The family of embattled NAACP activist Joyce Mitchell spoke to INSIDE EDITION about why they came forward to reveal the racial identity of their daughter.
Rachel Dolezal is stepping down as the president of Spokane NAACP chapter. She posted the news on the organizations Facebook page writing, “It is with complete allegiance to the cause of racial and social justice and the NAACP that I step aside from the Presidency and pass the baton to my Vice President, Naima Quarles-Burnley.”
She also wrote, “Police brutality, biased curriculum in schools, economic disenfranchisement, health inequities, and a lack of pro-justice political representation are among the concerns at the forefront of the current administration of the Spokane NAACP. And yet, the dialogue has unexpectedly shifted internationally to my personal identity in the context of defining race and ethnicity.”
We now know exactly how Rachel Dolezal's identity was unraveled. INSIDE EDITION interviewed her parents Larry and Ruthanne.
Larry said "When we were contacted we had the choice of lying or telling the truth or no comment and hanging up. We chose to tell the truth."
Read: NAACP Activist Rachel Dolezal's Parents: Our Daughter is Faking Being Black
Rachel's story is making headlines around the world as the woman who was born white who now claims to be black, but her parents say they knew a long time ago that she was telling everyone she was a different ethnicity.
Ruthanne said, "It was somewhere around 2007 when we first noticed a newspaper article from around the Spokane area where Rachel stated she was bi-racial and had bi-racial parents."
Rachel's adopted brother, Ezra, even revealed that he was told to keep her secret when he went to visit her in Spokane.
INSIDE EDITION caught up with him at an airport in North Dakota. He said “She basically told me not to blow her cover about her new life and her parents or anything like that.”
Rachel, who is president of the local chapter of the NAACP is estranged from her parents. They haven’t spoken in years. They say she didn't want them around for a very specific reason.
Her mother said, "It seems she didn't want us around in her circles. She did not want us to appear anywhere because she was representing herself as being a different person than she was and as an African-American woman we didn't fit her image."
On social media, Rachel even posted a photo of a black man she says is her father. Her father reacted to that, saying, "That hurts deeply. How would you feel if your daughter did that to you?"
There have been reports that part of Rachel’s desire to change her ethnicity stems from alleged abuse that took place in her family.
Her father said, "It is totally false. She had a very happy childhood. She comes from a very loving family. Many people here would testify to that."
As Rachel’s look is analyzed, some people are questioning whether she suffers some kind of mental illness.
Her father said, "Many of the things she has done is not rational, would be considered not to be sane."
Read: Woman Dupes Family Over Cancer Claim
The startling photos of Rachel has the internet on fire and some people are comparing her to singer Iggy Azalea, who has been accused of taking on a black persona. One major difference though is Azalea never claimed to be black.
The side-by-side pictures of Rachel are jaw dropping. One photo is of Rachel as a freckled face white girl with blonde hair. Another is the woman she is today--curly haired with a noticeably darker complexion.
Rachels mother says the physical changes Rachel has undergone aren’t really that surprising. She said, “Because of Rachel's artistic skills she is very able to make herself look any ethnicity, any kind of look that she wants that might seem to be fitting to her for the occasion."
Watch Below: Activist Rachel Dolezal on Her Race: I Will Clear This Up with the Black Community
