Race, Identity and Rachel Dolezal
BY AKELLO STONE
September 2015
When I was in college, I double majored in sociology and African American Studies and minored in psychology at a university in the Midwest. I was enrolled in a course of study that, during the time I was there, evolved in its status from an emerging “program” into its formal recognition as an academic discipline - the Department of African American Studies – a true historical moment. I have never shared the details of my personal challenges or the intrinsic intellectual rewards that resulted from such an unorthodox program of study as a White male. In fact, I consider the overall experience to be sacred, highly personal, yet utterly transformative. I share this because, there is definitely a “context” for what I am about to share – and context is pretty important, as we well know. This is not just about me, but also about every one of us living in this persistent, highly racialized society. I must be honest when I say that this has taken me a lot longer to write than I ever would have imagined and I ponder each and every idea thoroughly for its truth, causing me to make many edits along the way. Time does not stop and neither does learning. I, too, continue to learn from the world around me and this article is a glimpse into this process.
Enter Rachel Dolezal
When the Rachel Dolezal story was publicized, a lot of people sheepishly asked for my opinion of which I had no real “ready to respond” answer. I needed more time to think about it – not only because of the complexity of the issue, but also because I live by the logic that one who speaks too soon, without knowing the facts and without thinking deeply on the subject matter, can easily be misunderstood. I try to avoid being misunderstood at all costs and I am sure I am not alone. Because of the aforementioned context, and everything that has contributed to my evolution up to this moment, I feel obligated to share a few brief thoughts and insights. Of course I want to satisfy the curiosity of others who desire to know my position but more importantly, I want make sense of it for my own selfish understanding and to reach my own cognitive reward.
The sensationalism of this story has died down and the “as to be expected” TMZification (not yet in the dictionary, but just you wait) has run its course, so now is a good time to take a more critical and intellectual look at the significance of what has been brought to the light. I am not going to elaborately recount the details of the story, or do I plan to offer any redundant analysis or holier-than-thou moral reckoning of Dolezal’s character. Instead, I want to critically understand what this story really says about race, above and beyond the experiences of one individual and its pervasive nature. Why it makes me question whether or not identity, a psychosocial phenomenon, penetrates the very fibers of our being, infiltrating our nervous system resulting in an actual, experience, “feeling,” i.e. “I feel like a Black person or I feel like a White person.” I also ponder if we can ever truly transcend the racial system that has been constructed and has succeeding in perpetuating itself - oftentimes without us even realizing it’s happening – or do we?
I openly admit that any academic writing on this subject matter has emerged from, and was developed within, the very same hegemonic system that such efforts proclaim as “attempts to dismantle.” No matter how hard one tries, there will always be traces of original thought. In academia, it can surface as tainted ideologies and biased methodologies cloaked in incomprehensible rhetoric and buried in confounded qualitative data and scrupulous yet biased quantitative analysis. It’s like trying to separate people from stardust - ultimately what we, and everything that makes up our world, are made of, our flesh, our bones, our neurons - only reconfigured and formed into something that is accepted as new, yet it is indisputably very, very old. Nonetheless, some critical questions have arisen through this intellectual undertaking and are described concisely below.
I Think, Therefore I Am
Does racial identity reside in the brain and if so could it manifest itself into our neural pathways? In other words, can we transmute the very organic nature of our identity purely by our own thoughts? The brain's ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections throughout life is called neuroplasticity. If identity truly resides in the brain then one could conclude that racial identity is potentially malleable. Sociologically speaking, racial identity is understood to be a social construct and the “experiential reality” of a racial identity lies in the behavioral expectations placed upon us by other people, and by ourselves, to bring identity into existence. Furthermore, it is an accumulation of the totality of our experience in a highly racialized society.
While I completely understand the fluid nature of identity itself, if anything, anyone who does not “fit” into the accepted conceptions of race can never truly be regarded as one, or the other, or both, but something altogether different. When I hear the term transracial, I immediately think of the idea of the phenomenon of “transcendence." I envision a person who chooses to live beyond the limiting confines of racial classification or rises above this myopic view on the human family. I, however, do not see race as something that can be replaced, traded or redefined. That simply does not speak to, or adequately address, the totality of a person’s full experience of personhood and, thus, is a problematic idea itself.
The Road to Hell is Paved with Good Intentions
Changing your racial identity can cause more harm than good even if it’s done for the advancement and progress of humankind. When you do this you are, in fact, validating the racial system that you, yourself, are trying to deconstruct. Racial identity, as opposed to ethnic or cultural identity, could easily be considered a delusional psychopathology, epidemic in nature that affects, either positively or negatively, each and every one of us. Reshuffling the cards in the deck of race will not solve the destruction that race has caused humanity.
You Can’t See the Forest for the Trees
My final thought is directed specifically towards Dolezal’s decisions and actions. Although this was never my intention in writing this piece, I must give mention to a very obvious misstep – diluting academic integrity. As a fellow academician, my disappointment lies in the fact her emotional intelligence, necessary for successful collegiate instruction, should have curtailed her from logically carrying out such outright deception simply because of how harmful and hurtful her actions would be. I find it hard to believe that she did not first take thorough inventory of the potential damage that this would cause not only in the “big picture” but also how it would affect her immediate family, friends and associates.
Work from the Most Effective Place
Could Dolezal have been as effective in her multiple roles directly related to racial equality and understanding if she carried them out as a white woman? I would argue that the answer is, “No, perhaps she could not.” Could she have been effective in a completely different way, as an example of a White person accepting their historical racial history and still advocating for social change and understanding? I would say, “Yes, she very well could have.” White people can be accepted in the circles of Black intelligentsia and be instrumental allies if and only if their motives are authentic and their intentions pure. Speaking from experience, this is where true hope for humanity lies, in the simultaneous acknowledgement that race exists and in carrying out meaningful efforts towards solving the insurmountable suffering it has caused; of which we are all contributors, be it actively or passively.
Enter Rachel Dolezal
When the Rachel Dolezal story was publicized, a lot of people sheepishly asked for my opinion of which I had no real “ready to respond” answer. I needed more time to think about it – not only because of the complexity of the issue, but also because I live by the logic that one who speaks too soon, without knowing the facts and without thinking deeply on the subject matter, can easily be misunderstood. I try to avoid being misunderstood at all costs and I am sure I am not alone. Because of the aforementioned context, and everything that has contributed to my evolution up to this moment, I feel obligated to share a few brief thoughts and insights. Of course I want to satisfy the curiosity of others who desire to know my position but more importantly, I want make sense of it for my own selfish understanding and to reach my own cognitive reward.
The sensationalism of this story has died down and the “as to be expected” TMZification (not yet in the dictionary, but just you wait) has run its course, so now is a good time to take a more critical and intellectual look at the significance of what has been brought to the light. I am not going to elaborately recount the details of the story, or do I plan to offer any redundant analysis or holier-than-thou moral reckoning of Dolezal’s character. Instead, I want to critically understand what this story really says about race, above and beyond the experiences of one individual and its pervasive nature. Why it makes me question whether or not identity, a psychosocial phenomenon, penetrates the very fibers of our being, infiltrating our nervous system resulting in an actual, experience, “feeling,” i.e. “I feel like a Black person or I feel like a White person.” I also ponder if we can ever truly transcend the racial system that has been constructed and has succeeding in perpetuating itself - oftentimes without us even realizing it’s happening – or do we?
I openly admit that any academic writing on this subject matter has emerged from, and was developed within, the very same hegemonic system that such efforts proclaim as “attempts to dismantle.” No matter how hard one tries, there will always be traces of original thought. In academia, it can surface as tainted ideologies and biased methodologies cloaked in incomprehensible rhetoric and buried in confounded qualitative data and scrupulous yet biased quantitative analysis. It’s like trying to separate people from stardust - ultimately what we, and everything that makes up our world, are made of, our flesh, our bones, our neurons - only reconfigured and formed into something that is accepted as new, yet it is indisputably very, very old. Nonetheless, some critical questions have arisen through this intellectual undertaking and are described concisely below.
I Think, Therefore I Am
Does racial identity reside in the brain and if so could it manifest itself into our neural pathways? In other words, can we transmute the very organic nature of our identity purely by our own thoughts? The brain's ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections throughout life is called neuroplasticity. If identity truly resides in the brain then one could conclude that racial identity is potentially malleable. Sociologically speaking, racial identity is understood to be a social construct and the “experiential reality” of a racial identity lies in the behavioral expectations placed upon us by other people, and by ourselves, to bring identity into existence. Furthermore, it is an accumulation of the totality of our experience in a highly racialized society.
While I completely understand the fluid nature of identity itself, if anything, anyone who does not “fit” into the accepted conceptions of race can never truly be regarded as one, or the other, or both, but something altogether different. When I hear the term transracial, I immediately think of the idea of the phenomenon of “transcendence." I envision a person who chooses to live beyond the limiting confines of racial classification or rises above this myopic view on the human family. I, however, do not see race as something that can be replaced, traded or redefined. That simply does not speak to, or adequately address, the totality of a person’s full experience of personhood and, thus, is a problematic idea itself.
The Road to Hell is Paved with Good Intentions
Changing your racial identity can cause more harm than good even if it’s done for the advancement and progress of humankind. When you do this you are, in fact, validating the racial system that you, yourself, are trying to deconstruct. Racial identity, as opposed to ethnic or cultural identity, could easily be considered a delusional psychopathology, epidemic in nature that affects, either positively or negatively, each and every one of us. Reshuffling the cards in the deck of race will not solve the destruction that race has caused humanity.
You Can’t See the Forest for the Trees
My final thought is directed specifically towards Dolezal’s decisions and actions. Although this was never my intention in writing this piece, I must give mention to a very obvious misstep – diluting academic integrity. As a fellow academician, my disappointment lies in the fact her emotional intelligence, necessary for successful collegiate instruction, should have curtailed her from logically carrying out such outright deception simply because of how harmful and hurtful her actions would be. I find it hard to believe that she did not first take thorough inventory of the potential damage that this would cause not only in the “big picture” but also how it would affect her immediate family, friends and associates.
Work from the Most Effective Place
Could Dolezal have been as effective in her multiple roles directly related to racial equality and understanding if she carried them out as a white woman? I would argue that the answer is, “No, perhaps she could not.” Could she have been effective in a completely different way, as an example of a White person accepting their historical racial history and still advocating for social change and understanding? I would say, “Yes, she very well could have.” White people can be accepted in the circles of Black intelligentsia and be instrumental allies if and only if their motives are authentic and their intentions pure. Speaking from experience, this is where true hope for humanity lies, in the simultaneous acknowledgement that race exists and in carrying out meaningful efforts towards solving the insurmountable suffering it has caused; of which we are all contributors, be it actively or passively.