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SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — A member of the NAACP in Spokane, Washington, is welcoming the resignation of the chapter's president, Rachel Dolezal.
The resignation today came days after Dolezal's parents claimed that she is actually white, but has been posing for years as black.
Kitara Johnson, who's been calling on Dolezal to step down, says it's "the best thing that can happen right now." She says the most important thing is to focus on the work of the NAACP, and that she hopes Dolezal remains a member of the organization.
Last week, Dolezal dismissed the controversy, saying it arose from a legal dispute that has divided her family. And she sidestepped questions about her race, saying, "That question is not as easy as it seems."
But in a statement announcing her resignation today, she said, "In the eye of this current storm, I can see that a separation of family and organizational outcomes is in the best interest of the NAACP." She said she would "never stop fighting for human rights."
Dolezal's parents appeared on NBC's "Today" show this morning and said they hoped to reconcile with her. Her mother said, "We hope that Rachel will get the help that she needs to deal with her identity issues."
%@AP Links
189-v-29-(Shirley Smith, AP correspondent)--The head of Spokane's NAACP has resigned in the face of controversy. AP correspondent Shirley Smith reports. (15 Jun 2015)
<<CUT *189 (06/15/15)££ 00:29
190-c-14-(Shirley Smith, AP correspondent)-"the NAACP's goals"-AP correspondent Shirley Smith reports the president of the NAACP's Spokane, Washington, chapter has stepped down after her parents said she falsely portrayed herself as black even though she is actually white. (15 Jun 2015)
<<CUT *190 (06/15/15)££ 00:14 "the NAACP's goals"
APPHOTO WASPO512: FILE - In this March 2, 2015, file photo, Rachel Dolezal, president of the Spokane chapter of the NAACP, poses for a photo in her Spokane, Wash., home. Dolezal resigned Monday, June 15, 2015, amid a furor over racial identity that erupted when her parents came forward to say she has been posing as black for years when she is actually white. (Colin Mulvany/The Spokesman-Review via AP, File) (2 Mar 2015)
<<APPHOTO WASPO512 (03/02/15)££
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