Another excellent perspective, and one that I never knew.
From Christopher Harris:
The NAACP was founded in 1909 by a group of primarily White Leftist/Regressive/Socialist minded individuals. There are about 13 people who are generally credited with being “Founders” of the NAACP, but of those, only three are “Black”. And they were:
- W. E. B. Du Bois
- Ida Bell Wells-Barnett
- Archibald Grimké
It’s worth noting that DuBois was the only one of the three who was born as a Free Person, while Wells and Grimké were both born into slavery. It’s also worth noting that DuBois was the only one who was initially allowed to be one of the first Officers of the organization.
- Moorfield Storey – First President (White Guy)
- William English Walling – Chairman of the Executive Committee (White Guy)
- John E. Milholland – Treasurer (White Guy)
- Oswald Garrison Villard – Disbursing Treasurer (White Guy)
- Frances Blascoer – Executive Secretary (White Woman)
- W. E. B. Du Bois – Director of Publicity and Research (Black Guy)
The other “Founders” were:
- Ida Bell Wells-Barnett (Black Woman)
- Archibald Grimké (Black Guy)
- Henry Moskowitz (White Guy)
- Mary White Ovington (White Woman)
- Florence Kelley (White Woman)
- Charles Edward Russell (White Guy)
It’s even more interesting when you consider that the NAACP came out of the 1905 “Niagara Movement”, which was made up primarily of “Negro-Americans”, who considered themselves to be “Anti-Bookerites”, standing in opposition to the philosophy and practices of Booker T. Washington.
So with those facts in mind, if the history of Marxism and Leftist/Regressive/Socialist ideology among people of color in this country is one where White folks “take over” leadership from Blacks…maybe we are just seeing history repeat itself. After all, according the website of Eastern Washington University, Rachel Doležal has a Masters Degree from Howard University, and for the past 8 years, she’s been an adjunct professor at Eastern Washington University in the Africana Studies Program. Doležal has taught African and African American Art History, African History, African American Culture, The Black Woman’s Struggle, and Intro to Africana Studies at EWU.
So from where I stand…in the spirit of tolerance, and political correctness…if Rachel Doležal THINKS and FEELS that she is “Black”, and she has studied “African-American History” to the point that she is able to teach it to others, maybe Rachel Doležal should be allowed to be as “Black” as she wants to be!!
