 25 percent believe she should’ve stayed and 18 percent are not sure.
Meanwhile, 67 percent of white voters and 62 percent of other minority voters think racial identity is determined by birth, but just 51 percent of black voters agree. When black voters are factored in with other minority groups, just a quarter think it should be determined by preference.
More on Demographics
“Voters of all ages agree that racial identity should be determined by birth, not preference, but those under 40 are twice as likely as their elders to share the latter view,” Rasmussen says. “Younger voters are also far less likely to believe Dolezal should have given up her post at the NAACP.”
Yet, even 40 percent of voters who believe racial identity should be determined by preference still say Dolezal was being deceitful about her race, juxtaposed to a whopping 74 percent who think racial identity should be determined by birth.
The vast majority of Americans — despite recent events and increased race pimping — still believe most of their fellow countrymen aren’t racist. However, most also think race relations in this country have taken a decided turn for the worse under President Barack Obama.
While the question hasn’t been asked in years, public perception of the nation’s oldest and largest civil rights organization is underwater. A survey taken back in 2011 found that 44 percent of all voters had a favorable opinion of the NAACP, while 46 percent hold an unfavorable opinion.
The survey of 1,000 Likely U.S. Voters was conducted on June 18 and 21, 2015 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence.
