UPenn prof: ‘I sometimes don’t want to be white either’
Letty Burgin, Florida Campus Correspondent - Campus Reform
Rachel Dolezal is not alone.
The former NAACP chapter president who—although Caucasian biologically—‘identifies as black’ has inspired others to reveal their desire to abandon their race, including one professor at the University of Pennsylvania.
Ali Michael, an adjunct professor and director of P-12 consulting and professional development at UPenn’s Graduate School of Education, recently came to Dolezal’s defense and acknowledged that sometimes she ‘doesn’t want to be white either.’
In a column for Huffington Post, Michael described Dolezal as an “extreme example of a common phenomenon” among white people. Michael explained that, the “Rachel Dolezal Syndrome” can be an issue for all white people who recognize the “the truth of what it means to be White and accepting responsibility for it.”
Describing her own “Rachel Dolezal Phase,” Michael stated that the more she learned about the history of racism the more she hated herself, her ancestors, and her descendants. Michael goes on to say that she refuses to have children because she doesn’t “propagate [her] privilege biologically.”
“I disliked my Whiteness, but I disliked the Whiteness of other White people more,” said Michael. “I felt like the way to really end racism was to feel guilty for it, and to make other White people feel guilty for it too.”
Unlike Dolezal, Michael read a number of black authors, stating that “they reminded me...that the job of White people lies with teaching other White people, seeing ourselves clearly, owning our role in oppression.”
According to Michael, Dr. Janet Helms the Director of the Institute for the Study and Promotion of Race and Culture at Boston College, was the first to theorize and write about white racial identity development.
University of Pennsylvania did not respond to Campus Reform’s request for a comment.
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Originally Posted by Hal-9000
