Controversial American civil rights activist Rachel Dolezal has finally said what everybody else has known for months – that she is NOT a black woman – at least not biologically.
In an episode of daytime talk show The Real, Dolezal sat down with the all-female panel, who immediately dove into the subject of her race.
It can be remembered that Dolezal sparked a huge racial debate earlier this year when her biological parents – both Caucasian – came out to the media and “outed” their daughter for not being black, an identity that Dolezal has adopted for a long time.
Prior to the admission, Dolezal had been deeply immersed in African-American society for almost a decade, attending Howard University — a historically black institution – on a scholarship to complete her graduate studies, marrying a black man, and even teaching African American studies and art at Eastern Washington University.
However, the icing on the cake was being president of her local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in Spokane, Washington. Dolezal held this position from 2014 until her resignation in June of 2015.
In the show, panelist Loni Love asked Dolezal if she was “ashamed” of being white, to which she answered, “Well, like Dick Gregory says, white isn’t a race, it’s a state of mind,” referencing the political satirist and social critic.
“I acknowledge I was born biologically white, to white parents,” Dolezal admits, garnering applause from the predominantly black audience.
However, Dolezal was quick to defend her “deception” by saying, “Sometimes how we feel is more powerful than how we’re born.” She adds, “Blackness can be defined as philosophical, cultural, biological, you know, it’s a lot of different things to a lot of different people.”
Besides her race, Dolezal also revealed that is currently with child, although she did not mention the identity of the father. Love cleverly quipped, “So I guess the baby black, huh?”to which the co-hosts and audience members chuckled.
Mindy Kaling ofThe Mindy Projectand The Office fame experienced a case of mistaken identity at a party recently. She was in New York, attending an after-party for The New Yorker Festival when a man in his 80s–who had likely had a bit too much to drink–began showering her with praise.
When he said, “Congratulations on your Nobel Prize!” Kaling knew he had the wrong person.
Prior to his congratulations, however, the man praised Mindy Kaling for her bravery and for her impressive recovery from gunshot wounds inflicted by the Taliban. It was after he stopped talking that a nearby writer helped Kaling undertand what had likely just happened.
“Did he really think I’m Malala?” Kaling, who is of Indian decent, asked the NYT writer after the bizarre accolades were recited. “And that if I were, I’d be at the Boom Boom Room? That’s the best thing that’s happened all night.”
The Today Show’s Willie Geist got in on the fun a few days later when he tweeted this message to Mindy Kaling.
.@MindyKaling, belated congrats on your Nobel Peace Prize! Well deserved, my friend. Fun NYT piece on Mindy explains http://t.co/LAiUjVmPjI
Malala Yousafzai is, of course, the 17-year-old Pakistani activist for education for girls and women. She was shot by the Taliban as a result of her activism, and is the youngest person ever to have received a Nobel Prize. Mindy Kaling admitted that although she may have been mistaken for Malala that the two are very different.
“I was, like, stressing out about getting into college, like a nerd,” she said of what she was doing at the age of 17.
Most people were. Mindy Kaling might be a very entertaining actress, but she knows she’s no Nobel Prize winner. And she certainly has no qualms about giving credit where credit is due.
Two of the members of Russian protest group Pussy Riot, Maria Alyokhina and Nadya Tolokonnikova, visited Capitol Hill. The two were seeking help from the Congress to include 16 of Russia’s politicians to the list of human rights violators who must face sanctions in the States.
Alyokhina and Tolokonnikova went into a private meeting with officials where they discussed the human rights violations that they had seen first-hand under the “dictatorship” of President Vladimir Putin. They are requesting the Foreign Relations Committee to lay down sanctions against the politicians.
In a news conference, Tolokonnikova said through a translator that they would “like to remind our government that they have obligations that they have signed that they have to honor.”
Both Alyokhina and Tolokonnikova were arrested in 2012 for staging a protest performance at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow. They were charged with hooliganism and stayed in prison for nearly 2 years.
U.S. lawmakers can legally ban Russians on the list from traveling to the U.S. They also have the legal power to freeze violators’ assets. To date, there are 18 people on the list, and some are already facing penalties.
Members of Congress showed appreciation to the two Pussy Riot members for speaking to them about Russia’s human rights abuse.
Senator Benjamin Cardin said, “The only way we’re going to get advancements on human rights is to put a spotlight on those who are violating human rights to stand up and make it clear that we will not accept these behaviors.”
Other politicians who were present in the private meeting include Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Cong. Steve Cohen, Sen. Chris Murphy, Sen. Jeff Flake, and others.
Pussy Riot was founded in 2011 and the group consists of more or less 11 women who are opposed to the ways of President Vladimir Putin. Their protest performances typically touch on issues related to LGBT rights, womens rights, and feminism.
Hayden Panettiere has officially confirmed her engagement to the world. People have been speculating for a while about the star’s love life, and a ring that was spotted on her finger. She finally revealed that she is engaged, during an interview on Live With Kelly And Michael. She told Kelly Ripa on Wednesday morning during the interview that she is engaged to Wladimir Klitschko, an Olympic boxer from Ukraine.
Panettiere is a young actress and at age 24, she has already appeared in numerous films and television shows. She has recently been seen in ABC’s hit show Nashville, after receiving her first starring television role as Claire Bennet in Heroes, which aired from 2006-2010. In addition to her acting career, she has also been very involved with environmental activism and was arrested in Japan for her interference in the dolphin hunt. The confrontation that she and other surfers had, and the issue of the slaughter of whales and dolphins in Japan was shown in the 2009 documentary, The Cove.
There is quite an age difference between the couple and her husband to be, Klitschko, is 37. They met in 2009 at a book party, according to CBS News. The couple do not have a date as of right now of when they plan to tie the knot. The couple actually dated for two years before ending their relationship, and got back together this spring.
During the segment on the show, Panettiere held a snaked and Ripa immediately questioned her on what she noticed on her hand when saying “I’m sort of distracted, not just by the snake, but there’s a very large diamond ring on your ring finger. … I’m not sure if you want to announce anything. … Does that signify anything, is that a promise of something?” She simply said that it speaks for itself, and then admitted that yes, she is engaged. She also walked onto the set with the boa constrictor around her neck, but that was clearly not the biggest news during the interview.
Fans of Panettiere are able to catch her on the current season of Nashville. The show is a musical drama that takes place in the legendary city of Nashville, home of country music. Her character Juliette Barnes will compete not only with country’s reigning queen, Rayna James, played by Connie Britton, but also with a new, younger performer, who seems to be stealing Juliette’s thunder.
Anonymous is launching a full-scale on-line campaign for the legalization of marijuana, dubbed OpCannabis.
They will launch this Friday, April 20, the smoker’s holiday, having started phase one of the campaign by releasing the video and statement below. On 4/20, expect them to hack anti-marijuana websites.
Anonymous has asked supporters to turn their social media profile pictures green as an act of solidarity for the cause.
In the last few years, medical marijuana dispensaries have been subjected to aggressive crackdowns from the feds. A tip of the hat to SFWeekly for drawing our attention to the above clip from Bill Maher. I won’t really go into the pros and cons of the legalization of marijuana. Odds are you have your own polarized views on the subject and are not likely to change them. Activists have been trying to change the laws unsuccessfully for years. Only time will tell if Anonymous will make a difference. My guess, probably not.
Dear Citizens of the World,
For far too long cannabis has been oppressed by big corporations, big pharma and governments when it could be benefiting all of mankind on many different levels. We have heard and we have watched your government lie and deceive you on all the dangers of cannabis. Show support by making your profile pictures green this April 20th on your social network profiles.
OpCannabis phase 1, initiated. We are Anonymous…..Expect us.
Attention individual people, governments, companies and fellow Anons!
We are Anonymous and we have an important message for you:
Plato said that it was ok to tell a lie ONLY if it truly benefits all of mankind. Plato called this lie the “noble lie.” For far too long there has been a lie that has been perpetrated but it is neither noble nor does it benefit all of mankind, actually quite the opposite… the cannabis plant is one of the world’s oldest and best medicines that has been known as beneficial for thousands of years!
It can replace many medicines and can be made into many different things such as plastics and fuels and paints etc. The bounds of this plant are limitless, we ALL are effected by illness such as cancer, diabetes, Crohn’s disease, chronic pain, mental illness, alcohol abuse and a myriad of other physical and mental disorders. Cannabis had been proven over and over to help or even cure and reverse the effects of these diseases that will affect us all at some point in our life!
Yet it is kept from the people who need its curing powers by governments, big corporations, by big pharmaceutical companies because it is a threat to the money they make! They make more money off you being sick so they do not want you to have a cure, these people do not truly care about your wellbeing only the money they will make from your illness!
Since it is an easily grown plant that can be grown freely by anyone they have made it an illegal Schedule I drug. Cannabis has been oppressed by the powers that be that are afraid of its true benefits, and these benefits do help all of mankind!
So cannabis fits the criteria for Anonymous’ support. We ask that all Anons and individuals please support the legalization efforts in any way possible! Even simply signing a petition or sharing info or even just having an open mind about the subject will help!
We ask you to please educate yourself on its many benefits and share these benefits with your sick or injured friends. We all know somebody that has cancer or diabetes and cannabis has helped or cured both and many other disorders!
Anonymous will begin its support for the legalization of marijuana on 4/20/12. So please show your support by educating yourselves and making your profile pic or timeline banner on your social services accts green or 420 friendly.
We have all seen the power of the SOPA blackout so Anonymous feels that we can help cure the world simply by everyone showing their support for this most beneficial plant! We must end the prohibition of cannabis!!
These oppressors make trillions of dollars off of the war on drugs by keeping their privately owned jails overcrowded with nonviolent drug offenders! We are approaching the 11 billion dollar mark that the government has spent on the drug war this year alone and have put millions of nonviolent offenders behind bars. This is a true crime against humanity and needs to end!
Saying cannabis is a dangerous drug and is not a medicine is NOT a noble lie… it is simply a lie!
WE ARE ANONYMOUS.
WE ARE LEGION for legalization!
WE DO NOT FORGIVE the crimes of the War on Drugs.
WE DO NOT FORGET our brothers + sisters locked up because of it.