I am someone who had no problem with Rachel Dolezal, still don't and never will.
If you want to be black go ahead.
In this particular case it's best to just clear it up and stop being coy about it. I don't know enough about what is all being said but ones racial makeup need not be a mystery.
I had two black grandparents(father) and two white grandparents(mother). My mom is white, my father is black, I am bi-racial. My particular variety of bi-racialism is black and white. I know this because well...because it's pretty clear.
There could only be a few reason to be coy about it or to not address it in a very upfront and matter of fact way.
Keep in mind, my race has no impact on my credibility, profession, or anything that would have anything to do with anyone outside of my immediate family.
Let me say that again...
My race has no impact on my credibility, profession, or anything that would have anything to do with anyone outside of my immediate family.
Gene's are gene's and two white brothers, a white father, and a white mother make a white person to me. At the same time I know how babies are made and if that has something to do with why there is any level of mystery to this story, that's his business and is certainly something we as a public need to consider.
Let's say he is a white person who has been ambiguous about his racial make up because he thought he would be able to follow his passion more easily as someone who could be perceived as a black person...I will defend his right to do so with great vigor.
As a person who had to deal with other peoples racial issues black and white all my life, I just don't care. I've said this before but I've been too white, too black and everything in between depending on the racial make up of the person I am talking to, so I decided at an early age that whoever put this racial caste system in place had fooled everyone.
If he isn't bi-racial...meaning if his grandparents are white and both of his parents are actually white, then just fucking say so, prepare for the onslaught, and pray that the people you have surrounded yourself with in fame will be there in infamy to support you.
I think Mr. King is a 60/40 writer. 60% of his stuff is very good and relevant and needed. 40% is not thought out as well as it could be. Even if I agree with some of that 40% the lack of effort is too much to let go for me. I take it personally because some of the 40% deserves to be covered like the other 60% and most of the stories are about issues I deal with on a daily basis.
To me that is the larger point here. He could wait it out and I feel that his odds might be pretty good considering we just went through this with Rachel, but if he is white, why not do something important?
His credibility, profession, and fame are linked to how people perceive him as a racial individual? There is no other way to see that as an issue. It's not like white people can't have credibility as advocates for racial justice issues. Tim Wise is one name I recognize and now there is some dude on facebook making those videos with the serious look on his face and the five o'clock shadow, you know who I mean.
We are giving white people the mic and letting them run with it as black people and people who value racial equality need all the advocates we can get. That being said it is that important to be honest and clear about who we are as advocates because there are greater things at stake. Any attempt to damage the credibility of a civil rights or racial justice advocate is a serious thing especially if they are being an honest person.
Lies spread quickly in today's society and they don't go away because of social media. Think about how seriously President Obama must have taken the issue of his birth certificate to eventually reveal it to the public. Was it a stupid rumor? Of course. Was it damaging his credibility? He wouldn't have released it otherwise.
I can't say enough about how little I care about whether he is white, black, purple, alien, what the fuck ever, I don't give a shit. If it turns out he is white, I will still not care and would support his ability to continue being an advocate and defend his right to be seen how he wants to be seen.
I do care about honesty, credibility, and ones ability to advocate for the things I actually do for a living and have done for the past 15 years. Millions of people don't follow me or care about what I say. I don't write for a living, I do for a living and the work I do is always in a fragile state because I serve the people that even some of the most staunch progressives/liberals don't even know exist. I can't afford to have what I do devalued in anyway because of a stupid story like this.
I think in the end if your professional life is totally focused on the idea that race indeed means something, it is hard to reconcile how it wouldn't be in your personal life.
Here is to hoping that he comes out on top of this no matter what happens.