It's hard to think of a more bizarre story, or one more representative of contemporary America, than that of Rachel Dolezal. Dolezal is an academic and activist who represented herself as African American for many years, earning a degree in Africana studies, even ascending to the position of president of the Spokane, Wash., chapter of the NAACP.
Dolezal's parents, however, have recently made matters uncomfortable for her, telling the media that she is in fact Caucasian and showing photos of her as a younger woman with blond hair and blue eyes. The NAACP is standing behind Dolezal, stressing that “racial identity is not a qualifying criteria or disqualifying criteria for NAACP leadership.” But there are additional questions regarding, among other things, her position on a local police council. When applying to the Spokane police ombudsman commission, she indicated a racial category of black, which if untrue would violate the city ethics code.
Dolezal, for her part, acknowledged that her biological parents are two self-identified Caucasians, but has thus far refused to elaborate.
The story has predictably been catnip to our pundit class, provoking commentary ranging from the outraged to the sympathetic to the amused. Almost everyone, however, has been shocked — shocked that someone would act this way and shocked that someone could pull it off. I am shocked that people are shocked. Rachel Dolezal was inevitable. We made her.
Human behaviors are the product of incentives. We repeat behaviors that are rewarded. And clearly, Dolezal believed she would find rewards in representing herself as a black woman. That statement might seem strange, given the continuing destructive power of racism in America. In material terms, the condition of the average black American has actually gotten worse in the last 35 years, post-racial rhetoric to the contrary. Racism and white supremacy are real and powerful in America in 2015.
Why, then, would someone try to occupy that position of oppression? The answer has a lot to do with the spaces that Dolezal had advanced in: political activism and academia.
It happens that I've spent most of my life in those spaces. And in those spaces, a set of social norms have created direct incentives for Dolezal's behavior — and forbidden anyone from checking up on her story.
