The Spokane NAACP president Rachel Dolezal was accused of pretending to be black and denying her Caucasian background. (Photo : Facebook/Spookane NAACP)
Black hosts of the CBS talk show "The Talk," Aisha Tyler, 44, and Sheryl Underwood, 51, have slammed Rachel Dolezal, 37, for claiming that she is black. The controversial Spokane NAACP president recently resigned and passed the position to Vice President Naima Quarles-Burnley, 57.
While Underwood and Tyler are both okay with Dolezal deciding to identify as black, they do not necessarily support the recently resigned Spokane NAACP official's decision to lie about her race and ethnicity.
In the CBS talk show "The Talk" episode, which aired on June 15, Monday, other members of the panel Julie Chen, 45, Sara Gilbert, 40, and guest co-host Melissa Rivers, 47, who filled in for Sharon Osbourne, 62, also weighed in.
While "The Talk" hosts disagree on some points, particularly in comparing Dolezal's situation with that of trans woman Caitlyn Jenner, 65, they had a consensus when it comes to the former Spokane NAACP official's lying about her race and ethnicity.
On June 16, Tuesday, Dolezal broke her silence following her resignation claiming she identifies as black, which she said she started doing since she was five years old, in an exclusive interview with Matt Lauer, 57, of Today.
"I was drawing self-portraits with the brown crayon instead of the peach crayon, and black curly hair," Dolezal told Lauer adding that she insisted she never deceived anybody, which many critics have suggested.
Dolezal went on to say, "I hope that that can drive at the core of definitions of race, ethnicity, culture, self-determination, personal agency and, ultimately, empowerment."
